Apply Today to NASHP’s 2023 Emerging Leaders of Color Fellowship
November 7, 2022
The National Academy for State Health Policy (NASHP) is accepting applications for the Emerging Leaders of Color (ELC) Fellowship. This program is designed to provide early-career individuals from communities of color an opportunity to:
- Learn about state health policy from a state leader of color
- Develop a project with that leader
- Engage in educational and professional development
- Cultivate support within the state health policy community
The ELC fellowship runs from February 2023 through October 2023 and requires individuals to commit approximately 35 hours a month to fellowship work. Each fellow is provided a total stipend of $6,300 and travel expenses to attend NASHP’s annual health policy conference, visit Washington, DC for a day of program activities, and visit the state of their advisor. Completed applications, including a resume, are due by 11:59 p.m. ET Friday, December 2, 2022.
NASHP’s ELC fellowship aims to advance health equity by empowering emerging and aspiring state health policy leaders of color — particularly those from communities most impacted by health inequities – with the tools to enter state government and lead the development and administration of more equitable state health policy informed by their own lived experiences. To change the structures that promote health inequities, impacted individuals must not only inform health policy as community partners, but as leaders in policy development and program administration. NASHP’s ELC fellowship is committed to seeking out emerging and aspiring health policy leaders from communities of color and equipping them with the skills and tools needed to shape state health policy. Applicants do not need to be located in Maine or in Washington, DC to participate in the fellowship.
Selected applicants will be matched with an advisor in state government — selected from state health officials across the country – to help fellows learn about, navigate, and gain hands-on experience in state health policy. NASHP will provide additional guided learning opportunities for fellows and develop a community to share support and educational/ professional opportunities. Each fellow will meaningfully contribute to state health policy by completing a deliverable designed with their advisor.
This fellowship will include the opportunity for fellows to:
- Visit Washington, DC to engage in person with the current fellow cohort
- Travel to engage their state official advisor and broader team on their projects
- Attend NASHP’s annual state health policy conference, scheduled for Monday, August 14 to Wednesday, August 16, 2023
- Present the culmination of their project to NASHP staff
NASHP will also provide opportunities for fellows to engage in state health policy-related learning experiences. The 2023 cohort of fellows will be invited to attend NASHP’s conference free of charge so they can connect with each other, their advisors, NASHP staff, and others.
NASHP’s ELC fellowship is designed to provide an accessible pathway for people of color to enter state government, and related non-governmental organizations, to lead in the development and administration of state health policy informed by their lived experience. Fellows will have access to the NASHP ELC Fellows Alumni LinkedIn group post-fellowship, where fellows can network and post new job opportunities.
NASHP seeks applicants who:
- Have obtained a bachelor’s degree
- Are early career professionals
- Express an interest in a career in state health policy
- Have 2 to 5 years of public health/health policy-related work/professional experience
- Can commit at least 35 hours per month on average (schedules can be flexible) from February 3, 2023, to October 31, 2023
Compensation
ELC fellows will receive:
- A stipend of $6,300
- Travel expenses and a full registration scholarship to attend NASHP’s annual state health policy conference
- Travel expenses for cohort visit to Washington, DC
- Two days’ travel expenses for each fellow to visit their advisor’s state
To Apply
Please submit your completed application by submitting the ELC Fellowship 2023 Application form and submitting your resume to steshale@oldsite.nashp.org by 11:59 p.m. Friday, December 2, 2022.
Please direct questions to Nicole Evans at nevans@oldsite.nashp.org.
Q&A
On Wednesday, November 16, 2022, from 3-3:45 p.m. ET, NASHP will host an informational Q&A webinar for interested applicants. Learn more and register.
Alyzah Virani, 2022 ELC fellow
“Being selected for NASHP’s Emerging Leader of Color Fellowship was not something I had predicted, and my experience became one of the most formative ones of my professional career. The fellowship served as a magnifying lens to the health policy-making process and really allowed me to understand all the moving, but equally important, pieces. Reflecting on my time as a Fellow, I was very fortunate to have met colleagues and mentors who instilled a stronger sense of responsibility to always ask questions, always learn, and never lose sight of the reasons why we all deserve an equitable and accessible healthcare system.”
Eddie Orduño, 2022 ELC fellow
“This fellowship has been nothing short of transformational for me. My lived experience as an immigrant has been something I’ve been ashamed of and avoided in conversation. I feared the hateful rhetoric and dehumanization that many share towards this community and the embarrassment that would ensue. I now can comfortably own who I am and am happy to share proudly that I am an immigrant, so I can use my privilege and be a voice for those whose voices are ignored. The NASHP fellowship has also taught me that the nature of this work is difficult, the bureaucracy is everlasting, and if it were easy, it would’ve been completed by now. I’ve also learned that although the work is challenging, navigating a systemically oppressive system that was built to see us fail is an even more difficult obstacle to overcome.”
Maureen Johnson, 2022 ELC fellow
“For my fellowship, NASHP paired me with Lynnette Rhodes, the executive director of the medical assistance plans division for the Georgia Department of Community Health (DCH). My project involved improving maternal health outcomes by extending the state’s postpartum Medicaid coverage. Georgia sought to expand coverage to 12 months. I participated in tasks associated with its implementation, such as attending stakeholders’ meetings, summarizing public comments, and drafting FAQs for members. I also visited Executive Director Rhodes in Atlanta, Georgia, and learned about how each unit of DCH functions to support Medicaid and CHIP. NASHP also crafted several learning opportunities about how state governments function. The ELC fellowship was a phenomenal experience that reshaped my professional goals. I hope to continue working to eliminate maternal health disparities through equitable policies.”
IMPORTANT INFORMATION
Apply: Fill out the ELC Fellowship 2023 Application by Friday, December 2, 2022, at 11:59 p.m. ET
Webinar: Join the 2023 ELC Application Q&A Webinar on Wednesday, November 16 from 3–3:45 p.m. ET
Find out about past ELC fellows:
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