This application is for the 2025-2026 cohort, which will begin September 2025 and end August 2026. Applications close Friday, May 16 at 11:59pm Pacific.

Before applying, review the application guidelines to confirm your eligibility, availability, and interest in the program.

This application is for the Madrona Fellowship 2025-2026 cohort, which will begin September 2025 and end August 2026.

 

The Madrona Fellowship for Food System Leaders is a 12-month leadership development program that supports Black, Indigenous, and other people of color (BIPOC) working at the intersections of food, land, culture, and climate.

Through seasonal gatherings, mentorship, and peer connection, the fellowship nurtures transformative leadership that is rooted in land, community, and collective care. Guided by the rhythms of the bioregion, it offers space for reflection, relationship, and regeneration.

For this year’s cohort, we are expanding the Fellowship’s geographic reach, growing a bioregional network of leaders grounded in place and relationship. The program now brings together Fellows across three regional hubs: Portland, Chehalis, and Seattle. All Fellows gather seasonally for land-based immersions at our central farm site near Chehalis WA.

We invite you to review the fellowship’s full program schedule here.

 

Madrona Fellowship is co-led by Ecotrust and the Black Food Sovereignty Coalition (BFSC)

 
How To Apply

• First, review the application guidelines to confirm your eligibility, availability, and interest in the program.
• Second, complete this application form.

This application asks about your background, your interest in the fellowship, and your ability to meet the program’s commitments. You will also be asked to upload your resume and a headshot.

We’ve provided a blank template you can use to draft your responses before entering them into the application form.

If you encounter any accessibility issues, contact madronafellowship@gmail.com

Eligibility
To be eligible for the Madrona Fellowship, applicants must:

• Identify as Black, Indigenous, or a person of color (BIPOC)
• Have at least 2 years of ongoing professional, long-term volunteer, or other experience in food, land, culture, climate, and/or adjacent areas
• Be based in Oregon or Washington, particularly within the bioregion stretching from Portland to Seattle
• Be able to fully participate in all fellowship programming between September 2025 and August 2026. Please see the program overview to confirm your availability during the scheduled dates and times.

Note: While not required, we strongly recommend that applicants live within 30 miles of one of the three fellowship hubs—Portland, Chehalis, or Seattle. Historically, fellows who live farther away have found it difficult to fully and consistently engage in the program’s in-person components.

 

Application Guidelines

Before applying, review the full application guidelines here.

 

Application Preview

We’ve provided a blank template that applicants can copy to draft their responses before submitting them in the application form.

Preview all of the application questions here.

 

SAVING YOUR APPLICATION: You do not need to complete your application all at once. JotForm allows you to save a draft of your form. We recommend saving your application on this first page and often. See below for directions to save your application:

1. Click the “SAVE” button at the bottom of the page.
2. A screen will pop up asking you to sign up for a JotForm account. You do not need to sign up!
3. Below the sign up option, click the small print text that says, “Skip Create an Account.”
4. A screen will pop up telling you your form has been saved as a draft. It will give you the option to send the link to the draft form to your email. Click the “Send Link” button.
5. A link to your draft form will be emailed to you. You can use that link to work on your application at any time.

Contact us if you have any questions or need support with any aspects of your application: madronafellowship@gmail.com | (503) 467-0763

 

Ready to apply? Continue to the next section.

Please review the eligibility requirements for the fellowship and confirm that you meet them:

• I identify as Black, Indigenous, or a person of color (BIPOC)
• I have at least 2 years of experience in food, land, climate justice, and/or adjacent areas
• I am based in Oregon or Washington, specifically within the bioregion that stretches from Portland to Seattle
• I want to deepen relationships with other food system leaders and land stewards through in-person and virtual gathering
• I have reviewed the program schedule and I am able to commit to full participation throughout the 12 month fellowship
• I can commit an average of 15 hours/month to fellowship activities between September 2025 and August 2026

Not eligible. Please exit the application.

Please note that some questions on this application form are optional.

Required questions will include the following symbol: *

Please feel free to skip questions that are optional or not applicable.

Note: While not required, we strongly recommend that applicants live within 30 miles of one of the three fellowship hubs—Portland, Chehalis, or Seattle. Historically, fellows who live farther away have found it difficult to fully and consistently engage in the program’s in-person components.

Time Commitment

This fellowship is a space for deep learning, honest reflection, and deepening our relationships with one another and the land. We believe that transformation happens in community—when people show up, stay present, and move through change together.

We will be working closely with one another, as well as with community leaders, elders, and partners. The connections we build are the foundation for the work we carry forward beyond the Fellowship. To honor everyone’s time and contributions, we request that you commit to showing up fully, engaging deeply, and contributing to the co-creation of this community.

Below are some of the expectations and invitations we would like Fellows to commit to once selected. Please review them and let us know if you are able to commit to these invitations, if selected.

Please provide the names of two references, with contact information, who can speak to your experience in food systems, land stewardship, and/or climate justice.

Submit Application

When you are ready to submit your application, click the submit button.

 

Note:

After you submit the form, a copy of application will be emailed to you.
This email will include a link that you can use to edit your submitted application. You can make changes to your application anytime through the deadline (5/16/25 at 11:59 PST).