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Fellowship Alums Share Career Advice

We asked current and alum Fellows to share their perspectives on their careers, social challenges, and resources that have influenced them in their careers, and more broadly, the world of social impact. This is the first in a four-part series.

What advice would you give current or soon-to-be alumni Fellows as they’re beginning their careers?

 

Emily Hynes ‘21: 

Something from my fellowship experience that has helped me begin to discover my career path was the opportunity to do so many different things in my fellow role. That opportunity gave me both the skills to work in many different areas at future jobs, which I’m currently doing in my new role, as well as the insight into different job areas that has helped me narrow down what I want to do in the future in my career.

Jonathan Baez ‘14:

Be a sponge and absorb as much as you can wherever you can. One of the worst things one can do at the start of their career is to think you know it all. Seek a mentor and seek to grow to your full potential. 

Karen Wilber ‘18:

I’ve been lucky to have many amazing managers, and having a great manager can significantly influence your job happiness and professional development success, so if you’re interviewing ask good questions about who will be supervising you and how they support those they work with.

Kayla Jones ‘19:

Keep making the next best step. I know there is a lot of pressure for recent college grads to have everything figured out. There isn’t a ‘right’ or a ‘wrong’ choice to make. Instead, trust that your intuition and passion will help guide your decisions. A path gets determined by a number of steps. Make that next step, even if it feels scary. Taking a step even when you’re scared shows how brave you are. Trust yourself, do your best, and you’ll be surprised by how much you can achieve. 

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Kira with Dinosaurs

Talking with Kira Azulay, FAO Schwarz Fellow at the Museum of Science

A second Fellow will join the Museum of Science in 2023. Thanks to the team at the Museum for creating and sharing this video with us!

Kira Azulay

Kira Azulay

Kira (she/her) is the FAO Schwarz Fellow at the Museum of Science in Boston.

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Practicing Reflection on Community Engagement

At The Food Project, work follows the seasons—physically intensive summers of farmwork are followed by autumn’s final harvests, land closing ceremonies, and preparing farms for next year, which in turn leads into winters of logistical planning and final sales of the summer’s produce. So, as the intensity of outdoor work scaled down this year, with the beginnings of winter, our leadership held a week of all-staff meetings to reflect on the necessary changes to be made to our programs.

At the moment, our organization bases our work around three pillars of focus: Food, Youth, and Community. Even as our projects feature much overlap between these pillars, the focus areas allow us to create our goal outcomes, clarify our mission, and determine which programs are within our capacity and strengths as an organization. Thus, in revisiting our organization’s structure and plans this winter, we evaluated our current goals around the pillars extensively.

I feel grateful to be working for an organization that considers the practice of honest reflection and focused revision so significant.

During one of our meetings, leadership led staff through an exercise called the fishbowl, in which five people most involved in each pillar sat in a smaller inner circle whilst the rest of staff sat surrounding them. The inner circle would work on defining each pillar in regards to the work we do. If compelled to share their ideas as well, anyone from the outer circle could switch places with someone from the inner circle and take their turn to speak. Although a relatively small role, I felt very excited about being selected as one of the initial five to discuss the Community pillar.

Through my recent work managing the Build-A-Garden program—where we install raised garden beds for Boston residents and support them through growing their own food—I have become especially involved in our community engagement. Regularly interacting with residents via installations, workshops, seedling sales, etc., I observe ways in which our organization can improve our collaboration with the community, even as I am a relatively recent introduction to the organization. Thus, having the opportunity to share my perspectives on our community engagement not only empowered me to have a voice amongst our staff, but also gave me the opportunity to reflect on the genuine connections with the community I’ve made, and to recognize ways to positively influence my host organization’s future community collaborations.

Further, I see how our contributions to this discussion have since been integrated into organization-wide changes. In defining what community is at The Food Project, we generally found difficulty in determining a single, all-encompassing answer. While our organization creates its own immediate community, especially amongst the youth in our programs, we also engage with the broader community—sometimes in fleeting but meaningful one-time interactions, and sometimes with community members who work with us throughout their life. Recognizing this, through the reflections from our fishbowl and all-staff meetings, The Food Project has begun assessing the different kinds of community interactions we are involved in. The organization has also begun restructuring our programs, hoping to best leverage those community interactions to spark meaningful change.

I feel grateful to be working for an organization that considers the practice of honest reflection and focused revision so significant. While working in the nonprofit sector, I find it essential to regularly reflect on how our work must change alongside our changing communities. With springtime on the horizon, I look forward to further engaging our organization’s reflections and implementing them to support a flourishing community around gardening and food.

Vanessa Barragán

Vanessa Barragán

Vanessa (she/her) is the Build-a-Garden Manager and FAO Schwarz Fellow at The Food Project in Boston.

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Two people sit at a table in conversation.

Tips for a Successful Interview

Table of Contents

If you’re like most people, you find interviewing exciting but nerve-wracking. This is your chance to share who you are, your passions, motivations, and qualifications, so naturally, you want to get it right. 

We created this guide to support you throughout the interview process, whether you’re applying for the Fellowship or not!

 

Before the interview

Update Your LinkedIn

Before the interview, you should take some time to update your LinkedIn profile. Your interviewers will more often than not look you up in an effort to prepare for the interview. And you should do the same! Be sure to research your interviewers (if you know who their names ahead of time) and develop a sense of their professional experience and career journey. This will also help inform the specific questions you ask (more on that later!)

Resource: Jonathan Javier and Jerry Lee of Wonsulting frequently share helpful tips for LinkedIn, resumes, and interviews.


Review Your Social Media

You’ve heard it before–make sure your social media is something you’re comfortable with potential employers seeing! Be sure to review all accounts associated with you, and decide whether the content is something you should keep public. You can always make your accounts private!


Prepare, but don’t overprepare

This one is a balance. You need to know the story you want to tell, but not so well that you’re practically (or literally) reading from a script. Once you feel like you have the gist of your story, you should be all set. You want to know the key points while maintaining authenticity. This is how you set yourself up to shine!

Whether in person, virtual, or on the phone, it’s fine to have some bullets for you to glance at. In every interview I’ve done (and I’ve done quite a few!), I’ve had bullets to glance at to make sure I’m sharing all of my qualifications for the role. 


Be a STAR

The STAR Method is a great way to frame your responses to open-ended questions like “tell me about a time you lead a project.” This technique will help you tell the story of your experiences while hitting all the information interviewers are looking for. 

The STAR Method consists of sharing the

  • Situation
  • Task
  • Action
  • Result

I like to prepare 3-5 versatile STAR scenarios to springboard from. Sometimes I end up using the same one twice, but with different framing. Point is, you want a pool to pick from, in case one doesn’t align well with the questions they ask.  


Tidy Up

Take a moment on the day of your interview (if you have time) to tidy up your background. Make sure it is quiet, tasteful, and/or clutter-free, or be ready to use the background blur feature that most video interview platforms have. Be sure to turn your notifications off–there’s nothing worse than a text chime coming through, especially if it makes you lose your train of thought. 

If you’re doing a phone interview, remember that they cannot see you, which is a double-edged sword. On the one hand, you can ensure maximum comfort levels for your conversation, and on the other, you need to express yourself through your voice. Phone interviews strike me a little like acting–you have to make sure they can hear the emotion (excitement, happiness, passion, etc.) in your voice–you can’t rely on your facial expressions to tell that story for you. 


Early Bird Gets the…

If it’s a video interview, test your equipment well beforehand, making sure your camera and microphone work on the chosen platform. You can usually run a test on these sites/platforms without having to join a specific meeting. This will allow you to seamlessly tackle my next tip for any interview type: show up early. 

If it’s a video, log on to the meeting at least 5 minutes in advance. I can’t tell you how many interviewers shared their excitement when I was ready to go when they were–virtual interviewees often left them waiting. Same goes for in-person interviews, make sure you arrive at the agreed upon location well in advance (typically 10-15 mins unless they provide other instructions).

For phone interviews, typically the interviewer will call you, so you should be ready to go a few moments before you’re expecting the call. 

If you’re unable to join or arrive at your interview on time, be sure to communicate with your point of contact as soon as you can and let them know when they can expect you to join/arrive.



During the interview

Be Yourself

You know it, but it bears repeating: be yourself. The organization requested an interview with you because they want to meet you, the real you. Let your personality shine through your interactions and responses. 

Take it from me, I talked (at length) about how much I enjoy watching the train that goes by my apartment every day, and felt like a total dork after I logged off. I still got the job. 


Ask tailored questions

Okay, so technically you should prepare these in advance, but it’s fine to think on the fly, too! Be sure to prep 3-5 tailored questions, using them to both show your interest in and research on the company, while gathering information to learn if the role/organization is a good fit for you.

Resource: Here’s an article from Harvard Business Review to get you started.


Take Notes

For interviews, I always have a pen and notebook at the ready–typing notes can make it look like you’re multitasking, or cause your computer to shake in a distracting way. I usually like to disclaim that I’m taking notes so that they know why I may be looking down repeatedly while they’re speaking. This sets my mind at ease–they know they have my full attention (and that I’m so interested and engaged I’m taking notes!)

 

After the interview

Give Thanks

Be sure to follow up with your interviewers and share your gratitude for their time and the conversation you had. If you don’t have their direct contact information, you can share it with your recruiter or talent acquisition contact and ask that they pass it along. There are a lot of great resources on how to craft the perfect follow-up note. (Here are a few of our favorites: The Muse | HBR | Career Contessa


Take Time to Reflect

Once your interview concludes, and before you rush off to the next thing in your busy day, take a few moments to reflect on the experience and jot down any final notes. Think about whether the organization seems like a good fit for you, and if you’d enjoy having your interviewers as coworkers. Note any remaining questions you have, and find a way to get them answered if they’re pressing. 

Finally, remember and rest in the satisfaction that you did your best! 

As you embark on your job search and attend interviews, doing research will keep you sharp and prepared. Some of our favorite resources were already mentioned:

 

Taylor Reese

Taylor Reese

Taylor Reese (she/her) was a Fellow at Year Up from 2019 to 2021. Upon the completion of her Fellowship, she joined Year Up full time. She now works at Jobs for the Future, and is the part time manager of the Fellowship.

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Jesse looking through binoculars with a group of people.

Imagining a Wild City

Sitting on a cold, mossy jetty, I watch the bottomless, blue Atlantic spill over the distant curve of the horizon. A few brave Herring Gulls swoop through the wind gusts overhead searching for small, beached crustaceans. I can also tell they’re curious if I’d bought a hotdog from Nathan’s before assuming my wintery perch. Turning my gaze to the idle boardwalk, Coney Island’s famous “Wonder Wheel” frames a distant metropolis.

 

According to Betsy McCulley, author of City at the Water’s Edge, “we tend to see nature and city in opposition.” A quiet, unspoiled, innocent nature is at the mercy of sprawling consumption; New York City is the hungry machine. Since its colonial origins as a Dutch trading post, New York City has concretized itself (quite literally) as a global center of human progress situated on one of the world’s largest natural harbors. But underneath the concrete floors and through the glass walls of approximately one million nearly indistinguishable buildings, lies a living truth: a human and non-human community inextricably linked to our bioregion.

As the FAO Schwarz Fellow at NYC Audubon, I am most interested in the intersectional challenges we face as an island megapolis in a time of global, anthropogenic change.

Imagine a Times Square where Red Maples and American Chestnuts grow nearly a hundred feet tall, providing shade, sustenance, and habitat for the critters below. Gray Wolves, Bobcats, and Mountain Lions survey the old-growth, deciduous forest floor for prey, like Eastern Cottontails and White-tailed Deer. The occasional Snapping Turtle wanders from the river to lay her eggs in the warm, rich earth; she’s careful not to become dinner for a lucky human. Though much of the biodiversity that once made up pre-1609 Mannahatta, the adjacent mainland (in the Bronx), Wamponomon (Queens and Brooklyn), and on the south side of the harbor (Staten Island) has been lost to colonial ecocide and aggressive urbanization, a group of warm-blooded vertebrates continues to remind us of the City’s wildness.

New York City is home to over 400 species of birds living in or stopping over its 193,700 acres of urban, wetland, forest, and grassland habitat. Every spring and fall, millions of birds repeat their ancient cycle of migration through New York City, journeying along the “Atlantic Flyway” in search of food and breeding opportunities. As the birds follow a promising, blue haze on the horizon, they’re no longer met with a forested island of Maples and Chestnuts; rather, choice green oases amidst a maze of reflective glass. According to New York City Audubon’s research, up to a quarter of a million of these migrating birds are killed in the City each year in collisions with building glass. Nevertheless, the birds return again to remind us, despite rapid habitat degradation and fragmentation, that this wild city was once – and still is – their home.

As the FAO Schwarz Fellow at NYC Audubon, I am most interested in the intersectional challenges we face as an island megapolis in a time of global, anthropogenic change. Environmental pressures – like urban development – disproportionately affect urban wildlife as well as communities of color, illuminating a clear relationship between issues like habitat loss and gentrification. In a time of global climate crisis, it must be understood that the outcomes for New York City, its human and non-human dwellers, and its bioregion are undoubtedly entangled. To best address this looming pan-ecological disaster, we must work to address the living truth of our home and our neighbors. We must reconfigure and reimagine the nature of the City, and develop intimate knowledges of this place and its critters. Though much of this place is covered in a concrete veneer and many of its critters scarce or destroyed, the birds lead us to little pockets of something different. The birds take us to the rooftops, the beaches, the cemeteries, and the parks. They announce their continued survival in soaring melodies over sirens and car horns. When we listen, we can no longer see our City as a triumph over nature or a testament to masterful technology. No longer protected by arrogant presumptions of human superiority, we become curious about the land we inhabit and our fellow City dwellers (human animals and non-human animals alike).

Riding the train home from Coney Island, I watch the vast, blue Atlantic fade behind new construction along the tracks. Rock Pigeons balance on the edges of the half-finished buildings’ harsh, modern design — I wonder who will live there, and I wonder who lived there before.

 

Sources:

McCully, Betsy. City at the Water’s Edge a Natural History of New York. Rivergate Books, an Imprint of Rutgers University Press, 2007.

“NYC Audubon,” https://www.nycaudubon.org/.

“The Welikia Project.” The Welikia (“Way-LEE-Kee-Uh”) Project, https://welikia.org/.

Hunt, Christian. “The Second Great American Extinction Event (1600s to 1900s).” Wild Without End, Defenders of Wildlife, 18 Nov. 2018, https://medium.com/wild-without-end/the-second-great-american-extinction-event-1600s-to-1900s-d6e07985116e.

Chaudhuri, Una. The Stage Lives of Animals: Zooësis and Performance. Routledge, an Imprint of the Taylor & Francis Group, 2017.

Jesse McLaughlin

Jesse McLaughlin

Jesse (he/him) is the Advocacy & Engagement Associate at NYC Audubon.

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Feature image by Anne Schwartz.

Kayla teaches a child to work with clay.

Community Education Spaces for Systemic Change

As an FAO Schwarz Fellow and the After-School Program Coordinator at The Clay Studio in Philadelphia, and I also serve as a teaching artist within the organization. My direct service work happens with Claymobile (our mobile engagement program), as well as our in-house ceramic community events. One of my favorite direct service projects during my tenure so far was engaging with our Clay, Play, Read program, where we combine literacy programming and ceramics in each session for preschool-aged students. I was also able to take part in Clayfest, our yearly festival where we have all-day activities taking place throughout the studio.

Growing up in Philadelphia, I have always experienced access to multiple types of community education spaces like libraries, community centers, gardens, art studios, and more. My local library felt like a haven for me to learn about my interests, engage in craft projects, and go to events. My art experience was cut short in elementary school due to underfunding and I am now learning what it looks like to engage in art practice as self-care. As an adult, I look to community education spaces for practicing new hobbies, meeting with friends, and learning something new.

Social impact work has a goal of systemic change, and I believe that the prioritization of community spaces that encourage exploration is essential to that journey.

When I thought about what I wanted to study in college or choose as my career I always knew that I wanted to work in youth education, so I chose to study human development and community engagement. My experiences with community education spaces growing up taught me that there is always something more to discover in life. Community spaces, especially free or low-cost spaces encourage families, friends, and strangers to come together in collaboration to have a new experience, meet new people and ultimately feel safe. Starting work with my Fellowship at The Clay Studio this July showed me a new type of community education experience in the arts.

My special project work at The Clay Studio involves the creation of an after-school ceramics art program. The coordination of this program includes curriculum development, communication with schools, networking/marketing, enrollment, and registration. The age group is currently third through fifth grade and students come after school dismissal to the studio to hand-build, wheel throw, and make claymation films. This program is the first of its kind in this organization, giving us the ability to work with the same students for a long-term residency in our studio. The arts and ceramics, in particular, teach important skills to students such as patience, persistence, imagination, and play. Being able to create a space in our organization for this type of community to exist means that students get to practice their craft, engage with other children in their age group, and be welcomed with open arms.

In addition, the role includes community partnerships, and this has allowed me to contact local arts and culture organizations to collaborate with our after-school program and incorporate other forms of education in the program. One of the pillars of community education is simply offering a space that is available for people to spend time in without the expectation of spending money or working. Being able to spend time in this environment and create a program for children has been so rewarding because I have experienced the benefits of programs similar in my childhood.

As we as a city, country, and world are engaging with challenges related to social equity, safety, and isolation, I feel that the creation of community engagement and education programs will act as a protective factor for all. Social impact work has a goal of systemic change, and I believe that the prioritization of community spaces that encourage exploration is essential to that journey.

Kayla Johnson

Kayla Johnson

Kayla Johnson (she/they) is the After-School Program Coordinator and FAO Schwarz Fellow at The Clay Studio in Philadelphia.

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Sophie teaches two young children in a classroom.

Continuing to Learn Outside the Classroom

As someone who has always loved learning, one of the aspects of post-undergrad life that I was most hesitant about was that I wouldn’t have the chance to learn. I thought this was just one of life’s given facts—learning happens in school. But, on my first day with Audubon Mid-Atlantic, I was pleasantly surprised to find out that this isn’t the case, at least not here.

I had a pretty clear path in mind for myself when I started college: teach people about environmental issues. Although I thought about the environment on a daily basis and took almost all classes that had to do with climate and the environment, birds were not a topic that often came up. I had always been passionate about animals, but birds were not especially high on my list of favorites. Then, I got a job working for Audubon Mid-Atlantic, the Mid-Atlantic Region of the National Audubon Society.

I haven’t stopped learning and don’t plan on it anytime soon.

The National Audubon Society’s mission is to protect birds and the places they need, today and tomorrow. Working for an organization that focuses on birds, I knew that I would have my work cut out for me. There is a saying “those who cannot do, teach.” I personally believe this saying is complete nonsense–in fact, in order to teach about a concept, one has to have a much deeper understanding. Because of that, I knew I had a lot to learn from my start date in July in order to teach students about birds starting in October.

If you thought that four months would be enough time to learn about birds, you would be completely wrong. As soon as I started to research, read articles, and practice my binocular skills, I couldn’t get enough of birds. At the center where I work, there are over 145 different species of birds that visit over the course of a year. This means that just to teach about birds at my center at an in-depth level, I have to learn how to identify them based on sound and sight as well as their behaviors. Then, there is the more general concepts of migration and adaptation. Who would have known there would be so much to learn about one animal!

I haven’t stopped learning and don’t plan on it anytime soon. I now have to remind myself to keep my eyes on the road when I spot a bird while driving and get the itch to identify it. I have a hard time going for a walk without bringing my trusty binoculars with me or whipping out my phone for a quick sound identification of a bird call. And best of all, I get to share this newfound passion with my students, friends, and family, while I continue to learn about birds every day.

Sophie Becker-Klein

Sophie Becker-Klein

Sophie Becker-Klein (she/her) is FAO Schwarz Fellow at Audubon Mid-Atlantic's Discovery Center in Philadelphia.

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Nia Atkins is pictured on Zoom with hear Year Up coaching group

Stepping Into the Role of Coach at Year Up

Direct service is an incredibly important part of my work and everyone’s work at Year Up. Many other staff members and I engage in direct service by serving as coaches to small groups of young people—our coachees—as they progress through Year Up’s programming. No small task, coaching involves meeting multiple times a week with one’s coachees both as a group and one-on-one, providing feedback on various professional skills, presentations, and resumes, and offering consistent support through any challenges our young adults may face.

When I first joined Year Up in June 2021, I observed more seasoned coaches before becoming a coach myself. I got the opportunity to see many different coach-coachee interactions and learn about what it takes to foster and maintain a successful coach-coachee relationship. Veteran staff members talked to me about their experiences including past mistakes they may have made in their first few go-arounds and how they’ve learned and grown since then. Despite my access to a wealth of coaching resources, the thought of stepping into the role of “coach” myself, daunted me. I felt insecure about being similar in age to my coachees and worried that I would not yet know enough about Year Up programming to be helpful to them.

This past August—a little over a year into my Fellowship—I got to see my first group of coaches graduate Year Up, and all I could think about during the graduation ceremony was how proud I was of them.

In October of 2021, I became a coach for the first time. While I had lingering anxiety about my ability to succeed in the role, my multi-month tenure at Year Up had prepared me well. Additionally, I had the privilege of co-coaching with one of the most senior staff members at Year Up’s New York and New Jersey office. Together we guided a group of five students through an almost year-long journey full of highs and lows. I learned a lot about Year Up and about coaching from my co-coach. I also learned a lot from my coachees about the student experience at Year Up and about what Year Up means to them.

This past August—a little over a year into my Fellowship—I got to see my first group of coachees graduate Year Up, and all I could think about during the graduation ceremony was how proud I was of them. I had watched their shyness and uncertainty develop into confidence and authority. And I could not help but notice that I had gone through a similar journey as a coach. By the time of their graduation, I already had a second group of coachees in a new cohort, and everything had felt much easier and less stressful with them because I had done it all before. I was much more knowledgeable, confident, and commanding in my role, and as a result, I was a stronger coach than I’d been before. Moreover, I realized over the course of one year and two different coaching groups that I really love the direct service work I do! Coaching students is by far my favorite part of my Fellowship position.

This October we welcomed yet another new cohort of students, but this time is different in that it is my first time coaching by myself. I would be lying if I said I am not a little bit nervous to coach on my own, but anytime those nerves set in, I remember that my experience, commitment, and passion will continue to guide me in the right direction.

Nia Atkins

Nia Atkins

Nia Atkins (she/her) is the FAO Schwarz Fellow at Year Up New York | New Jersey.

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logos of 2023 hosts

FAO Schwarz Family Foundation Announces Fellowship Host Organizations for 2023

BOSTON — October 13, 2022. The FAO Schwarz Family Foundation has selected five social impact organizations to host the 2023-2025 cohort of FAO Schwarz Fellows.

The Foundation will sponsor seven, two-year Fellowships in social impact at five nationally recognized nonprofits. The organizations selected this year are the Barnes Foundation (Philadelphia), Jumpstart (Boston & New York City), Museum of Science  (Boston),  Whitney Museum (New York City), and Year Up (Boston & New York City). Jumpstart and Year Up will each host two Fellows, while the other host organizations will each host one.

The Fellowships are two-year paid positions that develop the leadership skills of recent college graduates interested in pursuing careers related to social change. From education in culture to education in science, from early childhood education to workforce development, from smaller and newer organizations to the larger and well-established, the diversity of organizations selected as hosts will provide the next cohort with a comprehensive view of the social impact landscape.

We’re thrilled to provide talented future leaders with paid, professional experience with our country’s leading nonprofits. They’ll have a unique opportunity to affect social change at this crucial time.”

“Young leaders are more important than ever as our greatest social impact organizations look to expand their reach and impact,” said Priscilla Cohen, Executive Director of the FAO Schwarz Family Foundation. “Meanwhile, graduating college seniors are looking to make an impact in the world and lend their talents to organizations with missions they believe in. We’re thrilled to provide talented future leaders with paid, professional experience with our country’s leading nonprofits. They’ll have a unique opportunity to affect social change at this crucial time.” 

Hosts are enthusiastic about the ways their Fellows can contribute to and enhance their work in the communities they serve: “The Barnes is honored to host and work with an FAO Schwarz Fellow, as this rising leader will contribute to our overarching goals of expanding our regional audiences, which in turn enriches our entire region,” said Valerie Gay, Deputy Director for Audience Engagement & Chief Experience Officer at the Barnes Foundation. “By working in under-resourced communities, especially with youth and their families, the Fellow will establish and deepen relationships that will have immediate and long-reaching benefits for both the audiences we serve and the Barnes.”

Jumpstart, a returning host, is excited to host two additional Fellows and help them develop as a leader. Mark Reilly, Vice President of Policy and Government Relations, shared, “Jumpstart believes wholeheartedly in providing our FAO Schwarz Fellows with an amazing experience to learn about nonprofit organizations, community work, and policy advocacy and to develop crucial social impact and leadership skills.”

Organizational capacity is another common theme across hosts, as they can expand their services in valuable ways. Christina Moscat, Manager of Youth and Bilingual Offerings, at the Museum of Science, says, “We have valued the opportunity to host a FAO Schwarz Fellow and pair an emerging professional in the field to use their passion and near-peer perspective to mentor youth at the Museum of Science. The Fellowship has helped us create more opportunities to impact teen excitement and engagement with STEM.”

Adam D. Weinberg, Alice Pratt Brown Director of the Whitney Museum of American Art, a first-time Fellowship host, makes a similar point: “The FAO Schwarz Fellowship will help the Whitney to become increasingly inclusive, welcoming, and accessible to all interested in learning about American art and artists.”

Year Up has enjoyed a long legacy of mission-driven FAO Schwarz Fellows, and looks forward to the next: “Connecting to our mission at Year Up is critical to the work we do and we’ve found the FAO Schwarz Fellows to be fully committed and engaged in helping us close the opportunity divide for talented young adults by providing the training and internships they need to start a meaningful career,” said Lindsey Himstead, Director of Marketing.

Applications for all Fellowship positions open on November 1, 2022.

 

Creating Future Impact Leaders

The FAO Schwarz Fellowship program is looking forward to welcoming its 16th cohort.  Since its founding in 2006, there have been over 65 FAO Schwarz Fellows. Nearly 60  percent have gone on to graduate programs, 42 percent have been hired by their host organizations, and 97 percent continue to work in the social impact sector.

About the 2023-2025 Host Organizations

The Barnes Foundation promotes the advancement of education and the appreciation of the fine arts and horticulture. (Fellowship description.)

Jumpstart advances equitable learning outcomes for young children in underserved communities by recruiting and supporting caring adults to deliver high-quality programming to children and drive systems change through teaching, advocacy, and leadership. (Boston Fellowship description, NYC Fellowship description.)

The Museum of Science aims to inspire a lifelong love of science in everyone through delightful exhibits, programs, curricula, and professional development offerings for educators. (Fellowship description.)

The Whitney Museum of American Art seeks to be the defining museum of 20th- and 21st-century American art, fostering the work of living artists at critical moments in their careers, often before their work has achieved general acceptance, and educating a diverse public through direct interaction with artists. (Fellowship description).

Year Up’s mission is to close the Opportunity Divide by ensuring that young adults gain the skills, experiences, and support that will empower them to reach their potential through careers and higher education. (Boston Fellowship description, NYC Fellowship description.)

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