Yale Program on Climate Change Communication seeks Public Voices Fellows

The Public Voices Fellowship on the Climate Crisis is a year-long initiative to accelerate the ideas and impact of 20 new and necessary thought leaders working at the intersection of climate change, environmental communication, and social justice. After successful fellowships in 2020, 2021, and 2022, we are pleased to offer the fellowship again in 2023.

Despite irrefutable scientific evidence that the world is warming and that humans are responsible, with dire impacts already felt around the globe, action to address climate change is not keeping pace with the scale of the challenge. That said, federal level action on the issue in the United States is improving with the support of the current administration. And many US states, cities, companies, and diverse civil society organizations are acting to defend the hard-won climate and environmental victories of the past, while pushing for even more ambitious action.  Beyond our borders, nations around the world have been defending the Paris Climate Agreement and advancing its ambition in the wake of COP27 in Egypt last year. But more attention and action is required.

We need better and faster ideas from a more diverse set of people from all walks of life, including those who are most affected by the impacts of global warming, and thus most likely to see new solutions and envision a brighter future. The Public Voices Fellowship on the Climate Crisis is a collaboration among The OpEd Project and the Yale Program on Climate Change Communication (YPCCC), and is part of The OpEd Project’s national Public Voices initiative to change who writes history.

Participants will receive extraordinary support, skills and mentoring to ensure their ideas shape the greater public conversation. All participants must commit to publishing at least two written pieces (hopefully many more), or prepare and present publicly other forms of thought leadership (TED-style talk; podcast; etc.) during their fellowship.

We are looking for:

● 20 fellows
● Community and business leaders, activists, entrepreneurs, writers, educators, researchers and other thinkers
● A diverse mix of people across all identities
● A solutions-oriented mindset
● Adults at least 18 years old residing in the United States

Program Details

● Year-long program
● Four required convenings: one three-day virtual kickoff, one in-person two-day-long session, and two virtual two-day-long sessions (See specific dates below.)
● Dedicated editors (top journalists) who provide regular, hands-on, one-on-one support/editing/coaching and help place articles
● A limited number of travel stipends for those who need them to attend the in-person session at Yale University in New Haven, Connecticut.

*Please note: Only applicants who can commit to attend all four convenings will be considered.
● 1st convening (virtual): Wednesday – Friday, May 10th-12th, 2023, 1-4:30pm ET each day
● 2nd convening (in-person at Yale University, New Haven, CT): Thursday – Friday, July 27th-28th, 2023, dinner time on 7/27 TBD, 10am – 5pm ET on 7/28
● 3rd convening (virtual): Thursday – Friday, October 26th-27th, 2023, 1-4:30pm ET each day
● 4th convening (virtual): Wednesday – Thursday, January 24th-25th, 2024, 1-4:30pm ET each day

Get Ready to Apply
The following application will ask for general personal/professional details, diversity and inclusion information and your responses to several application questions.
The application deadline is 4 p.m., Feb. 14.
Prior to completing this application, please do the following. We estimate that this pre-work should take an hour to complete.

1. Review the session dates for the 2023 Public Voices Fellowship on the Climate Crisis cohort.
If you are selected, you will be asked to commit to full attendance. (Note: A limited number of travel stipends will be available.)

2. Background materials:

• Review the whole announcement here.
• What is Climate Change Communication?
• Listen to some episodes of our short daily 90-second radio story Climate Connections
• Read or watch stories at Yale Climate Connections
• Selected thought leadership by the first three cohorts of fellows

We use Submittable to accept and review our submissions.

Note: You can begin, save and return to your application multiple times until you are finished.
Please contact us with any questions at climatechange@yale.edu, subject line “Public Voices Fellowship.”

If you have any issues with the application itself, please reach out to the Submittable Customer Support team directly: they are available via chat, or at support@submittable.com and 855-467-8264 ext. 4.