2022 UC Davis Environmental Justice Fellowship

To immerse community expertise into academic research and public policy, the UC Davis Institute of Transportation Studies and Energy (ITS),  the Energy and Efficiency Institute (EEI), the Center for Regional Changes, in collaboration with members of the Transportation Equity and the Environmental Justice Advisory Group (TEEJAG), are launching the Environmental Justice Fellowship program (EJF). This fellowship program will benefit participating fellows, the communities they serve, and the university researchers they engage with.

The EJF Program will begin in the Winter Quarter in January 2022.

Motivation

This fellowship program aims to address two challenges: 1) communities have untapped knowledge that is not disseminated widely or is ignored by government and other entities, due to physical distance, language barriers, cost, and lack of access to information; and 2) the research community has untapped knowledge and expertise but has historically shared an asymmetrical power balance with EJ advocacy groups and community organizations. The result, all too often, has led to limited sharing of information between researchers and EJ communities, poor public engagement, and missed opportunities to improve public policy.  This Fellowship will connect university-based research programs and personnel with community expertise and knowledge.

Topics of Interest

This program is being developed with a particular focus on these key research areas:

• Equity in Electric Vehicles: incentives and infrastructure
• Indoor air quality upgrades
• Outdoor air quality mitigation  
• Greening without gentrification
• Science-based energy efficiency 
• Improve buildings electrification
• Transit service: availability, access, and cost
• Safe Streets and Active Transportation
• Shared Mobility increased mobility options
• Transit Oriented Developments and Affordable Housing
• Decarbonization efforts including Low Carbon Fuel Standard

Program Design

The program will be co-created by the fellows and the Environmental Justice Team formed by EJ experts. The program will last six months with support for up to three in-person sessions in Davis California. Fellows will be given flexibility to customize the program according to their interests. Fellows will be expected to participate in some or all of the following activities:

• Professional Development
  • Participation in weekly seminar series and classes, and curated briefings with state, federal legislators, and other regulatory agencies in the EJ space.
• Leadership by the fellows
  • Integrate lived experience and community knowledge into the research process
  • Provide guest lectures and/or co-teach courses. 
  • Co-organize workshops and/or webinars
• Capstone Project
  • White paper, presentation, and/or grant proposal that will advance equity 
• Professional Network
  • Continued engagement with fellows and networking events.

Eligibility

An Environmental Justice Fellow is an experienced environmental justice activist or community leader, aiming to advance and scale their goals, who are also willing to co-design this program. Individuals committed to advancing environmental justice (EJ), who may or may not be part of non-government organizations (NGOs), research-advocacy groups, community-based organizations (CBOs), and advocacy groups are encouraged to apply. Those from historically underrepresented backgrounds, including Black, Indigenous, People of Color (BIPOC), and those with intersecting identities (queer, trans, immigrant, and disabled), are strongly encouraged to apply.

Commitment

The Fellows should be able to commit a minimum of 8 hours a week to this program. Candidates are encouraged to be involved beyond that time depending on their availability. Our goal is to provide enough flexibility that allows Fellows to continue to work for and support their respective organizations, while remaining fully engaged in the activities mentioned in the Program Design (above) for a productive and impactful Fellowship experience.  

Prospective Fellows

If you are interested in being considered for this Fellowship, please complete the following application by Monday, October 24, 2021. 

Our team is asking individuals interested in being considered for this Fellowship to submit an application, including those that had previously applied. To complete an application, please complete the following 2-step process: 

1. Complete an updated application HERE. (Application deadline: Monday, October 25, 2021, 11:55 PST)
2. Send your Resume via email to: EJF_Res.80nwtzhf6qbb58dt@u.box.com (you can copy and paste into the outgoing email address) 
   1. Please upload your resume as DOC or PDF (Max size 20-25 MB)
   2. Name your file as; LastName_FirstName_resume (ex. Doe_John_resume)
   3. You will receive a confirmation email once your resume is received. 

The EJF selection committee will receive and review your responses by November 8th, 2021.

Our team is planning to host an EJF Online Information Session (Date: TBD) in the next few weeks. The purpose of this session is to give prospective candidates an opportunity to ask questions and/or comment directly to our team before the application window closes. Please keep an eye out for a follow-up email with details on when this information session will take place and how to register. Thank you for your time and we look forward to hearing from you.

For questions, please contact jcgarciasanchez@ucdavis.edu or tarnal@ucdavis.edu

Please feel free to download this PDF version for sharing by email to colleagues.