Beyond the Fellowship

May 19, 2025 In Beyond the Fellowship, Career

Translating Insights into Action, and Other Big Ideas 

JEREMIAH PRINCE is the Director of Labor Market Insights within the Research and Evaluation team at Year Up United. For Jeremiah, data isn’t just numbers on a screen—it’s the foundation for making informed decisions that advance social equity. His journey from Brown University to Year Up United reflects his commitment to using analytical skills to create meaningful change. 

During our conversation, I had the chance to learn how his personal experiences with public policy shaped his career path in the social impact sector.

Jeremiah provides a nuanced perspective on how research and evaluation functions within mission-driven organizations are bridging the gap between academic rigor and practical decision-making. He offers valuable insights for both qualitative and quantitative minds looking to enter the field, emphasizing that the translation of data into actionable insights is where the real impact happens. For early-career professionals interested in applied research or program evaluation, Jeremiah’s advice on building a portfolio and focusing on skills less likely to be automated could be the guidance needed to navigate a rapidly evolving job market.

What led him to social impact and Year Up United

AVERY: What led you to work at Year Up United? Did you always imagine yourself working within the social impact field?

JEREMIAH: So I guess I’ll start with, did I always envision myself working in social impact space? Not really, but I mean, as long as I’ve had a career, it’s been in the social impact space. So, it’s more that I didn’t go into college thinking I would work in social impact,. I’m a Black person, and I was going into Brown University. It’s an Ivy League university. It’s a type of environment I would have never seen myself in. I was just trying to do well in school.

There was a recruitment event that happened where it was Brown, MIT, and Yale. They were going state-to-state and holding events that they would invite students to based on PSAT scores, or something like that. I went to one of those events, and I found out about the financial aid that they had. Given my family’s income at the time, I was like, “Oh, this is way more viable than I would have thought.”

Brown, in particular, had some characteristics that I really liked. They had an open curriculum. So you have either your major or your concentration that has certain requirements. But outside of that, everything else is available to you; everything you can treat as an elective.

My first plan was to go into Computer Science and become a programmer. I thought, “Hey, maybe I can work on video games. Maybe I can work in the finance space.” It didn’t end up sticking; after my first semester, I was like, ‘Okay, I’m not doing Computer Science. I’m going to do something else.’”

I ended up doing Neuroscience, because I was interested in the human brain, and then Political Science, because I was interested in politics.

There had been pre-orientation program that focused on people from different marginalized identities. It was just a way to prepare the community to lift each other up, and to also know some of the history of activism and social impact in the Brown University student body. That was a very impactful experience in terms of priming me for a bigger interest in social impact, policy, and politics.

As I took more classes, I started to realize that it was less Political Science that I was interested in, and that I was more interested in Policy. As I engaged more and learned more about the policy world, I learned that there are people whose job it is to use the tools of analysis, data, and critical thought to think about and advise on policies, and to ultimately author and implement them.

As somebody who grew up Black and low income in South Carolina, I benefited directly from certain policies. SNAP, free and reduced lunch, Medicaid, stuff like that. Without some of those things, based on the ways that we struggled, I don’t know that I would have even made it to the situation that I was in. Those things are not equitably distributed by any means, and policy is one of the ways that we can fix that. That’s kind of why I ended up becoming preoccupied with policy and social impact.

I went through the master’s program just to make sure I had the skills that I felt like I needed to actually do the work. Then I got a job through one of my professors for that program. I started working at Opportunity Insights at Harvard, a research institute and think tank focused on economic opportunity. It was a valuable experience working there as a policy analyst, where the goal was to translate research insights to policy makers.

Ultimately, though, it is a research institute, and so the primary goal that subsumes everything else is publishing high quality economics research papers. That’s a worthwhile goal, for sure. But because a lot of my interest had to do with social impact, I wanted to go take these skills that I built in school and refined in this job, and then go into an organization more mission-driven and focused on social impact. Year Up United is an organization I was familiar with in my role because Year Up United’s outcomes for young adults of color who come from low income backgrounds were pretty exceptional. When a job opened up at Year Up United, it was right in my wheelhouse and exactly matched my skill and career stage. I’ve been here ever since.

AVERY: For people not familiar with Research & Evaluation, how would you describe your role?

JEREMIAH: I say ‘business’ as a generic term–but even when you’re doing your nonprofit pursuit of mission, and especially when you need to expand your business or make changes, you just have to make decisions. When you have to make business decisions, then you want to make decisions based on the best information and logic possible. You want them to be informed and grounded in understanding what you’re doing, with a focus on your mission. Year Up United’s mission is to close the opportunity divide through certain programs and systemic interventions, working directly with companies to change the landscape of hiring.

With what we’re already doing, we want to make sure that we’re doing it well and that it’s worthwhile. Research & Evaluation helps ensure that. We use various data collection and analysis methods to get data on how effective our programs are and then relay that information to the people who have control over it or have a stake in it.

A lot of these processes are automated now, at least in theory. Information about how students are doing–retention, grades, outcomes from the last cycle, projected outcomes for the new cycle, survey results–all of that is accessible in dashboards that staff can use to refine or adjust their approach to maximize effectiveness. Or if things are going great, we know to preserve that structure or approach.

When considering something new, data helps make that an informed decision. The lowest quality form of information is just a hunch: “This seems like a good idea.” A higher quality form of information, because it’s easier to share and more transparent, is data.

Quantitative data aren’t the only source of information business decisions should be made from, but they’re a very important source. So, in running an existing business and expanding into new areas, any organization over a certain size constantly makes decisions. Data collection, analysis, and presentation of that analysis help the organization make those decisions in as informed a way as possible.

I spend a lot of time in R and SQL, pulling data, manipulating and cleaning datasets, and producing statistics using tools more flexible and powerful than Excel. Part of my benefit to the organization is that I can do things software-wise that not everybody can do. Something that might take others a long time, I can do relatively quickly. And then, boom: the data is ready in a form that helps us make decisions.

AVERY: How does your team think about “ROI” when it comes to your research?

JEREMIAH: Most of the return on investment comes in the form of development funding. As a nonprofit organization, philanthropic funding is a huge part of our model, as is the revenue from corporate partners where we place interns. Research & Evaluation heavily supports this revenue.

We’re just paying the in-house cost for staff salaries and software. Those costs are relatively low, especially when compared with contracting that work out, and allows us to avoid the resource time it would take to find and vet potential research partners. When the organization shows results, it’s much easier to make the case for philanthropic dollars.

There’s an analysis that shows every dollar invested in Year Up United produces over two and a half dollars of value back into the economy. That helps make the case for investment in Year Up United.

We’re also working hard to ensure the organization’s decision-making is informed by research and evaluation. Year Up United moves fast, with things changing cycle over cycle. In the past, it was less centralized–more local chapters under one umbrella, rather than places implementing the central organization’s programs.

To maximize return on investment, the data needs to come in earlier. Decisions should be based on data, so that we can have confidence that a decision or pursuit will be more fruitful because we tested it first.

Currently, I’m working on Opportunity Management rubrics that we’ve developed. When an opportunity for entering a new market, working with a new employer, or enhancing curriculum comes up, we evaluate it on certain parameters. If it scores highly enough relative to other opportunities that we could dedicate resources to, we’ll pursue it.

The return on investment comes from pursuing better opportunities. Every opportunity to enhance or expand the program’s impact we can take advantage of because of data-driven insights from the outset: literally driving revenue.

AVERY: Do you have any advice for people who might be interested in pursuing Applied Research or Program Evaluation as a career path?

JEREMIAH: One piece of advice that’s common to different fields (but still helpful here) is having a portfolio. Not that someone necessarily needs a portfolio, but the same logic applies. If you had an internship or a class with involved projects, even without full-time work experience, if you’ve done any data analysis (even for school or an internship), save something from that. Make sure you have it on hand to talk about or show someone to demonstrate that you’ve done data analysis before.

When I got my first job, it was helpful that the professor had seen my work through teaching me: he’d seen my project results and presentations. When I applied for Year Up United, one task was to present an analysis I’d done in the past. I had been working a couple of years, so I had plenty of examples, but even one example is astronomically better than having no demonstrated capability. Whether that’s quantitative or qualitative is kind of immaterial.

Some jobs may have a heavy quantitative focus, but what’s most important is showing the steps from information to insights.

If it’s a research project, the insights need to be sound from a research perspective. If the goal was decision-making, then how would someone walk away from this analysis thinking about what decision to make? What would it have changed? That’s more important to demonstrate than any quantitative versus qualitative skill.

The other thing I’ll mention is technology–not just AI as we’ve come to think about it in the current boom. Automation technologies are making advanced data analysis more accessible to less technical people, and this trend won’t stop. Focus on skills that are less likely to be automated–the translation of statistics or data into insights relevant for decisions or narratives.

This requires understanding organizational context, stakeholders, how persuasive different types of evidence are, and potential confounding factors. Navigating all those pieces of information to produce relevant insights is critical.

Picture of Avery Trinidad

Avery Trinidad

Avery (he/him) is the Research & Insights FAO Schwarz Fellow at Year Up United in New York City.

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April 8, 2025 In Beyond the Fellowship

Moving to a New City After College: here’s what you need to consider

Moving to a new city after you graduate college can be thrilling—and a little daunting. There’s a lot to think about, from the big things like neighborhoods and rent budget, to little things like whether or not you should bring your emotional support combination-coffee-maker-milk-frother.

Our Fellows have been there—hailing from Tampa, Los Angeles, and between and beyond, current Fellows have made the move across the country for their Fellowships. They had all the same questions you’re likely considering, whether you’re an incoming Fellow or looking to move to start your career, so they teamed up to create guides for moving to Boston, New York City, and Philadelphia.

Even if you’re not planning on moving to one of these east coast hubs, their tips will be helpful no matter where you’re headed.

Ariel view of Boston and the Charles River
Philly from above, blue skies, glittering river, spring
Boston
New York City
Philadelphia

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March 10, 2025 In Beyond the Fellowship, Service, Social Impact

Empowering the Youth, Saving the World, and Battling Desensitization: Reflections from my Volunteer Work in Youth Leadership

It’s no secret that my road to the Fellowship came with its twists and turns – I changed my major about four times, settled on a different career path every few months all throughout college, and ended undergrad with what felt like more uncertainty than I began with. With nearly enough ambiguity to completely drown me in anxiety, it’s no surprise that when something felt constant and certain, I held on to it tightly. Namely, that thing was my passion for youth leadership. If I knew nothing else, I knew that I cared about young people and that I believed deeply in their capacity to create positive social change.

A sudden inspiration to “save the world” is a temporary feeling... but a decision to solve a problem is the beginning of the ripple effect that leads to a lifelong commitment to social impact.

In 2018, Hugh O’Brian Youth Leadership (HOBY), an organization committed to empowering young people to lead lives dedicated to service and social change, entirely altered the trajectory of my life and has since taught me more than any educational institution ever could. In fact, when I’ve been asked what I feel made me qualified for the fellowship (and to work in social impact in general), my answer has always been some form of “I think it was less my education and more my volunteer work with HOBY.” 

At 16, HOBY instilled in me the semi-absurd idea that I could change the world. At 20, it gave me space to apply what I was learning in my sociology classes as I developed identity-based programming for students at Kentucky’s local leadership seminar. At 22, it challenged me to understand Diversity, Equity, Inclusion, and Belonging (DEIB) in a global context as I spearheaded the development of identity-based learning opportunities at HOBY’s international program, the World Leadership Congress. 

At 23, I’m writing about it in a blog post because it continues to be a source of growth and grounding, informing how I operate as an FAO Schwarz Fellow, and in life. I’d like to use this as an opportunity to share a few of the lessons I’ve learned from working with truly inspirational young people, how that work has shaped my journey to the fellowship, and the impact it’s had on my understanding of social impact. 

1. Young people aren’t the leaders of tomorrow – they’re the leaders of today.

As part of her welcome speech in 2018, HOBY KY’s then-Director of Volunteers expressed mild frustration with the way people from outside of the organization described its mission. Often, folks would refer to it as “a program for the leaders of tomorrow.” Although a seemingly accurate statement, the idea stands at odds with a fundamental belief held by those who do youth leadership work: that young people have the capacity to make change now. As she went on to explain, the goal of the seminar wasn’t to build the leaders of tomorrow, but rather, to empower the leaders of today. 

This is something I’ve carried with me and repeated to the young people I’ve worked with more times than I can count. To this point, committing my life to social impact has meant continuously challenging the notion that I’m too young, too powerless, or too small to drive meaningful impact. Instead, I’ve learned to welcome challenges as opportunities for growth, embrace being the youngest person in the room, and identify when it is in my capacity to create positive social change.

 

2. Saving the world starts with identifying a problem

I absolutely believe that young people can save the world. I wouldn’t be completing upwards of 300 hours of unpaid volunteer work in youth leadership every year if I weren’t fueled by that belief. At the same time, I’ve come to understand that “saving the world” is a horribly unspecific task – and a lot of pressure. Over the last few years, I’ve intentionally changed the way I speak to the students I mentor when discussing their ability to address their communities’ most pressing social issues. Through my own journey in social impact, I’ve learned that it all starts with identifying a problem. 

Not only does zooming in from the big picture alleviate pressure, but it’s also more likely to lead to tangible outcomes. Figuring out how to solve a problem is much more manageable, specific, and measurable than “saving the world” (SMART goals, anyone?). A sudden inspiration to “save the world” is a temporary feeling that may wear off, but a decision to solve a problem is the beginning of the sort of ripple effect that leads to a lifelong commitment to social impact. 

3. In times of hopelessness, you do what you can

I recently asked a mentor for advice on what to do when it feels like the world is crumbling and collectively moving backward. A heavy question, but her answer was simple: “you do what you can.” 

Although she prefaced that statement with “I know this is nothing profound,” the impact it’s had on how I operate – as someone committed to social impact but battling desensitization – has been, in fact, quite profound. Immediately after she spoke, my mind went to the students I mentor in Kentucky. In founding HOBY KY’s DEIB team, one of my goals was to create space for students to explore the relationship between identity and leadership, which led to the creation of affinity groups. For students from the smallest towns in Kentucky, being able to be in community with other people of color, other LGBTQ+ folks, other immigrants and children of immigrants, meant feeling safe for the first time in their life. 

So, alluding to the second section, no, it is not within my capacity to single-handedly save the world. But I absolutely still have the ability to continue creating safe spaces for students who don’t have them elsewhere. Even if the world is crumbling, intentionally continuing to do what I can is what keeps me grounded, sensitized, and moving. 

Picture of Shraddha Patel

Shraddha Patel

Shraddha (she/her) is the FAO Schwarz Fellow at Reading Partners in New York City.

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January 29, 2025 In Beyond the Fellowship, Career

Nonprofit Data on a For-Profit Timeline

ALEX FRONCZEK is a Director of Revenue Strategy, Analytics and Planning at Year Up United. For many people at nonprofits, “data” can feel like a four-letter word. But for Alex, his analytical skills are what brought him into the social impact field. During my second year of the Fellowship, I’ve partnered with Alex on projects for Executive-level stakeholders, and wanted to gather his perspective on the past nine years he’s spent at the organization.

Alex provides a perspective on nonprofit data that expands beyond its applications in Program Evaluation and gives us a peek into what the “corporate side” of a mission-driven organization can look like. He weighs in on what values, tactics, and habits best drive young professionals’ careers, both inside and outside of the nonprofit field.

On imagining himself in the social impact field

AVERY: Starting off, did you always imagine yourself in the social impact field?

ALEX: My journey to Year Up United happened about nine years ago in April. I’ve been here a while. I did not start off my career in the nonprofit or social impact space! I graduated from university with a Bachelor’s Degree in Finance, and I ended up working for a large for-profit company called EMC Corporation at the time.

Like many young people, the world of work, particularly corporate  America, was new to me. As I was getting adjusted, it didn’t quite feel great. And as a young person, I think that’s common. When you’re in that position, you may be unsure: Is it the work itself? Is this what I want to be doing for the rest of my life? Is it the organization I’m working for?

I remember, maybe a year into the job, telling colleagues that I was going to run away to South America or Africa or somewhere and join the Peace Corps. I just wasn’t getting satisfaction out of the job. And at the same time, my family had invested a considerable amount of money into a four-year degree, right? Degrees are not cheap, and they’ve only gotten more expensive since I graduated.

So, I felt a little trapped. I felt like I didn’t know that I could do something like join a social impact organization and still be in the type of role: this analytical or technical or business-orientated role that I’m in today. I had a lot of misconceptions about these types of organizations. But I knew I needed to do something.

I had to change that overall mission of, you know, “maximizing shareholder value.” It was a publicly traded company. It just wasn’t doing it for me. Ultimately, we spend between 40 and 45 hours per week on average on our job, so you do have to find a balance and have some degree of satisfaction.

AVERY: What led to you working at Year Up United?

ALEX: I was actually recruited to Year Up United by a recruiter. They framed it as “nonprofit, mission driven organization, social impact work.” But we were going to be different. We were going to be like a business, like a little bit of hybridization.

We were going to be focused on numbers and outcomes and KPIs and professionalism. Training these young adults, who came from a background different than mine, how to integrate into corporate America, to gain more meaningful opportunities, and to bring opportunities to the communities they’re in. At the same time, they would be changing Corporate America.

We would be softening that messaging of maximizing shareholder value, and instead, we would be bringing culture and a different set of people into corporate America. Really just changing the landscape. And that felt really, really cool to me.

That’s part of what initially got me on board to work for Year Up United.

AVERY: You talked a lot about analytics and how that was framed as a distinct feature of Year Up United. For folks that work in other aspects of social impact or are considering the field, or even just for folks who aren’t familiar with how analytics works in practice at a business: How would you describe your role?

ALEX:  So, first of all, I think that’s one thing that Year Up United does very, very well. We hold ourselves accountable to the data. We have goals centered around KPIs and outcomes: Full-time Year Up United-related jobs, graduate conversion rates for internship-to-hire, average wage that ties back to a living wage.

Year Up United is positioned to let the numbers and the data guide decision-making. Everything we do goes back to those outcomes of the people we serve and ensuring that the program is meaningful to them. We measure that by the impact that it has on their lives.

The next thing I would say is that analytics is an interesting field, right? Particularly in my role, I sit in-between the business and the technical teams in a lot of ways.

I am not the most technical person. I don’t work for IT. I sit on an Operations team. My official title is “Director of Revenue Strategy, Analytics and Planning.” I support the dual revenue streams at Year Up United, pulling data and running analytics. In our revenue streams, we have corporate partner internship sales, and then we have development fundraising that we do.

As for my team’s day-to-day, there is typically a question that we get asked from someone, usually a senior leader. They may have a hypothesis, and it’s our job to find an answer. Sometimes the answer is based purely on data, but it’s not often.

Many times, I am running data, looking at numbers, then verifying and collecting qualitative feedback from, say, an account owner, or looking at survey responses or looking at even notes in Salesforce. We strive to document everything. So, analytics are part of the story, and the numbers are part of the story, but everything also needs to be verified and double-checked. We need to add that human voice for a lot of it.

Very rarely are you going to find something with a clear cut, black and white answer. So, it’s important to be able to not only run numbers and report numbers: You need to be able to tell the story of the numbers. Whether that’s written word or data visualization depends, and likely it’s a combination of the two.

AVERY: Something that I find has been unique at Year Up United, even when discussing it with other people who work at similar, large organizations like Jumpstart: It is a bit unique that we have a dedicated Research & Evaluation team. And of course, I understand that you’re not on that team, but you work with them sometimes. Many people only understand nonprofit analytics in the context of Program Evaluation. Could you discuss how your role differs, and in some ways, how your role overlaps?

ALEX: Well, one thing that we rolled out in 2024 across the entire organization were cross-functional impact goals. And these are goals that every single person across our entire 800-person organization shares, and they’re really focused on increasing collaboration. Between these different functions–Program, Sales, Research & Evaluation, even IT–we make sure that we are all centered on the same goals and moving in the same direction.

The simple answer is that I share many of the same goals with the Research & Evaluation team, which guide all of our work. I think that was a particularly smart move by the organization, and I’ve seen over the course of the previous year just how impactful and successful it was. I’m seeing more synergy across the organization in the past year than I saw the previous seven years.

We, as an example, all we share the same goal that we are held accountable to: 55% of the participants who complete their internship or work based experience at Year Up United and graduate should be hired directly into their internship partner.  So, when we have the same goals, we may not be doing the same work, but we’re moving cohesively in the same direction. We’re looking at the same thing on the horizon, and we’re moving together.

We just have different responsibilities. Research & Evaluation administers both participant and manager surveys. My team, together with the Internship Sales team, survey those interns’ supervisors who work for a corporate partner, like Bank of America. We want to make sure that our corporate partner managers or internship supervisors are happy and see the value of Year Up United’s training.

Both of our teams are invested in the collection of information from these surveys, what types of questions are asking in the surveys, and that the surveys are being leveraged effectively by the internal stakeholders, who should then be responding to the feedback gathered.

AVERY: You touched upon the idea of synergy within an organization, really putting the “united” into what is now “Year Up United.” And you mentioned earlier, when you were being recruited for this role, that the recruiter framed it in a particular way. Yes, this is a social impact organization. Yes, this is a nonprofit. But in terms of daily function, in terms of how outcomes are measured, in terms of how goals are set, it’s sort of this hybridized model.

You’re pulling a lot of tactics and strategies from the for-profit sphere. What has been different about analytical work at Year Up United, as opposed to your previous position at EMC Corporation, now part of Dell?

ALEX: Huge amounts of differences. I started out in the for-profit space, and I was young. I was very early in my career. As I had mentioned, at times did I struggle with job satisfaction. There were times when I thought the role itself was very, very difficult. And looking back now, comparing my time in that space to Year Up United, the idea that my role at EMC Corporation at the time was difficult– it’s pretty laughable.

When you’re in an organization doing approximately $25 billion in revenue pre-acquisition, you have roughly 100,000 employees. You have so much structure, you have so much process, and you have so many resources at your disposal.

It’s not difficult, right? I mean, it’s the classic pyramid shape. You’re at the bottom and there’s about 40 layers above you.

Analytics in that space was still pulling data out of a system, running it, reporting it up the command chain or the ladder. But you weren’t innovating. Because the way it would work is: “There’s a total org wide number that needs to get reported up.” You have Europe, Middle East, Africa, and you have North America. You have your regions or continents across the globe. And then they each have a number, and then within those numbers, you’ve got all your individual teams. I was just doing a little tiny slice. Long story short, nonprofit analytical work is nothing like that.

At Year Up United, my team is three people, and we’re reporting on all the revenue for the entire organization. There is no such thing as process and structure, because by the time you get any sort of process and structure in place at an organization like ours, we’re innovating and we’re changing. We’re needing to break standards, because, you know, the next thing is here, and we need to remain agile.

At an organization of our size, you either innovate or you die! There’s usually no acquiring a nonprofit.

It’s a completely different world. It’s exciting. It’s amazing. If you like to create, if you like to work hard, it’s a good spot. But there are also no excuses.

There’s no such thing as, like, “Oh well, you know, that’s not my job. That’s Avery’s job. That’s Stephanie’s job.” No, you need to find the answer. You, at a minimum, should have an explanation for why we can’t do this right now, and have a plan for how we’re going to do something in the future.

It is a night and day difference. Some days I miss the old organization. Some days I don’t! Some days I love my job here because of this freedom, this flexibility, and this opportunity to really be creative. Some days I’m tired, and it’s not the easiest.

I will say that the guiding thread is working on something that is having an extremely positive impact on people’s lives. Our mission isn’t maximizing stock price or making the most money that I possibly can and checking out for the day. That’s really what keeps me going. I think that’s the best, strongest, most powerful motivator you could possibly have. I think every one of my colleagues at Year Up United, if you were to interview them, every single person would tell you the same story.

It’s not an easy job and can be very difficult at times. It’s not fun to not have the resources that you need or a process in place. Having to constantly innovate is very challenging.

It’s simultaneously incredibly motivating when you see young adults graduate from our program and hear from them directly. That’s when you see the wages and the full-time jobs. You can hear stories of them being the first one in their family to purchase a home or a car. There’s just so many positive things that really keep you going in a way that I don’t think I would ever personally get from working for a large, publicly traded company.

AVERY: I think there are a lot of things about nonprofits, about social impact organizations of any size, which are driven by a “startup ethos.” Something is always having to be fixed. Always having to innovate, but also having to patch things up. And yes, there’s a lot of challenge, but there’s a lot of reward.

Talking about seeing that reward in action, that positive downstream impact–for a long time, everyone at Year Up United was expected involve themselves in direct service.  The organization has really grown. There are some roles that are students facing by nature and some that aren’t. You’re in a role that doesn’t necessarily involve direct student interaction, but you opt into it.

How important has that direct service element been for you?

ALEX: It’s the most important thing we do. Without a doubt. I can’t even adequately describe how important it is, or even how rewarding it is. When I first joined the organization I thought, “Oh, this is cool, I get to work with students.” And then you do it, and it changes you.

It’s not always easy. You’re dealing with people who have challenges in their lives that can be completely foreign to your own. You might not have even thought of engaging with participants in this way. But when you actually see them in-person and you’re connecting with them: it’s really life changing, and it affects you.

Of course I’ve done direct service. There’s a number of different ways to get involved. You could be a direct coach and in a Learning Community a couple times a week. If you don’t have time for that, you could be a one-on-one mentor, which is maybe a bimonthly commitment. It’s still incredibly rewarding and meaningful for the program participant as well.

I’ll just leave it at that.  It’s singlehandedly the most important thing that we do. It’s the best part of the job, hands down.

AVERY: Thank you for the knowledge you’ve shared. Bringing our conversation to a close and talking about that development of young talent and opportunity-ready talent… What’s some advice that you have for young professionals, be it in social impact or out of it?

ALEX: So, you really, really have to be curious and constantly learning. It could be book learning, it could be watching YouTube, but it could also be social learning. It could be networking. It should be networking.

Because to be honest, your next opportunity is not going to just be handed to you. It isn’t random. Frankly, it’s hard to apply to a job and be noticed nowadays. So, you’ve got to not only be constantly learning–you’ve got to be networking.

If you’re in-person, walk to a different floor. Ask what a team does. “What does your workday look like? What skills do you use?” If you’re virtual, like, go on your company’s org chart and just pick out some folks and send them an email. Say, like, “Hey, I’m so-and-so I work on this team. This is what we do. I’m curious about your team. What do you guys do?” Set up a virtual coffee.

The more curious and the more noticed you can be, the better off you’re going to be. If you want to be kind of quiet and sit in a corner, that’s still doable. Your own team will know you, but it’s going to be more difficult to advance your career.

I would also say being confident goes a long way, particularly if someone taps you for something. What I mean by that is that nobody has all the answers. Nobody has the perfect answer. I think I touched on it earlier, where data are a piece of the puzzle, but not the whole story.

If somebody asks you , let’s say: “Why are renewal rates going down?” You don’t just want to say, “I don’t know. I can’t do that. I don’t know.” You’re not doing yourself a favor. You’re not doing them a favor. They’re just going to walk away dissatisfied saying, “This was no help..”

Offer suggestions. You want to be honest! You don’t want to completely bluff, but you also want to project confidence in your answer. “We could try this. We you could look at this. This may be a cause.” Propose a couple different answers or a couple different factors. You’re going to go a lot farther the more confident you can be.

Two final thoughts. One: don’t let perfection get in the way of progress. Two: learn to set your boundaries. If you cannot articulate boundaries and negotiate timeframes and deliverables with people, it is very, very easy to be completely overwhelmed and underwater. That all goes back to projecting confidence.

AVERY: Thank you for all of your insight.

ALEX: Thank you so much. This was a real pleasure, Avery.

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Avery Trinidad

Avery (he/him) is the Research & Insights FAO Schwarz Fellow at Year Up United in New York City.

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January 1, 2025 In Beyond the Fellowship, Social Impact

Nature’s Lessons for a Season of Giving

During the transition out of the holidays and into the New Year, I always find myself reflecting on the deeply unsatisfying nature of the hyper-consumption that comes to dominate the season. In an effort to show gratitude for the simple things in our lives and bring us and our loved ones, we as a culture scramble desperately for the best, newest, or cheapest consumer goods we can get our hands on. In reality, this practice only feeds a transactional economy that enriches large corporations at the expense of combined human and environmental well-being.

We want so desperately to embrace the holidays as a season for giving and connection with our communities with 88% of Americans agreeing that the holidays should be more about family and caring for others. Despite this, 84% of Americans still think that we place too much importance on giving gifts and 90% wish the holidays were less materialistic, (Dennings, 2022)

In my work with Audubon Mid-Atlantic, I aim to nurture the reciprocal relationships between the members of our community and the shared environments in our neighborhood.

This dissonance between the imagined ideal of the holiday season and the pressures of our hyper-consumerist reality make this time of year uniquely burdensome for so many with spending too much or not having enough money to spend being cited most often (58%) followed by finding the right gifts (40%) by U.S. adults as sources of increased stress during this time, (APA, 2023). 

Not only are these practices harming human health, but they also place additional pressure on already over-burdened natural systems through increased fossil fuel and natural resource use coupled with dramatic increases in household and commercial waste, (Dennings, 2022). This begs the question: How can we cultivate the abundance we crave in this season without further exacerbating these issues, and more importantly, what practices can we implement into our daily lives this year to lay the groundwork for a less extractive, more peaceful holiday next year?

I would argue that a promising answer is, funnily enough, exemplified by the interconnectedness of those same natural systems. It requires a shift from this transactional economy – encouraging consumption of ever-increasing amounts of resources in the hopes of perpetual economic growth – to a gift economy – where resources are shared, and value is measured in relationships rather than transactions. 

In her 2024 book, The Serviceberry, Indigenous scientist and author Robin Wall Kimmerer notes how the eponymous tree exemplifies this reciprocity. The serviceberries on these trees provide food for birds who, in turn, spread the seeds to new locations and enable the ongoing proliferation of the species, (Illingworth, 2024). The birds are showing their gratitude to the serviceberry by passing on its gift of food to the surrounding environment by ensuring new opportunities for more serviceberry trees to grow and nourish future birds. 

Another example of this gift economy I often use in lessons with students in my role at Audubon Mid-Atlantic is all the natural relationships formed around oak trees. For example, just one native oak tree can provide a home to over 500 species of caterpillars, and those caterpillars pass that gift along to local birds like chickadees by providing the necessary nourishment to raise fledgling broods to adulthood, (Appalachian Audubon Society, 2023). Beyond this, when oak trees drop their acorns in the Fall, they provide food for local small mammals like squirrels as they prepare for their hibernation. The squirrels then pass this gift back to the oak trees by dispersing and burying these acorns throughout their shared ecosystem – paving the way for more future oak trees to grow and continue nourishing and housing the next generation of insects, birds, and mammals.

These examples show us how we can cultivate abundance in our communities by not just saying “thank you” or exchanging material goods but opening opportunities for ongoing relationships of reciprocity. Implementing this in our own lives can look like inviting loved ones over for a potluck, starting or donating to a little free library where knowledge can be continually given and received, or teaching a loved one a skill so that they may use it to give back to others. 

In my work with Audubon Mid-Atlantic at The Discovery Center in Philadelphia, I aim to nurture these reciprocal relationships between the members of our community and the shared environments in our neighborhood by opening opportunities for students and neighbors to connect with local birds and ecosystems. 

Building these connections and encouraging ongoing land stewardship is the basis of an ongoing Nature Journaling and Crafting series I host at the Discovery Center. This month, I encouraged attendees to share the abundance of the holiday season with our local birds by making decorative pine-cone bird feeders that will nourish them through the coming Winter. By hanging these feeders outside our homes and in our neighborhoods, we passed on the gifts like cleaner air and water, cooler temperatures, pest control, and general beauty and liveliness that local and plants and birds provide for us back to them – setting the stage for the continued exchange of these gifts over time. 

 

So, if this holiday season has left you feeling, like so many Americans, stressed and overwhelmed by the never-ending list of things to do and buy, I encourage you to reflect on where this pressure to buy so much for our loved ones originates. It stems from a desire to show our care and appreciation that large companies exploit to sell ever-increasing amounts of consumer goods that have lasting negative impacts on our natural environments and collective wellbeing.

However, by taking a step back and reflecting on the reciprocal relationships all around us in the natural world, we can gain inspiration for how to shift to a more gift-based economy in our own lives. Not only will this reduce pressure on already overburdened natural systems but also ease our stress and strengthen the bonds that we value most, not just during the holidays, but all year long.  

Sources:

https://theconversation.com/the-serviceberry-this-indigenous-understanding-of-nature-can-help-us-rethink-economics-243190

https://www.apa.org/news/press/releases/2023/11/holiday-season-stress

https://www.biologicaldiversity.org/programs/population_and_sustainability/sustainability/unwrapped

https://www.appalachianaudubon.org/plants-for-birds

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Julie Kleaver

Julie (she/her) is the FAO Schwarz Fellow at Audubon Mid-Atlantic in Philadelphia.

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November 26, 2024 In Beyond the Fellowship

Avenues of Connection: The Intersection of Hobby and Community

For those who attended a four-year university or college—and especially for those who, during these years, lived on their college campus—moving to a new city, state, or country can be jarring. After accepting the offer to be the FAO Schwarz Fellow at the Museum of the City of New York, I found myself being quickly thrust out of my small, quiet hometown in New Jersey and into a large, bustling city alone. With my newfound independence and a surprising amount of free time, I struggled to cope with the loss of the forced community that dorm life and college campuses offered. However, in the few months that I have called New York City my home, I have found ways to both fill my spare time and find community that may be helpful to those who have recently found themselves alone in a new place.

I can imagine that as the remainder of my time as an FAO Schwarz Fellow progresses, I will only continue to discover who I am and further witness how my hobby-driven community expands alongside my own growth.

When looking up advice on how to find community in a new place, I was met with a lot of the same answers: walk around your neighborhood, become a regular at your local coffee shop, and attend local events. While all of these are good pieces of advice, I am not, and will likely never be, an extrovert who can dive into conversation with strangers at a cafe or street fair despite how much I try to be. So, at the start of my fellowship and the beginning of my time in New York City, I found myself relying solely on my new roommates for community. And while I was, and am, thankful for their company, I also craved a space that was my own. However, the difficult thing about community in New York City is not that there are a lack of groups or circles to join but rather trying to find your place in the thousands of niche communities across the city. Thus, I began my search for avenues of connection.

The most successful route to community that I have leaned into is that of hobby. An important thing to know about me is that I am a person who aspires to do anything and everything—I want to be good at every artform, speak every language, and play every sport. Unlike in college, working a 9-5 job has given me the privilege of free time as well as the financial resources to pursue new passions. That being so, I looked back at all the “saved” posts and open Google Chrome tabs that featured hobbies I had always hoped to pursue and got to work.

Hobbies such as crochet and visiting museums were some of the first that created concrete moments of community building for me, some of which have even transcended geography. My love for art museums, for example, led me to attend an art tour hosted by the New Museum throughout parts of Lower Manhattan. There, I shared powerful conversations with strangers all focused on the lives and work of some of New York City’s best known contemporary artists such as Jean-Michel Basquiat and Keith Haring. Even if only for an hour, I was part of a tight knit group of 11 individuals who shared the same interests and passions. I have had other similar experiences to this in becoming a frequent visitor to many museums across the city where I often exchange thoughts with other solo museum goers about art. Creating my own art has also opened unexpected paths for connection. Through wearing my finished crochet projects, I have had many conversations with strangers about crochet and fiber arts in places ranging from the subway to a street corner. Recently, on a trip to Portland, Maine, my interest in crochet allowed me to connect with countless artists at craft shops and vendor fairs, demonstrating how far reaching the hobby community extends. Never did I imagine what looking at a work of art or wearing a crocheted scarf could do for me.

This brief reflection on hobbies and community is not meant to be a proclamation that I have cracked the code on how to make hundreds of friends in a new city. There are many days that I only speak to my coworkers or roommates and even more days where I don’t engage with any of my hobbies or their respective communities. However, experiencing the intersection of hobby and community firsthand has given me a new perspective on what life in a big city can be like. It has shown me that community can, and should, take many forms. For me, community has many meanings and feelings. Some days, it is made up of the tight-knit group of friends and peers with whom I share my worries and successes with. On others, community transcends the individuals that make it up and instead represents the feeling that no matter where I go, I am not alone.

For me, community is felt when I am walking through the aisles of craft stores and see people of all ages looking at sewing needles or crochet hooks. It is the few words exchanged as another artist says “excuse me” as they reach for the same yarn I was contemplating buying. It is a group of art lovers contemplating a statue from thousands of years ago. These passing flashes of connection have shifted my understanding of where I fit in outside of work and academia entirely. I can imagine that as the remainder of my time as an FAO Schwarz Fellow progresses, I will only continue to discover who I am and further witness how my hobby-driven community expands alongside my own growth. I can excitedly say that I look forward to all that this experience in New York City has in store.

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Alex Gabriel

Alex (they/he) is the FAO Schwarz Fellow at the Museum of the City of New York in New York City.

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Feature image by Filip Wolak.

August 26, 2024 In Alumni, Beyond the Fellowship, Career

What the 2024 Fellows Are Doing Next

This summer, our second-year Fellows finished up and graduated from their Fellowships. Emphasizing their passion for social impact, each of our seven graduating Fellows has secured roles in the social impact sector. Learn a little more about what each Fellow is doing next, and their experience as an FAO Schwarz Fellow:

Jahmali

Upon completion of her Fellowship at Breakthrough Greater Boston, Jahmali joined the International Institute of New England, a nonprofit helping to aid, employ, and naturalize New England’s refugees and immigrants, as an Admissions Specialist.

“While my passion for eliminating classroom inequity led me to my Fellowship at Breakthrough, I’m not as close to the research aspect I was passionate about in undergrad—I now find myself addressing educational inequity research’s findings first-hand. Being able to connect the dots between social capital discrepancies, financial barriers, social belonging, and discrimination to the nuanced experiences of my caseload of Breakthrough alumni regrounded me in my motivations to expand educational equity.”

Learn about Jahmali’s experience at a Fellowship retreat and perspective on classroom inequality:

Jesse

Upon completion of his Fellowship at NYC Bird Alliance in New York City, Jesse remained on with the organization as a Senior Associate, Advocacy, while attending the Graduate Center at CUNY to earn his PhD in Environmental Psychology. 

“Over the past two years, I have built out advocacy campaigns, organized rallies, testified at New York City Council, worked with elected officials, and engaged thousands of New Yorkers in taking action for wild birds. I am most proud of my work with Dustin Partridge, PhD—NYC Audubon’s Director of Conservation and Science—to research and write a guidance memo on drone light shows for the Mayor’s Office, which will soon be drafted into city-wide legislation to protect birds and people from the harmful effects of artificial light at night.”

Learn more about Jesse’s reflections on his Fellowship experience:

Juan

Upon completion of his Fellowship at Breakthrough Greater Boston, Juan stayed on with Breakthrough as a Development and Operations Associate.

“[Breakthrough’s] devotion to long-term support for students, focusing on low-income students of color in sixth grade through college, is something that I wish I had growing up. The organization takes the valuable resources of magnet schools while eliminating the toxic competitiveness and individualistic mindset, and emphasizing key values like spirit and student-centeredness.”

Learn more about why Juan chose to apply to Breakthrough Greater Boston:

Kayla

Upon completion of their Fellowship at The Clay Studio in Philadelphia, Kayla stayed on with The Clay Studio as a Teaching Artist and After School Coordinator.

“Connecting with students on a weekly basis is one of my favorite parts of my job, and being able to provide a fun and safe space for students to make art and chat with friends.”

Learn more about Kayla’s experience at The Clay Studio:

Natalia

Upon completion of their Fellowship at the Museum of the City of New York, Natalia joined both the Morgan Library & Museum and Tenement Museum as a Museum Educator.

“Seeing real objects from the past, close-up and in person, is a powerful way for students to understand that the past was as real and material as their lives now… I have had many students on field trips get so excited when they see the instrument because they recognize what it is and want to share their knowledge with me and the class.  Students also see other stories or experiences that may differ from their own lives during field trips, helping them become more self-aware and understanding of others. “

Learn more about Natalia’s work on field trips at the Museum of the City of New York:

Photo #4 by Filip Wolak.

Sophie

Upon completion of her Fellowship at Audubon Mid-Atlantic, Sophie stayed on with Audubon as Senior Coordinator, Conservation Education.

“One of the most exciting aspects of staying on at Audubon is the chance to see the program I piloted grow and change as the next FAO Schwarz Fellow steps into the role… These past two years have seen me grow into a more confident educator and birder, as well as a leader. I look forward to continuing to grow as I move beyond the FAO Schwarz Fellowship, but I will take with me the wonderful connections that I have made and the support I have received from the fellowship community.”

Learn more about Sophie’s work at Audubon Mid-Atlantic:

Vanessa

Upon completion of her Fellowship at The Food Project in Boston, Vanessa joined Virginia Cooperative Extension as an Associate Extension Agent for 4-H Youth Development, an organization that encourages young people to participate in a variety of activities that emphasize 4-H’s “learning by doing” philosophy of youth development.

“One of my highest achievements in youth programming was taking on the role of Youth Development Manager for Dirt Crew this past winter. I found myself able to adapt to not only supporting the youth crew, but also leading them and running the program. This unexpected role was definitely challenging to jump into, but was so rewarding, and I realized how drastically my leadership skills have grown since I first joined The Food Project.”

Learn about Vanessa’s tips for moving to a new city:

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August 14, 2024 In Alumni, Beyond the Fellowship, Cohort, Service, Special Projects

Fellowship Reflections: Interview Between Current and Alumni Museum of Science Fellows

Jocelyn Poste is a current Fellow at the Museum of Science. She recently interviewed Kira Azulay, an alumni Fellow, and her alumni mentor, who remained on with the Museum of Science after her Fellowship ended in 2023 as an Education Associate. Jocelyn and Kira discuss Kira’s time at the Museum of Science, Fellowship memories, the importance of supporting youth, and more.

Kira now works for The Philanthropic Trust in Boston.

 

Jocelyn Poste, current Fellow: What do you do in your current position in the Museum of Science’s In-Gallery Learning Department?

Kira Azulay, alumni Fellow: Most of my work is centered on Youth Programs, which attracts high schoolers / students aged of 14 to 19 to the Museum in various ways. In the summer this can look like running our Summer Youth Intern program. In the academic year, this can be school partnerships. We have a longstanding partnership with Fenway high school where we have weekly a group of juniors come, and we do a science exploration curriculum here at the Museum. We also have larger events called our High School Science Series (HSSS) where we’ll invite Massachusetts and greater New England area students and teachers from high schools to come to the Museum for a day of exploration around a specific science topic such as: Artificial Intelligence, Chemistry, or Climate Change. A lot of different work like this, but we also do general education in the museum, so we support the education team by doing live animal shows, as well as facilitating drop-in activities. There’s a lot of variety.

You definitely get out of the Fellowship what you put into it.

JP: What did your direct service consist of as a Fellow?

KA: A lot of my direct service was the education that we’re doing on the floor like developing a live animal show and then presenting that. Working with visitors in in the halls, but also going out to the community with the community engagement department and doing drop-in activities. For example, we hosted vaccine clinics, which we turned into celebrations of science and brought activities and try to make it a joyful experience. Or going to Horizons for Homeless Children and we would do more activities for very young learners. Also, working with our high school juniors from Fenway High School every week, where we were developing a curriculum for them to explore science identity and specific science topics. It was very hands-on, working closely with a group of about 20 students.

JP: What did your special project consist of?

KA: At the beginning, my special project was researching about a youth leadership council and how that had been implemented at other institutions, then looking into how that would work at the Museum of Science. I think that because of the transition period the Museum was in post-COVID, it was not feasible to make that happen within my Fellowship time. While there’s a lot of excitement around [youth leadership councils], it takes a lot of stakeholders, so that process is complicated, but I did get to learn a lot about youth leadership opportunities. I learned how other institutions have been doing it and how they have been inviting youth into their institutions and getting them involved in a way that is more individual and not just being brought as part of a school or class. I also got involved with the Cambridge Youth Community, as well as youth workers communities, like a group called Reaching All Youth which is a monthly get-together of people that interact with youth in Cambridge in different capacities. That experience was beneficial.

Since we decided that instituting a youth leadership council was going to be difficult and not going to happen within the next academic year, my special project pivoted to running the High School Science Series and trying to create accessible opportunities. Our first couple ended up being virtual, so I was a moderator for one. We worked on getting subtitles for those and getting an ASL interpreter, and we ended up doing live captioning in English and Spanish which was important. Then, I took on more responsibility by running a whole High School Science Series myself, which I did in my second year once we had held one in person, which would have been October 2022.

JP: Do you have any favorite memories from your time as a Fellow?

KA: I think all Fellows might say this, but I really loved the retreats. I think that especially during COVID, that connection was important and the Fellowship component of having a cohort had a really big impact on my experience. I loved getting to connect with other Fellows in person because there’s not really a substitute even though we had Zoom meetings and trainings. In person connection was special and I feel like we created connections and friendships that were important. I keep in touch with all the Fellows, and especially Ryan, who’s in Boston. I think it was fun and it was good to hear other perspectives about what is happening at other types of institutions.

The Museum of Science is a bit of a different host organization from some of the others, and so it was interesting to hear about smaller or bigger places and what the other Fellows’ experiences were with their supervisor, how they were navigating problems, and whether we could share experiences around that. Also, getting to see New York and Philly and just getting to be in those places was nice.

JP: What was your most valuable takeaway from your experience as an FAO Schwarz Fellow?

KA: The youth are the future! I think people can be intimidated by and underestimate youth at the same time. Teens are people and you should treat them as such. I think treating them with the respect and understanding, that I would any other person any other adult, has gone a long way in building relationships with them. They are not kids, and they are still learning, but as an educator, we are there to support and guide their learning.

Something that is important and valuable is that the youth have a voice and they have opinions. You can have conversations with them that you might not be able to have with a younger learner. It’s a good thing to get the perspective of teens and see what they think. Everyone is coming in with their own life experiences and people show up differently, so I have had to learn that not everyone’s learning or listening style looks the same. I had my own preconceptions of what it looks like for students to be paying attention and engaged and that may not always be the case, so I have had to learn a lot from the youth. If you talk to the students they’ll tell you, “Hey, I have a lot going on right now so what would be best for me is just sitting over here and I’ll listen,” or talking to them about their interests.

They are interesting and fully formed people and are capable of a lot more than people think. They just need the like trust and support to do it, but they can do cool things. The youth at the Museum have done like a lot of projects here that are interesting to me, and they come up with and execute these ideas themselves. For example, we had interns over the summer that made an educational activity to talk about wildfires and different things about the ecology of wildfires. They make these different things that are so cool, unique, creative, and are effective at communicating and teaching. It was amazing to see what they could do in just seven weeks. They just needed the space to do that, so it’s been exciting and energizing and a cool experience to watch the youth do amazing things and see them grow over time.

JP: Do you have any advice for current/incoming/prospective Fellows?

KA: You definitely get out of the Fellowship what you put into it, and there are some important things that can impact it. You want to have a good relationship with your supervisor, and I think that is a huge factor in how your Fellowship goes, so you want to make sure that you’re communicating with them and that they are an advocate for you. Related to that, if you are excited about things and intentionally participate, then you’ll have a good experience. If something is not working for you, speak up and you can change things—this is good career advice outside of the Fellowship as well. I know there are Fellows who have worked with their supervisor to take on projects to explore different interests.

Also, huge advice, talk to Priscilla! She is a great advocate for all the Fellows, and she really cares, so I know that she’ll be a resource and will do whatever she can to be supportive. Priscilla will do anything in her power to support your success.

Be brave! Apply!

JP: If you could describe your Fellowship experience in 3 words, what would it be?

KA: Growth, Supportive, Fun (Honorary mention: Grateful)

JP: Having Kira as an alum mentor and working alongside her has taught me a lot, both personally and professionally. Kira has contributed endless efforts during her time at the Museum of Science, as an FAO Schwarz fellow and post-fellowship. I know Kira will bring even more creativity, energy, and wisdom in this next journey of hers!


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Jocelyn Poste

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

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June 12, 2024 In Beyond the Fellowship, Service, Special Projects

Nothing Short of Life-Changing: A Reflection on Two Years as a Fellow at NYC Audubon

When I began my fellowship on July 12, 2022, I knew I was interested in the world of urban wildlife, but lacked direction and a point of view. Not to mention, I knew nothing about birds. Throughout my time with NYC Audubon, I have been given opportunities to learn about urban wild bird conservation, develop my own perspective and questions, and practice my developing expertise as a social scientist of urban wildlife conservation.

My position at NYC Audubon has been split into two distinct but related halves: Advocacy and Engagement. These halves have also served as a distinction between my Special Project and Direct Service work. My Special Project has been developing NYC Audubon’s advocacy initiatives for city- and state-level bird-friendly legislation. My Direct Service work has involved engaging directly with the public at NYC Audubon’s seasonal environmental center on Governors Island. 

My experience as an FAO Schwarz Fellow and a member of the team at NYC Audubon has been nothing short of life-changing.

Over the past two years, I have built out advocacy campaigns, organized rallies, testified at New York City Council, worked with elected officials, and engaged thousands of New Yorkers in taking action for wild birds. I am most proud of my work with Dustin Partridge, PhD—NYC Audubon’s Director of Conservation and Science—to research and write a guidance memo on drone light shows for the Mayor’s Office, which will soon be drafted into city-wide legislation to protect birds and people from the harmful effects of artificial light at night. I have also developed, coordinated, and conducted nature—and conservation—related programming for children and families on Governors Island and developed the analytical groundwork with which to measure progress as NYC Audubon continues developing bird outings and programming that engage the whole city and reflect the organization’s commitment to Equity, Diversity, Inclusion, and Accessibility. 

With the development of experience and knowledge from the Fellowship, I acquired research assistantships with faculty from Rutgers University and Colorado State University to better understand the formation of hemispheric approaches to shorebird conservation, which will result in at least one published academic paper, a conference presentation in Canada, and a research trip to observe shorebird migration—and the people who study it—at the Delaware Bay this May. And, after a long and tasking application process, I am thrilled and honored to begin my PhD in Environmental Psychology at The Graduate Center at CUNY this fall. I plan to study the political ecology of queer cruising geographies in New York City as habitat for wild birds and sites of contestation between people and institutions/agencies. I will also continue to work at NYC Audubon part-time in a new role mainly devoted to advocacy.

My experience as an FAO Schwarz Fellow and a member of the team at NYC Audubon has been nothing short of life-changing. I’m looking forward to seeing the ways in which this experience continues to guide me in my career.

 

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Jesse McLaughlin

Jesse (he/him) is the Advocacy & Engagement FAO Schwarz Fellow at NYC Bird Alliance (formerly NYC Audubon).

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