Young Changemakers Fellowship

The eeBLUE Young Changemakers Fellowship has ended. Search for other NOAA student opportunities at noaa.gov/students.

About the program

The eeBLUE Young Changemakers Fellowship (YCF) was a program dedicated to collaborating with and empowering the next generation of ocean and environmental leaders. 

Through YCF, high school students from the United States, U.S. territories, and tribal nations learned to create change in their home communities. The changemakers also provided NOAA leadership with their perspective on large-scale issues such as climate change, ocean issues, community resilience challenges, and more.

A group of 13 people, nine high school students and four adults, smile at the camera. They are standing on a rooftop patio in Washington, DC, with the Washington Monument in the background.
In July 2023, the inaugural cohort of the eeBLUE Young Changemakers Fellowship gathered for a kick-off summit in Washington, D.C. Through the Young Changemakers Fellowship, these students had the opportunity to create impact through leading local action projects as well as sharing their perspectives with NOAA leadership, including former NOAA Administrator Dr. Rick Spinrad (right).
Download Image

Fellows took part in an in-person summit in D.C. in the summer and virtual meetings throughout the school year. These meetings included everything from community engagement workshops and science communication training to roundtable discussions with NOAA leadership.

Together, these opportunities helped fellows turn their passion for ocean and environmental topics into concrete action, all while helping NOAA better understand the perspectives of young people. 

This fellowship was a joint effort between NOAA and the North American Association for Environmental Education (NAAEE). It was run through the eeBLUE partnership, which works to further environmental and science literacy to build more resilient communities nationwide.

It is not an overstatement to say that this has been a life-changing experience.

Parent of a Young Changemaker, Class of 2023-2024

Program benefits

In return for full program participation, each fellow received:

  • a stipend.
  • funding to support a community-led action project (Cohort 1) or the fellow’s professional development (Cohort 2).
  • one-on-one mentorship with a NOAA employee.
  • an all-expenses-paid kick-off summit in Washington, D.C. over the summer.

Past cohorts

Eight high school students completed the fellowship as part of the 2023-2024 cohort, the pilot year of the program. Each fellow led their own community-based action project, ranging from environmental literacy campaigns to electronics recycling drives to local community resilience workshops.

The 2024-2025 cohort was composed of 15 high school students hailing from 11 different states and two territories. They completed their fellowships in June 2025.

Students smile and laugh while conversing with Dr. Rick Spinrad, NOAA Administrator, in his office. They are standing next to a wooden table and in front of a large NOAA logo and flags.
Dr. Rick Spinrad, former NOAA Administrator, converses with the second cohort of eeBLUE Young Changemakers during their kick-off summit in Washington, D.C., in July 2024. He met regularly with these high school students to hear their perspectives on a variety of NOAA-related topics. (Image credit: Megan Fink / NAAEE)