<div dir="ltr"><div><br></div><div class="gmail_quote gmail_quote_container"><div dir="ltr" class="gmail_attr">---------- Forwarded message ---------<br>From: <strong class="gmail_sendername" dir="auto">Escobedo, Francisco - FS, CA</strong> <span dir="auto"><<a href="mailto:Francisco.Escobedo@usda.gov">Francisco.Escobedo@usda.gov</a>></span><br>Date: Thu, Dec 11, 2025 at 3:54 PM<br>Subject: 2026 NFF Fellowship: Communicating Wildfire Risk and Solutions Across Communities in Southern California<br></div><div class="msg-7488168329543243134">





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<p align="center" style="text-align:center;line-height:150%"><span style="font-size:16.5pt;line-height:150%;font-family:Barlow;color:#222222">2026 Conservation Connect Fellowship Opportunity</span><span style="font-size:10.0pt;line-height:150%;font-family:"Times New Roman",serif"><u></u><u></u></span></p>
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<p style="text-align:justify"><span style="font-size:11.0pt;font-family:Barlow;color:#222222">Each year the National Forest Foundation (NFF) hosts a small group of exceptional graduate students pursuing advanced studies in conservation, natural resources management,
 and related fields. The goal of the Conservation Connect Fellowship Program is to build experience, knowledge, and skills within the next generation of collaborative and conservation leaders. To learn more and apply, visit
</span><span style="font-size:10.0pt;font-family:"Times New Roman",serif"><a href="https://www.nationalforests.org/collaboration-resources/fellows?utm_source=Unknown+List&utm_campaign=997d38a2d7-EMAIL_CAMPAIGN_2023_11_16_09_08&utm_medium=email&utm_term=0_-997d38a2d7-%5BLIST_EMAIL_ID%5D" target="_blank"><span style="font-size:11.0pt;font-family:Barlow;color:#007c89">nationalforests.org/fellows</span></a></span><span style="font-size:11.0pt;font-family:Barlow;color:#222222">. </span><span style="font-size:10.0pt;font-family:"Times New Roman",serif"><u></u><u></u></span></p>
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<span style="font-size:11.0pt;line-height:105%;font-family:Barlow">Must be enrolled in a graduate program during the '26-27 academic year</span><u></u><u></u></li><li class="MsoNormal" style="color:#222222;line-height:105%">
<span style="font-size:11.0pt;line-height:105%;font-family:Barlow">Fellows are paid $22.90/hour for up to 300 hours of work and training</span><u></u><u></u></li><li class="MsoNormal" style="color:#222222;line-height:105%">
<span style="font-size:11.0pt;line-height:105%;font-family:Barlow">Fellowships start in May 2026 and end in April 2027; exact timeframes depend on specific projects</span><u></u><u></u></li><li class="MsoNormal" style="line-height:105%"><b><span style="font-size:11.0pt;line-height:105%;font-family:Barlow;color:#222222">Application deadline is January 25, 2026</span></b><u></u><u></u></li></ul>
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<p align="center" style="text-align:center"><b><span style="font-size:14.0pt;font-family:Barlow;color:black">Featured Project</span></b><span style="font-size:10.0pt;font-family:"Times New Roman",serif"><u></u><u></u></span></p>
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<p><i><span style="font-size:14.0pt;font-family:"Barlow SemiBold"">Communicating Wildfire Risk and Solutions Across Communities in Southern California</span></i><span style="font-size:10.0pt;font-family:"Times New Roman",serif"><u></u><u></u></span></p>
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<p style="line-height:115%"><b><span style="font-size:11.0pt;line-height:115%;font-family:Barlow">Project Description</span></b><span style="font-size:10.0pt;line-height:115%;font-family:"Times New Roman",serif"><u></u><u></u></span></p>
<p style="line-height:115%"><span style="font-size:11.0pt;line-height:115%;font-family:Barlow">The fellow will support the assessment, development, and improvement of wildfire resilience and risk communication practices across Southern California. Recent wildfires
 have demonstrated the need for effective messaging across key audiences to address evolving risk perceptions, messaging policies, and behavior change to reduce the risk of catastrophic fires on Southern California public lands and the wildland-urban interface.
 Key audiences include decision makers and community members. In Southern California, 25 million people could be impacted at any given time by wildfire, either directly or indirectly, and every individual has a role to play in reducing this risk. Through a
 collaborative effort, the fellow will produce deliverables to help decision makers and practitioners understand current research around wildfire-related communication and messaging in Southern California. The desired outcome will be an informed base of wildfire
 resilience and communications practitioners that will implement more effective and strategic campaigns and community engagement programs.</span><span style="font-size:10.0pt;line-height:115%;font-family:"Times New Roman",serif"><u></u><u></u></span></p>
<p style="line-height:115%"><span style="font-size:11.0pt;line-height:115%;font-family:Barlow"> </span><span style="font-size:10.0pt;line-height:115%;font-family:"Times New Roman",serif"><u></u><u></u></span></p>
<p style="line-height:115%"><b><span style="font-size:11.0pt;line-height:115%;font-family:Barlow">Deliverables</span></b><span style="font-size:10.0pt;line-height:115%;font-family:"Times New Roman",serif"><u></u><u></u></span></p>
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<li class="MsoNormal" style="line-height:115%"><span style="font-size:11.0pt;line-height:115%;font-family:Barlow">Literature review relevant to Southern California </span><u></u><u></u></li><li class="MsoNormal" style="line-height:115%"><span style="font-size:11.0pt;line-height:115%;font-family:Barlow">Interview-based assessment of current practices</span><u></u><u></u></li><li class="MsoNormal" style="line-height:115%"><span style="font-size:11.0pt;line-height:115%;font-family:Barlow">Communication of findings to practitioners (e.g., through a report, fact sheets, webinar, workshops, etc.)</span><u></u><u></u></li></ul>
<p style="line-height:115%"><span style="font-size:11.0pt;line-height:115%;font-family:Barlow"> </span><span style="font-size:10.0pt;line-height:115%;font-family:"Times New Roman",serif"><u></u><u></u></span></p>
<p style="line-height:115%"><b><span style="font-size:11.0pt;line-height:115%;font-family:Barlow">Skills Required</span></b><span style="font-size:10.0pt;line-height:115%;font-family:"Times New Roman",serif"><u></u><u></u></span></p>
<p style="line-height:115%"><span style="font-size:11.0pt;line-height:115%;font-family:Barlow">The ideal candidate will be familiar with social science research methods, have technical and scientific writing skills, excellent interpersonal communication, and
 be comfortable with public speaking and group facilitation. The preferred candidate will also have knowledge of or experience in climate/wildfire resilience, emergency management; disaster response/preparedness/recovery; community engagement; and wildfire
 planning, management ecology, or effects relevant to Southern California.</span><span style="font-size:10.0pt;line-height:115%;font-family:"Times New Roman",serif"><u></u><u></u></span></p>
<p style="line-height:115%"><span style="font-size:6.0pt;line-height:115%;font-family:Barlow"> </span><span style="font-size:10.0pt;line-height:115%;font-family:"Times New Roman",serif"><u></u><u></u></span></p>
<p style="line-height:115%"><b><span style="font-size:11.0pt;line-height:115%;font-family:Barlow">Project Timeframe</span></b><span style="font-size:10.0pt;line-height:115%;font-family:"Times New Roman",serif"><u></u><u></u></span></p>
<p style="line-height:115%"><span style="font-size:11.0pt;line-height:115%;font-family:Barlow">Primarily summer 2026 with some work conducted into the fall.</span><span style="font-size:10.0pt;line-height:115%;font-family:"Times New Roman",serif"><u></u><u></u></span></p>
<p style="line-height:115%"><span style="font-size:6.0pt;line-height:115%;font-family:Barlow"> </span><span style="font-size:10.0pt;line-height:115%;font-family:"Times New Roman",serif"><u></u><u></u></span></p>
<p style="line-height:115%"><b><span style="font-size:11.0pt;line-height:115%;font-family:Barlow">Location</span></b><span style="font-size:10.0pt;line-height:115%;font-family:"Times New Roman",serif"><u></u><u></u></span></p>
<p style="margin-bottom:8.0pt;line-height:115%"><span style="font-size:11.0pt;line-height:115%;font-family:Barlow">Southern California; most work will be conducted remotely, but the fellow will need to attend occasional in-person meetings in the region.</span><span style="font-size:10.0pt;line-height:115%;font-family:"Times New Roman",serif"><u></u><u></u></span></p>
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<p align="center" style="text-align:center"><span style="font-size:10.0pt;font-family:"Times New Roman",serif;color:black"><a href="https://www.nationalforests.org/collaboration-resources/fellows" target="_blank"><span style="font-size:14.0pt;font-family:"Barlow SemiBold";color:white">Learn
 More</span></a></span><span style="font-size:10.0pt;font-family:"Times New Roman",serif"><u></u><u></u></span></p>
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<p style="margin-top:2.0pt"><span style="font-size:14.0pt;font-family:"Barlow SemiBold";color:black">Other opportunities:</span><span style="font-size:10.0pt;font-family:"Times New Roman",serif"><u></u><u></u></span></p>
<p><span style="font-size:11.0pt;font-family:"Calibri",sans-serif"> </span><span style="font-size:10.0pt;font-family:"Times New Roman",serif"><u></u><u></u></span></p>
<p style="text-align:justify"><span style="font-size:11.0pt;font-family:Barlow;color:black">The NFF is pleased to offer 9 fellowship spots for 2026. Projects range from storytelling to collaborative engagement to GIS analysis and more!
</span><span style="font-size:10.0pt;font-family:"Times New Roman",serif"><a href="https://www.nationalforests.org/collaboration-resources/fellows" target="_blank"><span style="font-size:11.0pt;font-family:Barlow;color:#0563c1">Click here</span></a></span><span style="font-size:11.0pt;font-family:Barlow;color:black"> to
 see all projects and to apply.</span><span style="font-size:10.0pt;font-family:"Times New Roman",serif"><u></u><u></u></span></p>
<p style="text-align:justify"><span style="font-size:11.0pt;font-family:Barlow;color:black"> </span><span style="font-size:10.0pt;font-family:"Times New Roman",serif"><u></u><u></u></span></p>
<p style="text-align:justify"><i><span style="font-size:11.0pt;font-family:Barlow;color:black">The National Forest Foundation welcomes a diverse pool of applicants and maintains a policy of nondiscrimination.</span></i><span style="font-size:10.0pt;font-family:"Times New Roman",serif"><u></u><u></u></span></p>
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<p align="center" style="text-align:center"><span style="font-size:11.0pt;font-family:Barlow;color:black">Please contact Jane Mandala, Conservation Connect Coordinator, with any questions:</span><span style="font-size:10.0pt;font-family:"Times New Roman",serif"><u></u><u></u></span></p>
<p align="center" style="text-align:center"><span style="font-size:10.0pt;font-family:"Times New Roman",serif;color:black"><a href="mailto:jmandala@nationalforests.org" target="_blank"><span style="font-size:11.0pt;font-family:Barlow;color:#0563c1">jmandala@nationalforests.org</span></a></span><span style="font-size:11.0pt;font-family:Barlow;color:black"> 
 •  (406) 830-4795</span><span style="font-size:10.0pt;font-family:"Times New Roman",serif"><u></u><u></u></span></p>
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