ABOUT MOUNTAINTOP INTERNATIONAL
Activating transformational leadership worldwide
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VISION
A world where every community has the inner capacity, or "human infrastructure," to lead its own development and flourish so that all people can thrive in body, mind, and spirit.
Amara Chineme, 2025 Mountaintop Fellow
MISSION
Mountaintop International is a nonprofit that builds the inner capacity, or “human infrastructure,” of leaders worldwide so their communities can flourish. In the spirit of Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr.'s “Mountaintop” speech and its call for a locally led movement, we champion a people-first approach so that every community can shape its own future.
Lucas Pinzon, 2025 Mountaintop Fellow
OUR CORE IDEA: HUMAN INFRASTRUCTURE
Just as an economy needs strong physical infrastructure — roads, power, water — a society needs strong human infrastructure: the inner capacity of a community to lead its own development and flourish. A community with strong human infrastructure shares the same six assets every transformational leader needs to thrive — the right abilities, relationships, mindsets, activities, places, and power.
When we invest in local leaders and equip them to strengthen these assets across their communities, stronger leaders build stronger institutions — and those communities, in turn, produce the next generation of leaders. Read our full Theory of Change
Elvis Nshimba, 2025 Mountaintop Fellow
WHAT WE DO
Mountaintop’s fellowships support the world’s most promising local leaders to deepen and scale their impact. Fellows receive:
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World-class leadership training at institutions like Harvard’s Edmond & Lily Safra Center for Ethics, the Harvard Kennedy School Carr-Ryan Center for Human Rights, the NYU Stern Initiative on Purpose and Flourishing, and USIU-Africa.
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1:1 mentorship and professional coaching.
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Ongoing access to funding, visibility, and a global peer network.
Our fellowship tracks serve local leaders of all types, from emerging grassroots leaders to senior business executives — each united by a commitment to the communities they call home. Mountaintop currently runs three fellowships: the Emerging Leaders Fellowship, the Social Impact Executive Fellowship, and the Business Executive Fellowship.
Beyond the fellowships, we partner with high-impact organizations — including Trinity Church Wall Street Philanthropies, Aspire Institute, RIVET, 1Day Sooner, and Lumiere Education — to design custom leadership programs.
Prajjwal Dhungana, 2025 Mountaintop Fellow
OUR VALUES
A key part of addressing global challenges lies in strengthening our collective morality. Mountaintop strives to promote our values by embodying them in everything we do.
Universal Compassion: Empathizing with the suffering of others, regardless of who they are.
Example: Thich Nhat Hanh.
Unconditional Love: Loving others unconditionally, even those we deeply disagree with.
Example: Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr.
Visionary Wisdom: Making imaginative, evidence-based, and historically informed
decisions. Example: Norman Borlaug.
Long-Term Dedication: Committing over the course of a career or lifetime to a particular
community or cause. Example: Aminatou Haidar.
Selfless Courage: Acting for the greater good even in the face of uncertainty, complacency, inconvenience, risk, or danger. Example: Leymah Gbowee.