Host: EcoAdapt
Region: Washington
Openings: 1
Project Focus: Climate Adaptation, Ecosystem / Habitat Conservation
Skills Needed: Project Management, Research, Stakeholder Engagement, Technical Writing, Detail-Oriented, Self-Motivated

Service Needs & Plans

While with EcoAdapt, the Fellow would likely split their time between multiple adaptation-related projects. This approach will help them gain a broad overview of the work carried out in the field of climate adaptation and allow them to identify their potential interests for post-fellowship pursuits.

Project Description

The Fellow would likely take part in two or more of the projects listed below, dependent upon their interests and EcoAdapt’s needs:

• Supporting the Implementation of the National Adaptation Forum
  • The National Adaptation Forum is a bi-annual meeting for adaptation professionals to innovate, network, and focus on established and emerging climate adaptation issues of the day. The goal of the Forum is to facilitate information exchange so adaptation professionals can innovate, rather than reinvent the wheel.
  • There is no shortage of tasks the Fellow could work on as it relates to Forum and we’ll be happy to work with the Fellow to find what suits their interests and strengths. Potential tasks include: organizing and reviewing proposal submissions, speaker outreach and coordination, the creation of marketing campaigns, management of travel support applications, media and press outreach, case study creation, and on-site coordination.
• Bainbridge Island Community Survey
  • This survey is the second part of an ongoing project to better understand Bainbridge Island residents’ perspectives on sea level rise impacts and solutions.
  • The Fellow will support survey development and participate in in-depth community discussions to better discern community member’s opinions on sea level rise solutions they’d like to see implemented on the island.
• Adaptation Planning for the US Golf Association
  • EcoAdapt is working with the US Golf Association to better understand the implications of climate change for golf and golf facilities and to identify opportunities to decrease adverse impacts and increase sustained ability to deliver site function and participant enjoyment.
  • The Fellow will support a literature review focusing on the intersection of climate change adaptation and golf.
• Adaptation Practitioner Registry
  • EcoAdapt is just kicking off a new program, designed to match communities with adaptation practitioners who can help to meet their climate planning and implementation needs.
  • As part of this program, we anticipate that the Fellow will support the community application process associated with a new tool meant to match communities with adaptation practitioners.
• Internal EcoAdapt Content Management
  • Like most non-profits, EcoAdapt has many internal projects we’d love to tackle, but never have the capacity or resources to tackle. These projects would help our team provide more effective and equitable adaptation support.
  • The Fellow will aid in compiling and organizing resources related to workplace diversity, equity,inclusion, and justice (DEIJ).
  • The Fellow will assist in the creation of case studies that revisit old EcoAdapt vulnerability assessments and determine where climate effects are already being seen.

Desired Skills

Based on the projects outlined, the Fellow would need to feel comfortable leading meetings and spearheading communications with new and existing partners. In addition, the Fellow should feel comfortable diving into research and datasets, synthesizing potentially complex information, and organizing it in a coherent manner. As stated above, someone who is self-motivated and independent will do well on the EcoAdapt team.

Organization & Community Highlights

EcoAdapt is a small, but mighty team of seven. Our modest size fosters a strong collaborative environment, with team members working together on a variety of projects or helping to facilitate workshops, review grants, and brainstorm ideas. Although the Fellow would have a direct supervisor, EcoAdapt tends to have more of a horizontal structure, where all ideas are considered equally, with less of an emphasis on hierarchy within the organization itself.

EcoAdapt has a distributed workforce which allows our team to work from home across the country. We also have an office on Bainbridge Island, WA where we can host meetings or group working sessions. We recognize that being a remote team means we don’t have the unexpected “water cooler chats” you’d have in an in-person office, so we have team meetings each week to provide a space to check in with the whole team. Team calls allow us to catch up socially, update each other on projects, learn about the latest adaptation news, and track our progress on our diversity, equity, inclusion, and justice (DEIJ) goals. Each program at EcoAdapt identifies an area of interest (i.e., land acknowledgments, web accessibility) or sets tangible goals to drive their DEIJ work. Each quarter, we check in on our progress and discuss how to better incorporate what we’ve learned into our work.

EcoAdapt’s work touches on many aspects of adaptation, and our team has a wide variety of expertise. We believe any fellow placed with our team would receive an excellent primer in the field of adaptation and would be nicely poised to launch into a career in the field afterward.

Remote or On-Site Placement

The Fellow would mainly teleserve as part of this Fellowship; however, there would be opportunities for in-person meetings and conference travel, specifically with the Bainbridge Island project and the National Adaptation Forum.