2019-2020 Autry Fellow
NOTE: All applicants must submit a complete application through MDC's hiring platform to be considered. Applications through Handshake alone are not complete. Visit mdcinc.org/about/Autry-Fellowship/ for more information. Thank you for your interest!
MDC recruits a talented, passionate recent college graduate each year to work one full year as a paid staff member at MDC. The ideal Autry Fellow is deeply committed to advancing social equity and access and is eager to support the mission of MDC—helping organizations and communities in the South close the gaps that separate people from opportunity. The Autry fellow works on a range of projects addressing pressing issues of equity in the South.
MDC believes that each Autry Fellow has something unique and fresh to bring to MDC’s work. In turn, MDC provides Autry Fellows with an experience that will enhance their understanding of social change and help further them on their individual path to promoting equity.
The Autry Fellowship celebrates the life and perpetuates the work of the late George B. Autry, founding president of MDC. He led MDC for 32 years with a passion for improving opportunities for people and places struggling to keep pace with economic and social change.
THE AUTRY FELLOWSHIP EXPERIENCE
Autry Fellows come to MDC with unique backgrounds: their individual strengths, aspirations, and perspectives. We believe fellowship years should be as unique as the Fellows themselves. This means that each Fellow jointly determines his or her own work and goals in consultation with an MDC supervisor. Regardless of variations in the day-to-day experiences of Autry Fellows, all have a shared purpose: growing as leaders while learning MDC’s strategies for promoting economic and social justice.
PROJECTS
MDC accomplishes its work through a variety of projects. In a typical year, an Autry Fellow will be part of three to five project teams. Fellows serve in roles that both expose them to new skills and ideas and provide them with an opportunity to showcase and sharpen their existing strengths.
- MDC Areas of Work: Projects focus on education, employment, economic security, and strategic philanthropy.
- Project Teams: All projects are carried out by small groups of MDC staff and often include collaboration with funders, community organizations, and other MDC partners.
- Common Functions: Past projects have included research, data collection, policy scans, proposal and report writing, facilitating community partnerships, and communications—any of which the Fellow may support or lead.
AUTRY-SPECIFIC ROLES & BENEFITS
In addition to participating in MDC’s general work, the Autry Fellow also fulfills some unique roles. This Autry-specific work, or “Autry Time,” accounts for up to half of a Fellow’s time at MDC.
- Fellowship Recruitment: Each Autry leads the search for the next Fellow. This gives Fellows a management role and, more importantly, helps sustain the bond between fellowship alums.
- Relationship Management: Autry Fellows may use part of their time to attend meetings and events hosted by organizations and individuals that are in MDC’s broader network, but may not be directly involved in an MDC project during the Fellow’s year. In this way, Fellows learn more about Durham, North Carolina, and the South.
- Personal Development: Autry Fellows may work with their supervisor to design a project or goal that allows the Fellow to develop professionally while pursuing an issue or line of work that contributes to MDC’s programs, internal operations, and community.
ELIGIBILITY
Applicants must be U. S. citizens who are either in their final year of undergraduate studies or no more than two years past their graduation date from any four-year college or university. Applicants must be able to commit to one full year of work beginning between June 1st and August 1st.
QUALIFICATIONS
- Commitment to equity issues in the South and eagerness to learn about the unique features of this region.
- Meaningful direct experience with marginalized communities.
- Prior work, study or personal engagement in fields relevant to MDC's areas of work.
- Ability to communicate and work with people of diverse backgrounds and experiences.
- Commitment to MDC's mission.
- Demonstrated leadership potential.
- Excellent communication, writing and oral presentation skills.
- Proficiency in Microsoft Office Word, Outlook, PowerPoint and Excel.
COMPENSATION
- Salary beginning at $31,500 and adjusted based on work experience
- 10 days of accrued paid vacation leave
- Subsidized health insurance; dental and vision offered at affordable rates
- Competitive retirement plan with generous employer match
- Wellness program subsidizing gym and fitness memberships
APPLICATION PROCESS
The application process is competitive and involves two rounds: an initial application and finalist interviews. A panel comprising members of MDC’s staff, Board of Directors and the Autry family reviews applications and awards the fellowship. References will be asked of finalists who are invited to interview for the fellowship.
MDC staff will notify all candidates of their initial status within four weeks of the application closing date and choose the Fellow immediately following an interview day in late February/early March. The Fellowship will begin in the summer of 2019, between June 1st and August 1st, with the exact start date to be negotiated.
QUESTIONS?
Contact Dasia Moore, 2018-2019 Autry Fellow, at (919)381-5802 ext. 388 or AutryFellowship@mdcinc.org.