Washington Climate Resilience Outreach and Storytelling Fellow 

This position is part of the NOAA Coastal Resilience Fellowship Program, supporting the Climate Resilience Regional Challenge (CRRC) projects. The fellow will support the project: The Washington State Coastal Climate Resilience Initiative: Accelerating Implementation of 20 Years of Partnership Efforts.

Host Organization: Washington State Department of Ecology
Location of Position: Lacey, Washington
Duration of Position: Two years (June 2025-June 2027)
Annual Salary: $47,876
Benefits: Medical insurance, 11 paid federal holidays per year, 15 paid personal days per year, professional development training, travel funding, and relocation allowance

Work Environment:

The fellow will be expected to work in the office once per week, typically on Wednesdays.

Fellowship Position Description:

This is an exciting opportunity to join an enthusiastic team that believes in the growth and development of fellows and provides many different opportunities to work on program initiatives that address climate impacts and advance community resilience, with an emphasis on supporting the Climate Resilience Regional Challenge projects funded through NOAA. These projects are described below.  

The Department of Ecology’s coastal team has a long history of successfully hosting fellows and a robust fellowship performance and development plan to ensure fellows have enriching, satisfying experiences in their role and that their positions are adaptive to their emerging interests and priorities. Our team aims to surround the fellow with a network of partners and mentors to create a meaningful introduction to a profession in coastal resilience. Through lived experience, we understand the importance of providing structure and clear goals while allowing for creativity and diverse interests and skills to be fostered. We strive to create a transparent and open work environment so that fellows feel welcomed, supported, and encouraged to thrive. 

Our team prioritizes diversity, equity, and inclusion in all of our work and seeks to center environmental justice and uphold Tribal sovereignty through our efforts. This priority is central to the implementation of all of the Climate Resilience Regional Challenge projects, and it is our hope that fellows who join us have a strong interest in and commitment to equity and environmental justice and can help grow our program in these areas.

The NOAA fellowships at the Washington State Department of Ecology will support key work areas that enhance the state’s coastal and shoreline management efforts. We have designed this fellowship to include a range of professional experiences across different sectors as well as collaboration opportunities with internal and external partners. At the heart of Washington’s award is a creative and collaborative approach with a broad coalition of partners to build an enduring vision for coastal resilience in Washington State.  

This fellowship is focused on communication and creative storytelling. Depending on the fellow’s skills and interests, this could take many different shapes, such as visual arts, videography, development of interactive online platforms, or other formats—your imagination is the limit here. 

With support from their mentor and other department staff, the fellow will develop a work plan that will position them to have ownership of projects while contributing to meaningful work that will progress program goals. A range of available experiences are listed below, some of which will be required (as noted). The fellow will support the program’s work across all focus areas and can choose to prioritize projects in certain areas, depending on their interests, skills, and professional development goals.

Coastal Resilience Storytelling

Storytelling can build community resilience to climate change in many ways. This NOAA fellow will support the Washington State Coastal Climate Resilience Partnership by working with project partners and their communities to document, co-create, and share stories through various multimedia. Fellows are encouraged to bring their artistic skills and expertise with various tools or media to engage community members and project partners and assist in telling their stories. This work will:

• Raise Awareness: Stories can illustrate the impacts of climate change, making the issue more relatable. Personal narratives about affected communities can highlight real-world impacts and demonstrate successes that come from taking action.
• Share Knowledge: Through storytelling, communities can share traditional ecological knowledge and innovative adaptation strategies. This exchange of ideas will support project efforts undertaken by the partnership and can empower other individuals and groups to develop effective responses to climate challenges.
• Create Cultural Connection: Stories will center local cultures and traditions with a focus on restoration and resilience practices. This will help communities connect their history and identity to their environment. This connection can inspire stewardship and motivate additional climate resilience efforts.
• Foster Cohesion: Collective storytelling can strengthen community bonds, encouraging collaboration and mutual support. Stronger social networks can enhance resilience by facilitating resource sharing and coordinated responses to climate challenges.
• Support Community-Driven Visions: Stories can help communities envision positive outcomes and possible futures, providing hope and motivation to work toward resilient solutions.
• Strengthen Relationships and Empathy Across Project Partners: Stories can reveal shared values, goals, and challenges, helping individuals find common ground. This shared understanding will help form the foundation for stronger relationships across the broad set of project partners, Tribes, and stakeholders who will be engaged throughout the implementation of the project.
• Develop Materials for Funding: Storytelling can be a transformative tool for coastal communities and Tribes when developing funding application materials. It can personalize the impacts of climate change, making it easier for funders to understand the urgency of the challenges these communities face. As we see more inclusive and diverse funding guidelines, resources developed in this fellowship can help progress projects towards implementation.

Key responsibilities:

• Work closely with NOAA’s Climate Resilience Regional Challenge Equity and Engagement Fellow
• Community engagement
• Story development
• Content creation in a variety of storytelling formats, based on expertise of the fellow and input from project partners and community members (e.g., written articles, videos, social media, art, story maps)
• Gather feedback and improve storytelling strategies and approaches

To build trust, storytellers have full agency in sharing their stories and how their story may be shared or used by others. Processes will be codeveloped that protect participants’ confidentiality when needed and appropriately recognize their contributions.

Program Communications, Outreach, Web Development, and Other Projects

In addition to the primary creative storytelling focus, the Department of Ecology looks to expand and improve the information, graphics, photos, and case studies we share to facilitate knowledge exchange among communities and practitioners. We want to increase the awareness, adoption, and knowledge about nature-based and multi-benefit projects that mitigate coastal hazards and provide ecosystem services, including the Climate Resilience Regional Challenge projects being implemented. Depending on the fellow’s background and expertise, this work could include: 

• Writing or contributing to ecology blogs and exploring new ways to share coastal resilience news and updates (e.g., through a Department of Ecology listserv, a semiannual newsletter, or social media)
• Developing maps, graphics, and informational briefs (e.g., story maps, web content, blogs, brochures, focus sheets) for improving the visibility and accessibility of coastal resilience efforts
• Updating or adding content to our program’s webpages and guidance documents, which may involve photography and videography trips across the coast to collect new photos and imagery
• Assisting the Department of Ecology’s Applied Coastal Research and Engineering Shoreline Mapping Unit in planning and hosting stakeholder meetings and compiling meeting notes and resources to draft a stakeholder data gap and priority list to incorporate into a perpetual shoreline condition assessment updated every two years
• Supporting the Climate Resilience Regional Challenge partnership planner and the equity and engagement fellow to develop a communications plan and implementation plan for conveying information to target audiences in service to Washington State’s Coastal Resilience Regional Partnership
• Supporting the Department of Ecology’s Applied Coastal Research and Engineering team with online accessibility of data products supporting coastal resilience efforts
• Working with Department of Ecology and Sea Grant staff to comanage the Washington Coastal Hazards Resilience Network, including managing the network’s suite of information and resources and supporting annual meeting planning

Agency Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion Statement:

Diversity, equity, inclusion, and respect (DEIR) are core values central to the Department of Ecology’s work. We strive to be a workplace where we are esteemed for sharing our authentic identities while advancing our individual professional goals and collaborating to protect, preserve, and enhance the environment for current and future generations.

• Diversity: We celebrate and appreciate diversity; our unique perspectives and abilities enrich us all and lead to innovative approaches and solutions.
• Equity: We champion equity, recognizing that each of us need different things to thrive.
• Inclusion: We intentionally create and hold space so that we all have meaningful opportunities to participate and contribute to the Department of Ecology’s work.
• Respect: We treat each other with respect and dignity, acknowledging the inherent worth of our diverse perspectives and lived experiences, even in times of uncertainty and disagreement.

We believe that DEIR values are both a goal and an action. We are on a journey, honoring our shared humanity and taking steps to demonstrate our commitment to a vision where each of us is heard, seen, and valued. 

Anticipated Travel:

Our team prioritizes professional development and always seeks opportunities to connect fellows with broader networks, training opportunities, and events. The fellow will be encouraged to attend staff and partner meetings, trainings, and other opportunities to gain exposure and understanding of how government and nongovernmental organizations work on regional shoreline and coastal management. Travel will be primarily in the project region. When opportunities arise, the fellow will be encouraged to attend and present at regional meetings and conferences. In addition to funds provided by NOAA for the fellow’s professional development, the Department of Ecology may have additional resources to support fellows. All fellows are required to attend NOAA’s peer-to-peer sharing event in 2027.

Minimum qualifications:

• Bachelor’s or master’s degree in environmental science, environmental studies, communications, arts, media, or a closely aligned field
• Commitment to public service and diversity, equity, and inclusivity and environmental justice
• Strong interpersonal and communication skills

Desired skills and experience:

• Experience or interest in:
  • Coastal ecology and shoreline processes
  • Reading, understanding, and translating scientific documents for diverse audiences
  • Creative storytelling
  • Engaging with diverse communities and interacting with perspectives that are different from your own
  • ArcGIS Storymap creation
  • Tribal engagement

Fellow Mentoring: 

The fellow will work with the Shorelands and Environmental Assistance Program at the Department of Ecology in Lacey, Washington. While there is opportunity for the fellow to primarily telework if they choose, the fellow is expected to work in the office a minimum of one day per week to collaborate with team members and support networking and professional development. Julia Stinson Ebert, coastal resilience partnership planner, will be the lead mentor and will oversee activities and guide development. A secondary mentor may also be assigned to guide the fellow’s work assignments in specific work areas. The fellow’s supervisor will be Jay Krienitz, coast and ocean management unit supervisor.

The fellow will have a tailored Performance and Development Plan (PDP) that will provide a framework for how the fellow will work with the mentors and supervisors throughout the fellowship. The plan supports evaluation of the fellow’s progress on tasks and professional growth and ensures clear and open discussions about goal setting, opportunities for improvement (for all parties), and self-evaluation. 

The fellow will be part of a cross-sector, multiagency team supported by a range of coastal and shoreline management experts, including ocean policy, shoreline management, coastal engineering, floodplain management, and wetlands conservation professionals. Our team values flexibility and agility in our fellowship programs and wants to be sure that the fellow’s performance and development plan is adaptable to arising and newly discovered interests. While this position description provides a general outline for the work the fellow can expect to undertake, there will be plenty of opportunity for the fellow to work with their mentor to revise and update their work plan as they progress in their position.  

To apply, please upload the following materials in one PDF file:

• Resume (two-page limit)
• Statement of interest, where the candidate describes what they hope to gain from the fellowship experience and what they can contribute. Candidates should also highlight any connections to or special interests in the region, including Indigenous or local knowledge and relevant life experiences (500-word limit).
• Unofficial academic transcripts to show coursework (or joint services transcript for veterans)
• Two professional or academic references (names and contact information)