Overview
Overview:
The Appalachian Transition Fellowship is a year-long, full-time, paid program designed for 15 emerging community leaders who are committed to working in Central Appalachia for the economic transition of the region. Central Appalachia is defined as West Virginia, Southwest Virginia, Eastern Kentucky, Eastern Tennessee, Appalachian Ohio and Western North Carolina.
This program offers the opportunity to spend a year working within host communities to help foster cross-sector (education, nonprofit, for-profit, philanthropy, and government) partnerships, provide needed capacity to regional efforts, and build personal and professional skills. Through institutional placements, independently designed projects, training, and mentoring, the program gives emerging leaders and host organizations skills and networks needed to advance economic and social change in the region.
Details:
- Length: 1 year
- Apply: October
Spud’s Thoughts:
I am not overly familiar with this fellowship itself, but I have visited Highlander in the past which is the host for the program. Highlander has an incredible history empowering, educating and mobilizing social justice leaders in the US (you can learn more here). Having spent time working with organizations focused on the Appalachian region myself, I’ve seen how issues like a collapsed coal economy have significantly impacted the region. Small, rural communities can often feel isolated from the bustling hubs of changemaking activity found in cities like Boston, San Fran, and DC – which is why I think it is all that more important we invest in these towns because it tends to be the areas that are most impacted by a few dedicated leaders working diligently to bring about change.
