Youth Climate Fellowship
Empowering the next generation of climate leaders
The Youth Climate Fellowship is a transformative summer program for high school students, designed to empower the next generation of climate leaders. Through hands-on learning, site visits, group projects and interviews with industry experts and key decision-makers, Youth Climate Fellows gain the skills and knowledge needed to advocate effectively and address real-world climate challenges. They also examine how climate intersects with various fields, shaping communities and highlighting the importance of cross-sector collaboration for long-term sustainability.
Apply to YCF
Early Deadline: March 16, 2025
priority status for admission and program fee discounts
Regular Deadline: April 13, 2025
The Youth Climate Fellowship is a full-time summer program that provides immersive climate exploration and leadership development for high school students in the Greater Los Angeles Region.
Seminars: Sessions led by Coro’s expert facilitators equip Youth Climate Fellows to inspire collective action and navigate complex systems. Fellows develop critical competencies:
- systems-thinking related to environmental challenges and solutions.
- advocacy, collaboration, and effective communication, including public speaking.
- inquiry, critical thinking, and evaluation skills, and more.
Site Visits: Youth Climate Fellows visit noteworthy organizations, gaining insights into how they are managing climate realities. By observing real-world practices in action, they gain a deeper understanding of the intersection between climate resilience and various sectors in the region.
Leadership Interviews: Youth Climate Fellows engage in exploratory interviews with industry experts and key decision-makers managing the impacts of climate change, gaining valuable insights into their challenges, strategies, and the importance of cross-sector collaboration.
Group Projects: Hands-on learning, collaborative projects, and climate explorations Youth Climate Fellows collaborate on group projects to practice and apply their skills in relationship-building, problem solving, public speaking, research, and critical thinking. Through these projects, Fellows deepen their understanding of climate issues, challenge their assumptions, and develop nuanced perspectives on the complexities of climate challenges.
Explore critical climate topics affecting communities in Southern California, and develop the skillset to collaborate effectively and create positive change.
Gain exposure to diverse perspectives on climate solutions, sustainability, and environmental justice.
Meet mentors and influential change makers eager to support your education and career development. Join Coro’s 15,000-strong network of remarkable leaders.
Build your toolkit with inquiry, systems analysis, constructive feedback, and communication skills. Youth Climate Fellows emerge with increased confidence.
Find the Program Benefits Guide below to learn more.
For decades, Coro has empowered young leaders to take on influential roles in business, public service, and as advocates on the most important issues facing our communities. We celebrate and value diverse perspectives, identities, experiences, and worldviews in all our programs.
Ideal candidates…
- live or attend high school in the Greater Los Angeles Region, with preference given to those living in climate impacted communities.
- are high school juniors or seniors when they apply (the program is tailored to rising seniors and recent graduates).
- are interested in understanding climate change and exploring innovative solutions.
- are eager to learn, grow, and challenge themselves.
- commit to meeting for the scheduled sessions
There’s nothing like the Coro approach. Coro helps people deepen their innate leadership skills, giving them the tools and a lifelong network to activate tangible change.
It’s not just about finding the right solutions; Coro training is uniquely focused on helping leaders ask the right questions. It’s about equipping leaders to relate across differences rather than simply reacting to them. Coro leaders intentionally engage and collaborate with others across identities, ideologies, sectors, and generations. Participants should be ready to engage productively with different perspectives and in personal reflection.
Coro views leadership as an active practice that requires hands-on experiential learning. Participants are expected to be engaged, mindful, and fully present, minimizing external distractions to maximize their growth and contribution to the cohort.
Coro leaders learn to move from judgment to curiosity, navigate ambiguity, sit in discomfort, and embrace empathy and vulnerability as essential leadership practices, critical for unleashing learning, and building authentic connections. Participants must be willing to embrace vulnerability to foster a psychologically safe environment — a necessary precursor to adaptive, innovative collaboration.
Program Cost
The program fee is $500 (subsidized from $9,000 thanks to our generous sponsors).
Financial Assistance
Coro offers need-based fee discounts. Applicants seeking a discount must complete the relevant questions on the application.
Questions? Contact
Callie Spaide
Associate Director, Recruitment & Alumni Relations
callie@corola.org
Sponsored By
