Webinar: Building the Climate Workforce: University Fellowship Models That Work

October 8 @ 2:00 pm - 3:00 pm EDT

Free

“While academic programs provide essential theoretical foundations, students passionate about climate careers need additional hands-on experience to develop the applied skills employers seek. Enter: climate fellowship programs. These programs serve as the crucial bridge between classroom learning and professional practice, providing students with real-world experience, industry connections, and specialized skills that significantly enhance their career prospects. Importantly, these programs also give students from all academic degree programs the chance to create meaningful impact for organizations, applying their knowledge to solve real climate challenges while building their professional capabilities.

Join Environmental Defense Fund’s Climate Corps and three leading university programs for a power-packed webinar revealing the blueprint for fellowship program success. Our expert panel – representing decades of fellowship program experience – will share the proven frameworks, structures, and insider strategies that create career-launching opportunities for students while delivering measurable sustainability results for organizations. Whether you’re just exploring the fellowship concept or fine-tuning an existing program, you’ll walk away with actionable insights to elevate your impact. This webinar is perfect for university sustainability staff focused on student engagement and career development, as well as faculty within sustainability-related academic programs.

What You’ll Learn:
– Essential components of successful climate fellowship programs
– Best practices for program design that benefit both students and host organizations
– Detailed case studies with insight into funding, staffing, and other considerations ”

Presenters

	Brianna Duran, Manager of Training & Education Initiatives, Climate Corps, Environmental Defense Fund Brianna designs and manages training and education initiatives for the Environmental Defense Fund’s Climate Corps US program. The Climate Corps summer fellowship program matches graduate students with companies and public institutions to help them meet their climate and energy goals. Prior to joining EDF, Brianna managed climate and sustainability internship programs for students while collaboratively working to advance institutional sustainability initiatives at the University of Texas at Austin. She has spent her career serving mission-driven organizations with a focus on experiential environmental and sustainability education. Brianna has an M.S. in Environment & Resources from the University of Wisconsin–Madison.
	Alexis Dwyer, Community Engaged Sustainability Education Manager, University of New Hampshire, Sustainability Institute Alexis Dwyer joined the University of New Hampshire (UNH) Sustainability Institute in December 2021. As the Community Engaged Sustainability Education Manager, she leads and expands a range of initiatives focused on high-impact, community-engaged learning in sustainability as well as growing and connecting the network of UNH sustainability alumni. These high-impact initiatives attract students, who are eager to gain highly marketable sustainability skills and help advance strategic sustainability priorities for private and public sector organizations. Alexis brings a background in food justice, having managed nutrition outreach programs across the state in the non-profit sector and federal child nutrition programs at the New Hampshire Department of Education.
	Elspeth Hayden, Program Manager, McKinney Climate Fellows, Indiana University, Environmental Resilience Institute Elspeth Hayden’s career and service background is in higher education student support, the environment, and arts & nonprofit management. She currently manages Indiana University’s (IU) McKinney Climate Fellows, an environmental workforce development program including IU system-wide student recruitment and hiring, curriculum planning, and program assessment. She also liaises with tri-sectoral partner organizations across the Hoosier state to solicit climate work proposals and place qualified students onto their teams. Prior to this, she was the Associate Director of IU’s Integrated Program in the Environment, overseeing interdisciplinary environmental- and sustainability-focused programming for current and prospective students. Elspeth earned a Master of Music in flute performance from the prestigious Jacobs School of Music at IU, as well as a graduate certificate in nonprofit management from IU’s O’Neill School of Public and Environmental Affairs. She is passionate about public libraries, local farm and food systems, and recreating outdoors.
	Aaron Hanson, Energy Program Specialist / Sustainability Corps Program Manager, University of Minnesota, Institute on the Environment Aaron Hanson has a background in construction, finance, and building energy modeling. In graduate school, he studied the policy intersection of high-performance and affordable housing, and researched what makes cities sustainable across the US, India, and China. In his current role, he coordinates interdisciplinary energy transition research projects to ensure that systems-thinking is incorporated into the examination of new technologies and how they are deployed. Aaron also manages IonE’s Clean Energy Leaders, Sustainability Corps, and Moving the Cities programs, and teaches courses in Sustainable Housing, Building Science, and Environmental Grand Challenges.