Change Stories 2026 Fellowship: Be part of a global exchange shaping more equitable and sustainable cities — and the stories we tell about them.
About the Fellowship
The Change Stories Fellowship is a 9-month learning and knowledge exchange program for U.S.-based leaders and changemakers in urban equity and sustainability. Fellows will connect with peers and activist-academic partners worldwide in a week-long international residency in Belo Horizonte, Brazil, and will implement a post-residency storytelling project that highlights insights and learning in their own networks and communities.
All travel costs covered, plus $3,000 honorarium provided; Fellows may also be eligible for additional funds to support implementation of their post-residency storytelling project (maximum of $2,000; must be spent by 31 August 2026).
Who We’re Looking For
We welcome applicants from US-based state and local agencies, community-based organizations, and independent advocates — including organizers, urban planners, journalists, artists, and public health leaders — who:
- Are committed to equitable and sustainable urban policy, power building, increasing community agency in decision-making, and/or participatory planning
- Are skilled in narrative change and inclusive storytelling, including through digital and visual storytelling methods (familiarity and comfort with social media are preferred but not required)
- Have strong interpersonal skills to participate effectively and respectfully in peer learning and international exchanges, including in Spanish and Portuguese with translation support; fluency in these languages is not required
- Can share insights and learnings widely with their professional, organizational, and/or community networks to influence change
Six to eight fellows will be selected through a competitive application and review process.
We are also interested to hear from people who bring perspectives, from their work or volunteer experience, of historically marginalized communities (including on the basis of race, ethnicity, nationality, gender and gender identity, income, class, age, sexuality, disability and other characteristics)
Why Apply?
As a Change Stories Fellow, you will:
- Build relationships with activists, researchers, and peers in the U.S. and across the globe
- Learn and share strategies for urban change, including community-led initiatives
- Experience a place, cultures and people that contribute to your professional and personal growth
- Amplify marginalized voices in urban development stories
- Implement storytelling action plans that inspire change in your community toward equity and sustainability
Fellow Commitments
Fellows must secure support from their organization’s or agency’s senior leadership to participate in the Change Stories program and apply knowledge gained from this experience in their own work, as appropriate.
Fellows must review and secure any visas necessary for travel to Brazil based on their nationality. Review the Brazilian Ministry of Foreign Affairs website for details. Ensure that you will have six months remaining before your passport expires at the time of travel.
Fellows must commit to completing all required program elements, including:
- 5-6 virtual pre-residency meetings focused on program orientation, site visit co-design, relationship development, and storytelling skills sharing: Jan – Jun 2026
- International immersion residency to Belo Horizonte, Brazil: 29 June to 3 July 2026 (with travel arranged on the weekends).
- Fellow-led teach-back and skills-exchange sessions (pre- and during residency).
- Collaborative storytelling and media production activities (during and post-residency).
- A practical post-residency action plan to apply knowledge and disseminate stories to share learnings widely and facilitate knowledge transfer within Fellows’ own practitioner networks and communities: Jul-Sep 2026.
- One required post-residency virtual meeting, a report-back summary of post-residency knowledge sharing and storytelling activities, and option to attend future Change Stories Fellows convenings: Aug-Sep 2026.
Key Dates
Applications Open: Oct 10, 2025
Virtual Info Session: Oct 22, 2025 (recording here)
Application Deadline: Nov 14, 2025
How to Apply
Complete an application by November 14, 2025. The application is an online form, but you can download a PDF of the form to help you prepare your responses in advance.
We held an optional informational webinar on Wednesday October 22nd. You can watch the recording here. We have posted the FAQs from the session below.
Questions?
Email changestories@uw.edu
Frequently Asked Questions
Q: Are current students (graduate or undergraduate) eligible to apply?
A: This fellowship is primarily for US-based leaders and changemakers affiliated with public agencies, community organizations, or advocacy communities with wide professional, organizational, and community networks to influence change. Current students would need to demonstrate their experience with and ability to reach a wide network with their post-residency action plan.
Note that there is a separate but concurrent Change Stories study abroad opportunity being developed for University of Washington students.
Q: Do applicants need to be currently employed in a nonprofit organization to apply?
A: No. Independent practitioners, consultants, or individuals unaffiliated with a specific organization are welcome to apply. However, applicants should be able to demonstrate a broad professional or community network that will allow them to engage others in their post-residency storytelling project.
Q: Why are Fellows limited to US-based participants?
A: The project aims to spark learning for US-based practitioners and communities with global innovations. Therefore, we are selecting Fellows who have US-based networks and who work in US communities. Fellows from the US will join a cohort of Fellows from three other countries (Brazil, Colombia and Northern Ireland) for the Belo Horizonte residency.
Q: How many fellows will be selected? How competitive will the process be?
A: The program expects to select 6–8 Fellows. The total number of applicants is unknown, as this is the program’s first cohort, so competitiveness can’t yet be estimated.
Q: What does “secure support” from an organization mean? Is a signed letter required?
A: Yes. For applicants affiliated with an organization, a letter of support from organizational leadership should be included with the application. The letter should:
- Confirm that the organization supports the applicant’s participation (even if it occurs on personal rather than paid time);
- Describe how the organization expects to benefit from the Fellow’s participation; and
- Commit to sharing the Fellow’s learning through its own channels (e.g., social media, newsletters).
Q: What if I have multiple affiliations? Should I include a letter from each organization?
A: Only one letter is required, but applicants may submit additional letters if more than one organization meaningfully supports or connects to your proposed storytelling project.
Q: What happens if my job or organizational affiliation changes during the fellowship?
A: The program will accommodate changes. Fellows may adapt their dissemination plans to reflect new professional contexts, using professional or community networks to continue sharing their learning.
Q: What kinds of storytelling and dissemination projects are you interested in supporting?
A: During the residency, Fellows will produce digital field journals and short video stories documenting reflections, learnings, and local insights.
Post-residency, Fellows will develop and disseminate story and media outputs that integrate insights and reflection from Belo Horizonte and their home community perspectives and that highlight the conditions—including collective action—that shape equitable urban change. These outputs could include videos, articles, events, or other story-based media.
Q: Why emphasize food justice and housing in the call for applications?
A: The Belo Horizonte site was selected as a case study for this research because of its globally recognized food policy innovations originating in the 1990s. Researchers found that food intersected with other themes—such as housing and other rights in the city.
Other Change Stories partners from Belfast and Bogotá will be at the residency in Belo Horizonte to share and learn. Their work focuses on housing and gender equity via the Care Blocks model supporting unpaid caregivers, respectively.
Applicants may work in any area that contributes to equitable and sustainable urban development, not just those listed.