NWF Fellowship Program Grows to Offer Additional Leadership Opportunities for Emerging Leaders

Since 2000, NWF’s Campus Ecology Program has awarded over 150 Fellowships to student leaders at 112 different colleges and universities in 36 states and Puerto Rico; reaching more than 2.5 million students, faculty, staff and community members at the fellowship campuses. Through the support of the Fellowship program, students have carried out a plethora of projects on their campuses and in their communities aimed at addressing climate change impacts and protecting wildlife.

We are happy to announce our 2013 call for proposals for our Campus Ecology Fellowships (open to current undergrad and graduate students) as well as our NEW Emerging Leader Fellowships (open to young professionals age 21-35). Fellows serve a 15 month term and are awarded a $2,000 stipend. To learn more and access application materials visit NWF.org/fellows. Applications are due March 31, 2013. 

Student fellows have organized town hall forums to discuss the local effects of energy practices, initiated composting programs, conducted educational outreach, created campus and community bike programs and reintroduced native plant species on and around their campuses (to name a few). NWF’s Campus Ecology Fellowship program has provided students with the tools necessary to tackle conservation issues while fostering leadership development.

Reflecting on her Fellowship experience, Emma Gaalaas Mullaney, a 2005 Campus Ecology Fellow at Sarah Lawrence College in New York, had the following to say:

 The NWF Campus Ecology Fellowship gave me one of my first opportunities to take a formal leadership role in political debates about environmental issues that I was studying in school. It was a formative moment in applying my passions for research and activism in service of a lifelong dedication to the health of social and ecological justice.

To build on the success and momentum of the Campus Ecology Fellowship program, this year  NWF’s Emerging Leaders Initiative has teamed up with Campus Ecology to offer an extension to NWF’s Campus Ecology Fellows Program to include a young professionals track. The new Emerging Leaders Fellowship track will offer Fellowships to post-graduate, young professionals (ages 21-35) interested in career development and leadership opportunities within the conservation movement. Young professionals interested in career development and leadership building opportunities will apply to be part of this 15-month program. Throughout the fellowship term, selected applicants will be provided with leadership opportunities through NWF and our state affiliates, seed funding for their entrepreneurial efforts, additional leadership and skills training, and a diverse support network of peers and mentors.

Interested applicants are invited to submit project ideas that coincide with one of four KWA campaigns:  Stopping Expansion of Dirty Energy, Safeguarding Wildlife and Habitat in the Appalachian Forests, Protecting Wildlife in Urban and Suburban Habitats, or Clean Energy Solutions. Fellows will have direct access to campaign staff to assist with implementing project ideas.

To apply for either of these programs, visit NWF.org/fellows>>