The Switzer Foundation is contributing to a sponsorship of the New Horizons in Conservation Conference (April 18-20, 2021), and we have free registrations available to fellows who want to attend. Please contact Erin if you are interested.

We have completed the hiring process for the Switzer Foundation’s new Network Manager, and we look forward to introducing you to our new colleague very soon. In the meantime, the search committee wrote an On Leadership post to share about the best practices for equitable recruiting that we employed in our search process. Our goals are to be transparent about the policies and practices we are adopting to advance equity and justice within the foundation, and to provide members of the Switzer Network with resources to support equitable hiring processes within your own organizations.

Interviews for 2021 Switzer Fellowships will be held virtually again this year, and we are looking for interviewers! We are holding the interviews on Fridays this year and are curious whether that will make it easier for more of you to participate. We will need 15 interviewers for each region. Interview dates and times:

If you are interested, please fill out some basic information in this Google form. We will create a pool of interviewers who represent a cross-section of the Switzer Network across cohorts, degree, sectors, geography, race, ethnicity, gender, and people who were first-generation college students. Thanks in advance for your interest!

Fellows, just a reminder to take advantage of two of our small grant programs if they can be of service to you.

Professional Development grants are available to assist with the cost of trainings, workshops or other professional development endeavors that will benefit your leadership or career trajectory. These grants are made on a rolling basis with awards up to $1,000.

Network Innovation grants are designed to catalyze two or more Switzer Fellows working together, providing space for fellows to plan a convening or shared learning, or to plan for further action on an issue. Grants of up to $10,000 can be awarded. Grant requests of $5,000 or less are considered on a rolling basis. Requests for more than $5,000 will be considered at the next available meeting of the Switzer Foundation’s board.

Please contact Erin with any questions about our grant programs!

Kartikeya Singh recently wrote a commentary piece for the Center for Strategic & International Studies' website called "Agenda for India's Green Recovery" in which he writes: “While India’s recently released Budget 2021 and last year’s stimulus measures aren’t classified as entirely ‘green,’ elements of India’s fiscal policies coupled with cooperation of states can be leveraged to ensure India’s continued economic growth also supports its ecological security.”

Amber Pairis’s Climate Science Alliance and the Southwest Climate Adaptation Science Center are co-hosting this free virtual event taking place April 6-8 that will bring together leaders, practitioners, and researchers from across the Southwest to explore efforts that are advancing climate change adaptation including hands-on activities, networking, and professional training.