Welcome to 2024 FALL fellowship application portal
2024 FALL FELLOWSHIP APPLICATION PERIOD IS CLOSED
DEADLINES: Feb 29 (Early Bird), March 31 (Regular $25), Apr 3 (Late $100)
The fellowship runs Aug 3 - Dec 6, 2024 and you must select one cohort to apply to:
National PT/MT (Pacific Time / Mountain Time) | National CT (Central Time) | National ET (Eastern Time)
The Fall 2024 Fellowship will be delivered virtually to serve fellows across all time zones: PT/MT (applicants in MT must apply to the PT/MT cohort), CT, and ET.
* [Last year, the 2023 Fellowship only accepted candidates from CELI’s four metro areas and CELI cities, including the Bay Area, Chicago, Washington DC, and New York. The 2024 Fall Fellowship is meant to open up the fellowship to candidates from across the country, and — individuals from the four CELI cities may still apply! Please note that for ONLY applicants from CELI’s traditional cities / metro areas, including the Bay Area, Chicago, New York City, and Washington DC, CELI will be re-introducing the idea of required in-person weekly meet-ups with cohort peers – we’ve named these sub-cohorts *clusters* – which will only be open to those individuals who are able to commit to doing the fellowship in-person (which the applicant will indicate on the application itself). These clusters will only be located in the CELI cities/metro areas listed above. Note that while the participants in a cluster will be in-person, the speakers will be on-line/virtual. Whether or not CELI is able to hold clusters in 2024 depends on the interest of candidates.]
What are the Application Deadlines?
Application Due Dates by Fee Schedule
Late application ($100) deadline: Monday, Apr 1 - Wednesday, Apr 3, 2024 at 11:59 PM PT
Financial Assistance - Rolling Application
An applicant must submit a separate financial assistance application immediately AFTER completing their fellowship application, if the applicant would like to be considered for financial assistance.
All final financial assistance applications are due: Wednesday, April 3, 2024 at 11:59 PM PT.
The early bird application period does not require a submission fee and runs from now through Thursday, February 29, 2024 at 9:00 PM PT. The regular application period requires a $25 submission fee per application, and the regular application period runs from Friday, March 1, 2024 to Sunday, March 31, 2024 at 9:00 PM PT. The late application period requires a $100 fee per application, and the late application period runs from Monday, April 1, 2024 to Wednesday, April 3, 2024 at 11:59 PM PT.
Financial assistance applications should be filled out immediately after an applicant completes their fellowship application. Financial assistance applications are submitted separately from the application to the 2024 Fall Fellowship. Financial assistance applications are accepted on a rolling basis and generally take 10 minutes to complete. All financial assistance applications are due by Wednesday, April 3, 2024, at 11:59 PM PT. Please visit our Financial Assistance Application for more information. Please submit the fellowship application before submitting your financial assistance application.
Interviews will be offered to select candidates in mid-April, 2024 and conducted between mid-April to early May.
Acceptance notifications will be emailed on May 22, 2024 to all applicants that are selected into the program. Financial assistance notifications will be coordinated with acceptance notifications, and all selected applicants will be notified of financial assistance awards on May 22, 2024. Please note that a non-refundable deposit of $500 will be required to be paid by June 5, 2024 in order to hold one’s spot in the program.
The 2024 Fall Fellowship will start on Saturday, August 3, 2024. Please consult the Curriculum-At-A-Glance and FAQ for details on the exact dates of Fellowship meetings, Fellowship requirements, and other information. Need-based financial assistance awards will be available; the financial assistance application is available here and due no later than Wednesday, April 3, 2024 at 11:59 PM PT.
Which Cohort to Apply To?
The 2024 Fall Fellowship will be conducted entirely online and each applicant (including applicants interested in the in-person clusters in the Bay Area, Chicago, DC and NYC) must select one of the time-zone cohorts to apply to: National PT/MT cohort, National CT cohort, National ET cohort.
The 2024 Fall Fellowship encourages any individual meeting eligibility requirements for fellowship, who lives and works in the United States (any city), to apply. The national fellowship is designed for all-virtual participation. See below for details about CELI’s pilot — clusters — for the in-person & hybrid experience.
The 2024 Fall Fellowship cohorts meet on Wednesdays (virtually), with a few optional Tuesday sessions, and a few weekends (some of which are required and others of which are optional weekends). See Curriculum-At-A-Glance for the detailed list of all the topics and dates covered between August 3 - December 6, 2024.
Tue (varying dates, not every week, optional): National PT/MT: 6-7 pm PT/ 7-8 pm MT; National CT: 6-7 pm CT; National ET: 6-7 pm ET;
Wed (weekly, required): National PT/MT: 6-8 pm PT/ 7-8pm MT; National CT: 6-8 pm CT; National ET: 6-8 pm ET;
Five required sessions include:
Orientation (Saturday, August 3)
Energy Justice Workshop and Intro to Capstones (Saturday, September 7) for National ET cohort only
Adaptive Leadership Training (Sunday, September 8) for National ET cohort only
Energy Justice Workshop and Intro to Capstones (Saturday, September 14) for National PT/MT and National CT cohort only
Adaptive Leadership Training (Sunday, September 15) for National PT/MT and National CT cohort only
Capstone Night 1: Business Pitches (Tuesday, December 3)
Capstone Night 2: TED-style Talks (Wednesday, December 4)
For candidates interested in committing to attending in-person clusters, with speaker sessions delivered virtually:
* [Last year, the 2023 Fellowship only accepted candidates from CELI’s four metro areas and CELI cities, including the Bay Area, Chicago, Washington DC, and New York. The 2024 Fall Fellowship is meant to open up the fellowship to candidates from across the country, and — individuals from the four CELI cities may still apply! Please note that for ONLY applicants from CELI’s traditional cities / metro areas, including the Bay Area, Chicago, New York City, and Washington DC, CELI will be re-introducing the idea of required in-person weekly meet-ups with cohort peers – we’ve named these sub-cohorts *clusters* – which will only be open to those individuals who are able to commit to doing the fellowship in-person (which the applicant will indicate on the application itself). These clusters will only be located in the CELI cities/metro areas listed above. Note that while the participants in a cluster will be in-person, the speakers will be on-line/virtual. Whether or not CELI is able to hold clusters in 2024 depends on the interest of candidates.]
What Should I Prepare to Apply?
CELI’s application process consists of two steps, a written application and an interview (if application moves forward to the interview process).
As part of the written application, you will be asked for information about yourself, your work experience, and clean energy expertise. A resume/CV submission that highlights the 3–7+ years of clean energy experience or 5+ years of professional experience is also required at the time of the application. In addition, you will also be prompted to upload a short answer to five mini-essay questions below. Please only upload one PDF file with resume and essay responses combined and use the title format "FirstName_LastName".
Essays (200 words or less for each essay):
Why do you want to be a CELI Fellow? What would you look to both receive and contribute to a community of clean energy professionals?
What distinct perspective would you bring to a fellowship class as a result of your professional insight and experience?
What qualities do you see as foundational in a leader? Share an example of how you believe you have demonstrated these qualities in your professional or personal life.
What energy technology, policy, or market trend most excites you and why? How have you pursued a deeper understanding of this topic or other clean energy opportunities?
Diversity, equity, inclusion and belonging are core values of CELI. How have you worked to advance these values in your personal or professional life? If you’re still early in your understanding of systems-level exclusion, why are you excited to learn more about how to contribute to energy justice within the clean energy ecosystem?
If your application is moved forward to the interview process, selected applicants will be invited for a 25-minute online interview with CELI alumni in mid-April, 2024. The interview process will give selected applicants a chance to talk to CELI alumni about their interest in the 2024 Fall Fellowship and open up an opportunity to ask CELI alumni more about how the Fellowship has supported their leadership journey in the clean energy ecosystem. Letters of recommendation are not required as part of the application process.
Please note that the application page requires a Google email (a Gmail or another Google-compatible email). If you do not have and do not wish to create a Gmail account, please reach out to us at applications@cleanenergyleaders.org, and we will process your application manually.
Financial assistance applications are submitted separately and can be submitted immediately after you complete the fellowship application, the last day to submit a financial assistance application is Wednesday, April 3, 2024.
What is the Fellowship Tuition for Fall 2024?
We are deeply committed to ensuring that every accepted applicant is able to attend the fellowship program. For fellows who are unable to meet the program costs, CELI will provide financial awards at varying levels depending on financial need, thanks to the generous support of our donors and sponsors. No applicant will be turned away for lack of funds as long as they qualify for need-based financial assistance. Full and partial financial awards are available as determined by income, cost of living, dependents, level of employer support and special circumstances. CELI does everything possible to support all selected applicants to attend. Persons of color (esp. Native, LatinX, Black), members of the LGBTQX+ community, persons with disability, and individuals from other traditionally excluded backgrounds are especially encouraged to apply.
The full cost of the 2024 Fall Fellowship is $5,500 if an employer is supporting a Fellow (Tier 1), or $3,500 if a Fellow is paying-out-of-pocket (Tier 2). Both tier levels may be eligible for financial assistance depending on their application’s stated needs and the amount of financial assistance requested. Fellows receiving partial employer support will be put into Tier 1 tuition level ($5,500), and Fellows receiving no employer support will fall into Tier 2 tuition level ($3,500). Fellows who receive partial employer support will never be expected to owe more than $3,500 out-of-pocket for tuition, even if their employer’s support totals less than $2,000. All levels of tuition commitments (including those receiving financial assistance) may be paid up-front or over a 6 month payment plan.
Barring exceptional circumstances, in order to secure a spot in the fellowship, all selected applicants are required to pay $500, due June 5, 2024, in-full, as a non-refundable deposit which will be put towards the overall cost of the program.
We will review financial assistance applications after applicants are selected, and we will notify selected applicants of their financial award determination on Wednesday, May 22, 2024. Since we are evaluating the 2024 Fall Fellowship application and financial assistance application separately, some of the questions are duplicative! Thank you in advance for answering the duplicative questions in both the 2024 Fall Fellowship and the 2024 Financial Assistance applications.
Please submit your fellowship application before completing the financial assistance application below. All financial assistance applications are due by April 3, 2024 (11:59 PM PT).
Tier 1: Employer-Supported Tuition
Applicants should check with their employer to determine the level of employer support that is possible. Tuition for full employer-supported applicants is $5,500. If employers are only able to cover partial tuition (i.e. small start-ups, non-profits, government or academic institutions, depending on size), CELI will work with the selected Fellow to award the employer a waiver based on organization size and budget. Be sure to check with your employer regarding professional development funding, as employers frequently cover the cost for incoming fellows. Fellows who receive partial employer support will never be expected to owe more than $3,500 out-of-pocket for tuition, even if their employer’s support totals less than $2,000.
Tier 2: Tuition Without Employer Support
For those without employer support who will be paying out of pocket, CELI offers a reduced tuition of $3,500. At the point that payment is requested (beginning in June), selected Fellows who are not able to access any employer support will be asked to provide an email or a letter from a supervisor or other means that confirms lack of employer funds. Full-time students, self-employed applicants, and those outside of the workforce may also qualify for the reduced tuition (in this case, proof of student enrollment or other documents can serve as proof). All tuition may be paid on a 6-month payment plan from July through December, 2024. Applicants who are eligible for this tier who need financial assistance based on income, cost of living, dependents, and special circumstances, should be sure to fill out the separate financial assistance application by April 3, 2024.
Full and partial financial assistance is available for individuals falling into both Tiers.
Financial assistance applications are due no later than April 3, 2024. No applicant will be turned away for lack of funds if the applicant qualifies for need-based financial assistance. Full and partial financial awards are available as determined by income, cost of living, dependents, level of employer support, and special circumstances. CELI does everything possible to support all selected applicants to attend. The application process for financial assistance is separate from the application process for admittance into the 2024 Fall Fellowship. CELI encourages all applicants that do not think that they will have full employer support to submit an application for financial assistance by April 3, 2024.
Does CELI offer Financial Assistance Awards?
Candidates should not let the cost of the program prevent them from applying. CELI’s application process is need-blind, application materials and financial assistance requests will be evaluated separately. Financial assistance applications are due by April 3, 2024 and should be submitted once an applicant’s fellowship application is complete. Financial assistance decisions will be awarded at the same time as acceptances on May 22, 2024. CELI offers both full and partial scholarships, as well as 6-month payment plans. Please see our Financial Assistance Application page and Frequently Asked Questions page for more information.
What Else do I Need to Know?
Be sure to read the Who Should Apply and FAQs sections before applying! Persons with disabilities who would like to request accommodations or have questions about access may contact applications@cleanenergyleaders.org. If you have questions about what cohort to apply to (e.g. moving for work or grad school during the fellowship, or if you live close to but not within one of these metro areas), don’t hesitate to contact applications@cleanenergyleaders.org to determine the best cohort fit. Please note that applicants may only apply to one cohort based on their physical location during the fellowship, which supports the community-building part of the CELI foundational pillars in a given geographic area.
For more information, check out our:
CELI 2024 Fall fellowship Application Form - now closed
To apply, there are 3 - 4 steps. We estimate the total application will take you 10-15 minutes, not including the additional time required to craft your essay responses prior to putting it all together.
STEP 1) Prepare: Prepare your essay questions and resume in a single PDF Document (see below)
STEP 2) Application Form: Click on “2024 Fall Fellowship APPLICATION FORM” to be taken to a Google form to fill out the Application Form (10 min). Please login in with your Gmail (or another Google account) to upload your application. The direct link to the application form is: https://forms.gle/NYYnY79WovJ4Wevm8
STEP 3) Upload: Upload your PDF with resume and essay questions, and hit Submit.
STEP 4) Financial Assistance: By April 3 — complete the financial assistance application if you think that you will need financial support (10 min). Please complete the Financial Assistance application only after you complete your application to the Fellowship. The direct link to the financial assistance application page is: cleanenergyleaders.org/2024-financial-assistance-application
If you do not have and do not wish to create a Google/Gmail account or have issues with the file upload, don’t hesitate to email us at applications@cleanenergyleaders.org, and we will assist you.
Prepare resume and essay questions in advance: We ask for information about your learning goals, your work and community-building experience, and clean energy expertise. A resume/CV submission that highlights the 3+ years of clean energy experience or 5+ years of professional experience in a related field is required at the time of the application. In addition, you are asked to upload a short answer to the five mini-essay questions below. Please only upload one PDF file with resume and essay responses and use the title format "FirstName_LastName".
Essays (200 words or less for each essay):
Why do you want to be a CELI Fellow? What would you look to both receive and contribute to a community of clean energy professionals?
What distinct perspective would you bring to a fellowship class as a result of your professional insight and experience?
What qualities do you see as foundational in a leader? Share an example of how you believe you have demonstrated these qualities in your professional or personal life.
What energy technology, policy, or market trend most excites you and why? How have you pursued a deeper understanding of this topic or other clean energy opportunities?
Diversity, equity, inclusion and belonging are core values of CELI. How have you worked to advance these values in your personal or professional life? If you’re still early in your understanding of systems-level exclusion, why are you excited to learn more about how to contribute to energy justice within the clean energy ecosystem?
Direct link to the application form is below, please copy and paste this link to a new window:
Email applications@cleanenergyleaders.org with any questions.