Application Deadline: March 20, 2021
Applications are open for the Urban Leaders Fellowship Program 2021. The Urban Leaders Fellowship is a paid summer fellowship for early- to mid-career professionals who are already leaders in their own right and are looking to accelerate their leadership through fellowship with a focus on policy and practice.
Fellows work half-time on high-level policy projects with an elected official and half-time alongside partner organizations in cities across the country. The fellowship runs for 7 weeks, typically during the months of June and July.
Program Details
• Policy Advancement: Fellows partner with an elected official, spending half their time on a critical policy project. These leaders have a vision for how their city can improve, and you’ll work alongside them to make that vision a reality.
• Community Impact: In order to impact real and lasting change, smart policy is not enough. Thus, fellows spend the other half of their time working with an innovative partner organization, from non-profits to tech startups, committed to social justice & community impact.
• People Development: ULF exists to develop and shape the future leaders of the U.S. Throughout the fellowship, they will work with you to identify the right career path, connect you with leaders in the field, and provide leadership and career coaching.
Benefits
• Fellows receive a minimum base stipend of $2,500 with opportunities for additional cost of living adjustments and individual need-based grants. If you are accepted to ULF, their staff will work with you to determine if you qualify for additional funds.
Eligibiltiy
• Open to early- to mid-career professionals in the U.S.
• They look for applicants who are diverse, in every sense of the word. They bring together a cohort of fellows in each region who come from different backgrounds, races, ethnicities, gender identity and sexual orientation, and have wide-ranging experiences in the topics they’ve studied, the places they’ve lived, and the work that they’ve done.
While the program is designed to assemble a unique and diverse cohort of individuals, ULF fellows most successful in the fellowship share certain characteristics:
• Motivated, self-starter who takes initiative with experience driving and sustaining both short and long-term projects.
• Seeks collaboration to problem-solve and navigate ambiguity including the ability to govern work independently and manage up to accomplish outcomes.
• Actively seek perspectives that are different than their own operating with in a mindset of humility.
• Professionals with at least 2 years of professional experience with excellent written and oral communication skills.
• Committed to personal reflection and professional development with a desire to transform the community through partnerships.
• Looking to accelerate their leadership through fellowship with a focus on policy and practice.
• Team player that can build relationships with a variety of stakeholders (i.e., cohort, elected official, partnering organization, community members, etc).
Application
The 2021 application opens in November of 2020, and applications are accepted on a rolling basis in three rounds. The first deadline is on December 12, 2020, second deadline is on February 6, 2021, and the final deadline to apply is March 20, 2021.
For more information, see FAQs and visit Urban Leaders Fellowship.