2026 Arlie Schardt Memorial Climate, Energy & Oceans Fellow

Friends of the Earth US is a hard-hitting, progressive, environmental organization that pulls no punches and speaks sometimes uncomfortable truth to power. It’s an approach that has worked for five decades to produce important victories that help protect our planet and its people. We’re part of Friends of the Earth International, the world’s largest federation of grassroots environmental groups, working in more than 70 countries on today’s most urgent environmental and social issues.

FOE envisions a world where we live within the ability of the planet to sustain life, and in which all people live with dignity, health and equity. We believe that both environmental crises, as well as widespread social injustice, are intertwined symptoms of flawed ideological, economic and political systems that are violating peoples’ rights, perpetuating oppression, failing to meet the needs of people, and destroying the planet.

Meanwhile, Friends of the Earth Action provides the extra political muscle to our sister organization, Friends of the Earth US.

FOE Action works on a dynamic set of intersectional issues knowing that we cannot build a healthy and just world without addressing the interconnectedness of society’s injustices. We not only fight for laws and lawmakers that will echo that mission but also help the public join in the political battle as well. We believe that unprecedented political action from across the nation will put the United States, and hopefully our planet, on a sustainable path. 

We believe that increasing racial diversity within environmental organizations is critical to the future success of our movement. Our Fellowship program is designed to increase the long-term effectiveness of FOE and the environmental movement by operating an inspiring and fulfilling fellowship program that builds skills and relevant job experience for people of color and members of underrepresented communities.

Our vision of the Arlie Schardt Memorial (ASM) Fellowship program is to create career experience, pathways, and opportunities for Black, Indigenous, People of Color in underrepresented communities who are interested in environmental advocacy. Arlie W. Schardt was a pioneering voice for the environment and witness to some of the most seminal events in American history as a Time magazine correspondent traveling with Martin Luther King while covering the civil rights movement. Throughout his peripatetic 50-year career, Schardt reported on and acted on behalf of social justice. Al Gore states, “Through his remarkably diverse career, Arlie Schardt lived a life of purpose and impact,” said the former Vice President. “He was a champion for civil rights and an early pioneer of the environmental movement. I valued greatly his commitment to public service and will always be grateful for the invaluable roles he played on my Presidential campaign.” Schardt joined Friends of the Earth (FOE), serving as Chairman of the Board from 2009 until June 2019 when he was named chair emeritus in honor of his service. According to Erich Pica, president of FOE, “Arlie was instrumental in tripling the size of the organization and broadening its mandate to combine his concerns for social and racial justice with environmentalism.”

For our program, we are prioritizing communities that are underrepresented in the mainstream environmental movement. Women, people of color, and youth are highly encouraged to apply. If you do not identify as part of an underrepresented community, that is not a disqualification, and we encourage you to apply as well.

About the Fellowship

Each year, we welcome a cohort of five Fellows to work with us full-time (37.5 hours p/wk) for six (6) months. This year the Fellowship Program will be in a remote position with an in-person component. Fellows are paid $25/hour, will receive a one-time stipend of $1,000 and three (3) floating holidays. The application deadline is 5:00 pm EST, Friday, December 26. If there is a large influx of applicants, the position may close earlier than the specified date.

Fellows are placed within teams in our Programs Department. In addition to substantive work with the teams, the Fellowship program also includes networking and career development opportunities.

About our Climate, Energy and Oceans Team (Oceans Pod) Fellowship Position

For two decades, our Climate, Energy and Oceans program (Oceans Pod) has provided crucial leadership in protecting our oceans and the life surrounding them- both human and more-than-human- from a range of threats, including oil spills, plastic pollution, and climate-disrupting emissions from shipping. Today, the crisis is accelerating as sea ice melt and sea level rise threaten coastal and Indigenous communities from the Arctic to Pacific large ocean states, commercial vessels are generating an ever-increasing volume of harmful emissions and air and water pollution, exacerbating ecosystem damage.

This position will focus on Oceans Justice, supporting our work through research and analysis on community-identified needs related to the intersections of commercial shipping, oceans justice, and broader ocean policy concerns, as well as building solidarity with some of the most climate-vulnerable regions disproportionately impacted by rapidly melting sea ice and sea-level rise. The fellow will contribute research and writing on these intersecting issues and collaborate on communications materials that draw from their own passions and disciplines, whether art, storytelling, movement, marine sciences, law, policy, Black or Indigenous studies, MVPFAFF+/LGBTQIA2S+ studies, queer ecologies, or other fields that honor lived experience and our full humanity.

This role will also support coordination and coalition-building efforts, including helping to develop and deliver webinars aimed at empowering NGOs and civil society organizations to more actively participate in International Maritime Organization (IMO) processes, and engaging with IMO-related advocacy to uplift the voices and leadership of directly impacted communities. Throughout the fellowship, the fellow will contribute to fostering an atmosphere inclusive of intersectionality and lived experience, while gaining deepened experience in community engagement, environmental justice communications, and international policy work. The fellow will also have access to a range of professional development opportunities designed to support growth in oceans justice and movement-aligned advocacy.

Responsibilities:

Responsibilities for each Fellowship varies, but typically Fellows:

• Perform research, writing and editing
• Assist with political and public policy advocacy
• Take part in outreach and communications efforts
• Help organize people and events
• Participate in strategy, planning, and campaign meetings

Qualifications:

No specific academic or professional experience is required, but we are looking for people who are passionate about the environment and/or social justice. An environmental background, and previous (volunteer or paid) experience in non-profit organizations, advocacy, political campaigns are pluses.

Qualified applicants must be:

• At least 18 years of age
• Eligible to work in the U.S.
• Committed to environmental and social justice
• Able to work 37.5 hours per week, 9-5 in their respective time zone
• Able to work well in team setting
• Motivated, and willing to learn and take initiative
• Able to use Microsoft Office suite products such as Excel and Word, and Google applications

Friends of the Earth is an equal opportunity employer. We encourage applications from women, people of color and other members of underrepresented groups who will contribute to the diversity of our staff. In compliance with federal law, all people hired will be required to verify identity and complete eligibility verification upon hire.