Planetary Health Fellowships

The Planetary Health Impact Fellowship is the Planetary Health Alliance’s Fellowship focusing on mentorship, community building, and research. The Impact Fellowship is open to candidates from all over the globe. The Fellowship has two core components: mentoring a small group of designated Planetary Health Campus Ambassadors, and completing an independent project. This Fellowship is unpaid and voluntary.

What are the responsibilities of an Impact Fellow?

Mentoring

• Mentoring a small group (10-15) of Planetary Health Campus Ambassadors 

• Identifying guest speakers/lecturers for the PHCA speaker series 

• Jumpstarting and helping oversee PHCA and Regional Hub communications on the Planetary Health Online Community (Hylo) by responding to inquiries, posting content, and providing support (i.e., direction and encouragement) in all subcommunities associated with the PHCA and Regional Hub Network  

Independent Project 

• Completing one project that is determined within the first two months of the Fellowship 

• Fellows can collaborate on a project with permission and on a case-by-case basis
• Each project must be approved by their designated PHA staff contact

For 2027 PHA has outlined a specific policy focused project that we would like an Impact Fellow to work on. Details on this project can be found below.

Eligibility to apply:

• Demonstrated interest in Planetary Health 
• Completed undergraduate degree    
• Graduate degree (completed or in progress) in a relevant field
  • Additional experience in a relevant field may substitute for required education 
• Reliable internet connection and a personal electronic device that can use Zoom and Microsoft software
• Past participation in PHA / PHA programs (preferred)  
• Working English proficiency (both written and verbal)  
• Minimum of 2-years of relevant work experience 

This year, applicants should have a background in public policy, public health, environmental studies, law, governance, or a related field, along with strong research, writing, and synthesis skills. Experience conducting literature reviews, developing policy or research summaries, and working collaboratively across teams is preferred. Familiarity with Planetary Health, climate policy, environmental justice, or science communication is highly desirable.

Requirements for applicants:

• Commitment to year-long term from January to December, with the option to extend for a second year 
• Expected to attend quarterly All-Fellow calls and monthly check-in calls with designated PHA staff member
• Organize bimonthly check-in with PHCA mentees
• Flexible weekly time commitment of 5-10 hours

The application for the 2027 fellowship is now open. Click here to apply. 

Project Context

The Policy Research Accelerator (PRA) is an initiative of the Johns Hopkins Institute for Planetary Health (JHIPH) Policy Program, established to translate Planetary Health research into policy influence and impact, from the local to the global. One pathway of the PRA is developing and curating a database of Planetary Health policy case studies. These document how law, governance, and policy approaches address Planetary Health issues, and show how research has been translated into impact across sectors. The case studies serve as learning tools, models, and a platform to showcase successes for researchers, students, advocates, and policymakers.

As part of this work, the Planetary Health Alliance (PHA) and JHIPH are building a shared repository of real-world case studies. PHA and JHIPH are also exploring opportunities to synthesize and communicate about these case studies so that practitioners can effectively locate and learn from the cases to support their own advocacy and policy work.

Project Deliverables 

The PHA Impact Fellow will support two connected efforts. First, the fellow will help expand the case study database by 1) searching the literature for relevant case studies and help develop them into consistent, usable write-ups and 2) helping to support continued outreach across PHA and JHIPH partners to identify additional case studies for submission. Second, the fellow will help identify “exemplars” [particularly useful] case studies, synthesize/organize key takeaways and lessons learned, and help package the case studies and related materials for dissemination through PHA+JHIPH and other comms channels.