The Boundless Fellowship

Breakthrough Leadership for Nature

A group of people sitting on a log at the edge of a river, pointing into the distance

Our Mission

Boundless invests in rising leaders from across the Americas who share a commitment to protecting nature.

Our fellowships offer mentorship from prominent leaders, resources to drive forward innovative work, and immersive group travel to critically important landscapes and seascapes throughout the hemisphere.

The Fellowship Experience

Boundless is a two-year program for small, diverse cohorts brought together by a commitment to protecting the most vital ecosystems in the Americas.

Boundless offers...

A dramatic landscape of bison-filled grasslands with a mountain range in the distance

Encounters

Group travel experiences, called Encounters, are the beating heart of the Boundless Fellowship. Twice during each year of the fellowship — four times in total — Boundless Fellows embark on a 10-day trip to a site of critical conservation importance. These fully funded travel opportunities offer fellows the chance to learn from innovators doing cutting-edge work, engage with peers from across the hemisphere, and cultivate space for reflection in nature.

NOTE: The following itinerary is provisional and may change, but illustrates of the types of experiences a Boundless cohort may share.

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Final Gathering
Breakthrough Initiative
The BoundlessEncounters

October 2024

Leadership, Communication, and Conservation

Peru

While visiting remote biological research stations in the Peruvian Amazon, fellows will reflect on their values and inspirations, and build connections with mentor figures who will guide their journey through the Boundless Fellowship.

Values & Leadership

Breakthrough Initiative

In the second year of the fellowship, all fellows will develop their own personally chosen project — called the Breakthrough Initiative. Drawing on the in-person encounters and online seminars from the first year of the fellowship, each Breakthrough Initiative will be designed with a “seeing the whole” approach that addresses an important and complex challenge in each fellow's home ecosystem. Each stage of development of the Breakthrough Initiative — from ideation to outlining to full strategic planning and research methods — will be supported by the input of our expert mentors, peers, and staff.

Fellows may apply for substantial seed funding to support their Breakthrough Initiative. The project will culminate in a final gathering in Washington DC.

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Mentors & Advisors

Our fellows receive support and guidance from expert mentors who are not only leading figures in fields that intersect with conservation, but are also wise, thoughtful, and caring advisors. Whether attending an Encounter together with our fellows, leading an interactive workshop, or providing input during the development of the Breakthrough Initiative, our mentors provide fellows with cross-generational collaboration meant to foster genuine, enduring relationships that will make a difference in the future of our planet’s vital ecosystems.
 
Meet all of our mentors 

Boundless Fellows

Our fellows are...

Our fellows are invested in the future of the most important ecosystems in the Americas and their work demonstrates a profound commitment to protecting those places. We’re seeking people who have experienced deep connection with a place and want to shape its future.

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A woman sitting in a lush, green forest, writing in a notebook

We're looking for fellows who:

A Boundless fellow could be:

What we expect from fellows

Boundless Fellows commit to joining a small, tight-knit community of fiercely committed, curious, and driven thinkers and doers.

Fellows are required to attend all four encounters over the course of their two year fellowship. They are expected to actively participate in online programming and to engage with the Breakthrough Initiative with creativity and energy.

In short, Boundless Fellows should plan to join a dynamic, vibrant community — a community they contribute to and engage with throughout the fellowship.

A group of people laughing and smiling around a table full of books and papers
A woman in a soft plaid shirt carrying a large bundle of green reeds over her head

The Boundless Philosophy

There is a scarcity of rising leaders who can act as bridge-builders and problem solvers in defense of nature.

We are committed to locating and supporting a particular type of conservation leader: the multi-disciplinary generalist who can bridge worlds, absorb the entirety of the challenges facing an ecosystem, and craft solutions with a holistic mindset.

Seeing the Whole

We believe that to successfully protect an ecosystem, leaders must learn to “see the whole” of a place and engage the kaleidoscope of local and global forces that affect its future.

Our fellows will learn to develop holistic strategies for protecting nature — strategies that take into account local communities, politics, and ways of knowing — while also engaging with food production systems, protected areas, global supply chains, geopolitics, international treaties, and more.

Great BearRainforestFinancing MechanismsSupply ChainsFood SovereigntyIndigenous LeadershipFederal Agencies and PoliciesEcological Functioning and Restoration