Advocacy and leadership are essential to affecting change. Yet, many afterschool professionals are unfamiliar with the policies, processes, and relationship building necessary to be effective advocates for the out-of-school time (OST) field.

Florida After School’s Out-of-School Time Advocacy Fellowship Program offers unique opportunities to hear, meet, and work with thought leaders in the field and policy staff at the state and local levels. Each year, selected fellows will be part of a cohort of ten afterschool professionals, who will work together through a 10-month curriculum framework that examines and addresses state and national policies that impact OST programs. Fellows will be asked to identify one issue impacting the challenges to the OST workforce in their community that they wish to examine as part of their fellowship.

Fellows will participate in eight virtual meetings and one in-person seminar in Tallahassee, for which their travel-related expenses will be covered. The seminar will include access to the state Capitol, where participants will have the opportunity to observe the legislative process while learning best practices for effecting change.

Throughout the process, fellows will be encouraged to foster and maintain relationships to expand their spheres of influence. Each cohort of the Out-of-School Time Advocacy Fellowship Program will begin in January and will culminate in a graduation ceremony and recognition at the annual Florida After School conference in October.

For more information about the Out-of-School Time Advocacy Fellowship Program, contact Morgan Evers at mevers@flafterschool.com.