The Bush Foundation selected Our Streets executive director José Antonio Zayas Cabán for a 2026 Bush Foundation Fellowship. José Antonio Zayas Cabán is one of 30 recipients honoring “leaders who get things done.”
Statement from José:
I am deeply honored and humbled to receive the Bush Fellowship.
As a Puerto Rican artist, organizer, and proud North Minneapolis resident, this recognition feels deeply personal. My leadership has been shaped by community, culture, storytelling, and a belief that the people most impacted by injustice should help lead the solutions.
For years, I have worked alongside residents, artists, organizers, and partners to repair harms caused by displacement, disinvestment, and infrastructure decisions that divided communities like mine. This Fellowship goes beyond the investment in my leadership, it opens the possibility of a more connected, equitable, and community-rooted future.
I see this Fellowship as an opportunity to grow into the next chapter of my leadership. To deepen my cultural grounding, strengthen long-term systems thinking, learn from communities across the Americas, and build the relationships and tools necessary to help communities repair and reconnect in lasting ways.
I am incredibly grateful to the Bush Foundation, to everyone who has believed in me along the way, and especially to the communities, mentors, artists, organizers, colleagues, and loved ones who continue to shape how I lead.
The work has always been collective.
I hope to use this opportunity to become a more sustainable, thoughtful, and courageous leader. One capable of helping build the long-term change our communities deserve.