Community Action Policy Fellows Program

The Indiana Community Action Poverty Institute (“The Institute”) will soon be announcing the selection of three policy fellows for the 2025-2026 cycle.  The Institute will support two individuals interested in addressing basic needs and/or environmental justice concerns through policy change and a third fellowship specifically for a new parent (child age 0-3) to focus on the needs of young families.

The fellowship is a part-time, flexible 10-month paid work experience (from October 2025 to July 2026) that will allow three community members to engage with Institute staff and build momentum on their policy idea(s) by developing advocacy, research and outreach skills that will serve you in strengthening your ideas and your community.

These fellowships are generously funded by the Herbert Simon Family Foundation and the Pritzker Children's Initiative. 

Read more below about the program, including about past Fellows, position details, and application prompts. We also have a blog post from last year's Policy Fellow, Sarah, who wrote about her experiences in the program. 

Our Program Aims To:

• Support work on important community issues you care about, related to basic needs or environmental justice

• Learning skills for future jobs or career opportunities 

• Gain hands-on experience in creating and running a policy change campaign 

• Receive mentorship on the policy formation and change process 

• Learn how to do research and storytelling using different methods and tools  

Previous Fellows:  

	Sarah Harlow  2024-25 Policy Fellow Read Sarah's Blog Post
	Roshawn Neal  2024-25 Policy Fellow Read Roshawn's Blog Post