Washington Sea Grant Coastal Resilience Fellowship
Overview
The Washington Sea Grant Coastal Resilience Fellowship offers a unique paid educational opportunity for early or shifting career professionals to provide additional capacity for coastal communities around coastal resilience. Highly motivated, qualified individuals are teamed with mentors in a host office for two years, working on coastal resilience-related projects. Hosts provide mentorship, supervision, and opportunities for fellows that support their professional and educational goals. Through collaborative work planning, fellows’ projects will build capacity and provide tangible results for host organizations. Criteria for potential fellows and subsequent outreach efforts are dependent on the project focus.
The Washington Sea Grant Coastal Resilience Fellowship Program aims to:
- Provide tailored coastal resilience support to coastal communities through intentional capacity building,
- Develop fellows’ pathways for careers in coastal resilience through project-based learning with their host organization, mentorship, and professional learning, and
- Nurture a vibrant coastal resilience network of partnerships.
The WSG Coastal Resilience Fellowship is funded by the Climate Resilience Regional Challenge through the Department of Commerce and the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration. Please be advised that this fellowship program is contingent upon the availability and allocation of federal funds.
Office Hours:
The WSG Fellowships team will be available to discuss the fellowship and answer questions during the following virtual drop-in office hours:
Thursday, April 2, 2026, 2-3 pm (Register here)
Wednesday, April 15, 2026, 4-5 pm (Register here)
Information Session Recordings
Recording of a 2026 host organization information session below.
Recording of a 2025 information session for prospective fellows below.
For Hosts – Application & Interest Form
- Host Organization Eligibility: Tribes, local nonprofits, municipalities, special districts, conservation districts, and other local entities working on projects focused on coastal resilience along WA’s coastlines. State and federal entities are not eligible for this fellowship.
- Host Application: Applications are CLOSED for the 26-28 cycle. Please feel free to share your interest via the below interest form if you’d like to learn about the next cycle.
- Interest & Nomination Form: Host Application Interest Form (Google Form)
2026 – 2028 Host Offices, Position Descriptions, Presentation Recordings
Check back for the full list of host offices and their materials.
- Coast Salmon Partnership & Foundation: Making Salmon Recovery Work for Us: Developing a Strategy to Refine Coast Priorities and Improve Salmon Monitoring Capacity, Presentation Recording
- Evergreen Coast Economic Development District: Supporting Maritime and Port Infrastructure to Foster Coastal Resilience
- Lower Elwha Klallam Tribe: Coastal Resilience and Adaptation Integration for the Lower Elwha Klallam Tribe, Presentation Recording
- Lummi Nation: Implementation of Lummi Nation’s Coastal Resilience Plan
- Host 5 – Check back for details
- Quileute Tribe – Quillayute River Coastal Resilience and Restoration
2025 – 2027 Host Offices and Position Descriptions
- Chinook Indian Nation & Columbia Land Trust: ntsayka iliʔi pi tilixam: our lands and people
- North Olympic Development Council: Olympic Peninsula Coastal Resilience Planning and Research Fellow
- Pacific Conservation District: Community Engagement and Project Development for Coastal Adaptation
- Shoalwater Bay Indian Tribe: From Planning to Action: Environmental and Community-Based Strategies for Shoalwater Bay’s Future
- Quinault Indian Nation: Building Community Resiliency to Coastal Hazards
FAQs
For Fellows – How To Apply
The fellow application will open on April 1, 2026.
Please see the “For Prospective Fellows” tab below for application instructions and to access the eSeaGrant application portal.
Award
In 2025, each fellow will receive a total award of $80,000, including a stipend of $75,000 to cover living expenses, required health care coverage in accordance with federal law, and tax related expenses (e.g. paying taxes, tax preparation services, etc.) and a $5,000 professional development budget (e.g. trainings, online courses, conferences, and related travel expenses) administered by Washington Sea Grant. Washington Sea Grant is committed to providing any resources we can as well as facilitating connections with fellow alumni as applicable.
In the second year of the 2025-2027 cohort, each fellow will receive an award of $83,000, including a stipend of $78,000 and a $5,000 professional development budget.
Application Information for Hosts and Fellows
Instructions on how to apply to participate as a WSG Coastal Resilience Fellowship Host office or apply to be a Fellow.