The Fellow will assist Hudson River Park’s River Project department in improving awareness and stewardship of the Hudson River through science and education. By teaching programs, developing curriculum, and supporting the Park’s Science Leadership Program, the Fellow will engage with learners of all ages using the Park as an outdoor classroom and living laboratory. The Fellow will also play a unique role in capturing progress and impact of the Trust’s Estuarine Sanctuary Monitoring Plan, a key management document for the Park and its partners.
ABOUT THE RIVER PROJECT FELLOWSHIP IN NEW YORK CITY
The FAO Schwarz Fellowship is an intensive, transformative two-year experience in the world of social impact. Fellows work at leading nonprofit organizations in Boston, New York City and Philadelphia. Each organization is deeply valued in their communities and has a strong record of delivering high-quality services that address critical issues of social inequity and producing consistent results. The Fellowship is a two-year commitment that pays $50,000 in year one (includes $2,000 start of Fellowship bonus) and $55,000 in year two (includes $3,000 end of Fellowship bonus).
DIRECT SERVICE
The Fellow will support Hudson River Park’s environmental education and cultural programs for their direct service work. The Fellow will also be an integral mentor and leader in the River Project’s Science Leadership Program, a research-based summer program serving high school and college-aged students.
- Teach year-round field trips and drop-in educational programs hosted through the Park in inspirational settings including the Pier 40 Wetlab aquarium, Pier 57 Discovery Tank, Gansevoort Peninsula and more.
- Host the Park’s free cultural events including tours, family events and art events.
- Mentor students participating in the Park’s Science Leadership Program and implementing leadership and STEM skill-building workshops.
- Support the Park’s community science, research and animal husbandry projects that help the Park foster stewardship and monitor the Estuarine Sanctuary’s health.
- In the second year, the Fellow will design a curriculum and a Science Leadership Workshop based on their interests related to Park research and learning spaces.
PROJECT WORK
The Fellow will focus on advancing and sharing progress related to the Trust’s 2021-2030 Estuarine Sanctuary Management Plan (ESMP) for their special project work. The Fellow will play a key role in the development of case studies, interviews, evaluation tools, and visuals to communicate the impact and progress of the Park’s ESMP.
The Fellow will:
- Develop methods to track and visualize the progress of the ESMP.
- Write brief project highlights to share successes and impact of the Park.
- Conduct and edit interviews of key partners to share diverse programming and projects.
- Support the analysis of assessment measures and evaluations to quantify the reach and impact of the ESMP.
- In the second year, the Fellow will explore opportunities to share these success stories and accomplishments with the Park’s Communications team.
TYPICAL WORK SCHEDULE
The Fellow will work a predominantly Monday through Friday (9am-5:30pm) schedule, with an on-call weekend rotation shared amongst staff, resulting in about one Saturday per month. The Fellow will work with the team and their supervisor to schedule these on-call dates at least a month in advance.
Due to public programming, we host some evening programming (typically on Thursdays) that the Fellow would also support up to two times per month and would flex their hours accordingly. This position is fully in-person at Hudson River Park. The team starts most of their days at the Park’s office. On occasion, for special events, staff may meet directly at Park indoor and outdoor classrooms like Pier 57 and Pier 84.
HOW TO APPLY
Applicants must be college seniors at accredited four-year colleges or universities at the time of application and be eligible to work in the United States for the duration of the two-year Fellowship.
For more about what we are seeking, please see What We’re Looking For. Please visit our website for more information about the new positions.
To apply, visit our website where you’ll see detailed instructions. You will be asked to answer several short questions and to upload your resume and a cover letter by February 1, 2025 9:00 pm ET. You may apply to more than one host, but must submit a different application for each host you’re applying to.
In your letter, please describe your interest in working at the host organization of your choice, and your responses to the following questions:
Question 1. Why are you interested in being an FAO Schwarz Fellow?
Question 2. Why are you interested in being the FAO Schwarz Fellow with this host organization?
Question 3. Describe an aspect of this host’s mission or work that engages you.
Question 4: What background and experiences would you bring to the direct service and special project work at this organization?
The deadline to apply is February 1, 2025 at 9:00 pm ET. Host organizations will select applicants for interviews and make their decisions by the end of April 2025. Fellowships begin in the summer of 2025.
