Climate, Gender and Racial Justice Fellowship

This fellowship is focused on developing a body of work analyzing the critical intersections of climate, gender, and racial justice in the United States. What work is being done in this under-researched area, which grassroots groups or movements are at the helm of such efforts, and why is this intersectional lens necessary in addressing the climate crisis? These are the central questions of the Climate, Gender, and Racial Justice in the U.S. project. Documenting the impacts of climate, gender and racial injustices in the U.S., and the work being done at this intersection is the central goal of this research project. It will require researching grassroots organizations as well as national organizations that have indicated climate, gender, and racial justice as their goals. Additional research questions would include: What are the impacts of these intersectional efforts at the local, regional, and national levels? How can communities benefit from actions taken that consider climate, gender, and racial justice? How are Indigenous groups supporting this work or how can they benefit? This Earth Island fellowship is ideal for a student who wants hands on experience researching the intersectional nature of social issues as they relate to the climate crisis.

The intersections between climate, gender, and racial justice are coming to the forefront as we gain a better understanding of the impacts of the climate crisis on traditionally marginalized or systemically disadvantaged communities, and there are dispersed efforts to study these impacts. The fellowship deliverables will contribute a comprehensive understanding of the need for and status of this work across the U.S., and provide actionable steps communities and organizations can take to actively address climate, gender, and racial justice in their work. 

This fellowship is structured so that UC Berkeley student researchers will be working with two first rate environmental organizations—Earth Island Institute, and Women’s Earth Alliance (a Project of Earth Island Institute), while developing skills working on research with an impact.

The student researchers will work to produce the deliverables for the client Women’s Earth Alliance and will report to Mona Shomali, the Director of the New Leaders Initiative Program. For this fellowship, Mona Shomali will set the timelines for deliverables, answer questions and manage quality control, flow and student output that is presented to the client. Each week, a different student will take turns being the project supervisor to organize and collect the work of the whole team so that it will be presented as one cohesive deliverable. Together with UC Berkeley students, Earth Island Institute will ensure the quality of the deliverables, with the expectation that students will attend weekly meetings to check in, discuss the project, and incorporate feedback from the Project Director and the client contact.

This fellowship is a project of the New Leaders Initiative at Earth Island Institute in collaboration with local University students. The New Leaders program seeks to engage, support, mentor and grow leaders who entering environmental careers and social justice activism. Earth Island is a national umbrella environmental nonprofit that supports 70+ projects, and has a 30+ year track record of supporting grassroots organizations that make an impact in our global society and local community.

Women’s Earth Alliance (WEA) catalyzes women-led, grassroots solutions to protect our environment and strengthen communities from the inside out. WEA’s model provides leadership, strategy, and technical training for women leaders to scale their climate and environmental initiatives while connecting them to a global alliance of peers, mentors, and funders.

In this fellowship, students will work with WEA team members and Alliance Leaders in the U.S. to document the compounding impacts of climate, gender, and racial injustices on communities across the U.S., identify case studies of grassroots leaders and organizations that have successfully integrated solutions into local, regional, and national landscapes, and identify key action steps communities and organizations can take catalyze or deepen their own intersectional environmentalism. While there are several organizations whose interests align with one or more of the key issues areas (climate, gender, and racial justice), actions taken or research conducted are not uniform or comprehensive, and this research project would help identify the overall landscape of the work and how it can be strengthened.

●     Gather and analyze the body of work currently available on the intersection of climate, gender, and racial justice in the U.S.

●     Conduct interviews with WEA Alliance Leaders working at the intersection of climate, gender, and racial justice in the U.S.

●     Identify resources available to grassroots leaders—particularly BIPOC leaders—seeking to strengthen their work at these intersections.

●     Draft chapters and case studies based on findings and in collaboration with WEA team members

●     More TBD

●     Detailed outline of research report examining the critical intersections of climate, gender, and racial justice in the United States

●     Draft chapters of research report

●     Transcripts and recordings of interviews conducted with WEA Alliance Leaders

●     Finalized case studies that can be shared publicly, via social media, in blog posts, or articles

●     List of References (citations) of all research gathered

●     Visual media (maps, graphics, graphs, quotes) depicting information such as: trends, justice/injustice issues across the U.S., action steps, or other noteworthy findings from the research set

●     More TBD

The student researchers will gather information on impact numbers and statistics related to climate, gender, and racial justice issues in the U.S., as well as information on social issues arising from the climate crisis and how they impact marginalized communities. (e.g. demographic data on areas and groups most impacted by climate change.)

Students may need to sign a confidentiality program if it is requested by the client.

To apply, please send resume and cover explaining why you are interested in this fellowship by January 20th, 2021. Please title the subject line “Fellowship- (your name)”

Attn: Mona Shomali, Director of the New Leaders Initiative at Earth Island Institute

Email: mona@earthisland.org