Public Voices Fellowship on the Climate Crisis


Public Voices Fellowship on the Climate Crisis

The Public Voices Fellowship on the Climate Crisis was launched in 2020 as a collaboration between the YPCCC, The OpEd Project, and Ann MacDougall.  It is dedicated to developing diverse thought leadership addressing climate change. Those who are most impacted by the uneven effects of global warming are also the individuals who are most likely to see new solutions and envision a more just future. Based on this reality, the fellowship is offered to 20 exceptional individuals each year, most of whom are women and people of color. Now in its fourth year, the fellowship’s partners are YPCCC and the OpEd Project.

Fellows are provided with extraordinary support, leadership skills and knowledge to ensure their ideas shape the greatest and most urgent conversation of our age. They are immersed in a curriculum that explores concepts of leadership, power, and action in an unfair world. All fellows commit to publishing at least two written pieces of thought leadership (and hopefully many more) during the course of their fellowship. 

This Fellowship is part of The OpEd Project’s national Public Voices initiative to change who writes history. It is also part of YPCCC’s work to diversify and amplify the voices working to build public and political will for climate change action.

You can learn more about the four cohorts here:

  • The inaugural class of 2020
  • The second cohort of fellows, announced in April 2021, can be found here.
  • The third cohort of fellows, announced in April 2022, can be found here.
  • The fourth cohort of fellows, announced in April 2023, can be found here.

The application deadline for the 2023 fellowship was February 14, 2023.  If you would like to learn about similar opportunities in the future, please subscribe to our email list at the bottom of this page on the right.

Selected thought leadership by the 2023 fellows:

To Solve the Climate Crisis, Look to Women, Common Dreams, February 12, 2024

Worried About the Climate Crisis? Just Start Doing Something, Common Dreams, February 9, 2024

Peace is Necessary to Give the Climate a Chance, The Progressive Magazine, February 6, 2024

2024: a Hot Year for Climate Litigation, Common Dreams, January 27, 2024

Christians, Jews, and Muslims: All Want to Protect Our Planet, The Messenger, January 21, 2024

The 757 Region needs Pharrell Williams’ leadership on climate justice, LinkedIn, January 15, 2024

The arc of the moral universe doesn’t bend itself, Boston Globe, January 14, 2024

Faith leaders like Pope Francis lead on climate change, The Fulcrum, December 11, 2023

Climate Change is a Current Crisis for Family Caregivers, Common Dreams, December 9, 2023

The key point that COP28 is ignoring, Yale Climate Connections, December 7, 2023

Speaker Mike Johnson is out of step with Americans, and his constituents, on climate change, The Fulcrum, December 6, 2023

Can Grad Students Defend Us Against Misinformation?, Inside Higher Ed, November 21, 2023

Sustainable Fashion Is a Farce Without Virtual Try-Ons, Bloomberg, November 18, 2023

K-12 Schools Can Be Major Players in the Clean Energy Transition, The Progressive Magazine, September 22, 2023

How to Honor the Environmental Legacy of the March on Washington, Common Dreams, August 28, 2023

We Need More Than Lip Services in Polluted Cities. We Need To Shut Down Fossil Fuels, The Messenger, August 27, 2023

Shock and Despair Are Logical Reactions to the Climate Emergency, Common Dreams, August 8, 2023

Helping Students Deal With Disasters, Inside Higher Ed, August 1, 2023

Climate change is worsening the world’s refugee crisis. Here’s one way leaders can help, Los Angeles Times, July 7, 2023

Building the Next Pro-Life Movement, Newsweek, June 22, 2023

Commentary: On climate change, Youngkin fails the moral leadership test, The Richmond Times-Dispatch, June 13, 2023

New science on ecological justice demands united response from US Catholics, National Catholic Reporter, June 8, 2023

Private jets are a climate disaster. Hanscom shouldn’t allow more, WBUR, June 5, 2023

Pacific Islanders are too often excluded from Asian American and Pacific Islander Heritage Month, The Philadelphia Inquirer, June 2, 2023

It’s Time: Ecological Restoration Beyond the Trees, New Thinking, May 29, 2023

 

To view thought leadership from the past cohorts, view the fellowship Archive.