Pathwaves Fellowship Application 2026

Pathwaves Fellowship Application - 2024

Welcome to the Pathwaves Fellowship Application. We are eager to learn from you and review your application. Each section includes a purpose statement to help you understand what we are looking for from you. If you have any questions along the way, please reach out to our team at dania@pathwaveswa.org. The Application Deadline is: July 6th, 2026 by 5 PM (Pacific Time).

SECTION 1: Basic Applicant Information

Purpose: These questions are to provide us with your basic contact information and work experience.

First name

Last name

Phone

Resume: Please upload your current resume highlighting your fit for the Fellowship. Resume must not exceed 2 pages and be uploaded in a pdf format. If you need technical assistance, please contact us.

Upload your file

Choose a file or drag and drop one here.

SECTION 2: Short Essay Questions

Purpose: These questions are designed to help us better understand your interest in participating in the Pathwaves Fellowship and what you hope to get from the experience.

2.1. Please tell us why you are interested in participating in the Pathwaves Fellowship program. What do you hope to gain from the experience? (1300 maximum characters)

2.2. What strengths will you bring to the Pathwaves Fellowship? How can the Fellowship build on your existing strengths? (1300 maximum characters)

Pathwaves WA Mission:

Our mission is to build the collective power of leaders of color to transform early childhood systems so that every child and their community thrives.

2.3. Please share with us how your experience and values are in alignment with our mission and goals. We are interested in knowing more about who you are and what is important for us to know about you. (1300 maximum characters)

SECTION 3: Areas of Interest

Purpose: We are interested in learning more about your specific areas of interest to help us with the matching process between Fellow applicants and placement sites.

3.1. Pathwaves is focused on advancing policy to transform early childhood systems. There are a variety of necessary roles for effective policy development and implementation. Please select 2 aspects of policy work that most interest to you:

Policy tracking/analysis

Communications and media development

Community engagement/mobilization/advocacy

Coalition building/meeting facilitation

Policy research

Other (please explain below in 3.1a.)

3.1a. Please share with us why you selected those areas of interest.

3.2. [Optional] Do you have specific communities you are most passionate about working with? (some examples might include: immigrants, refugees, child care providers, expectant parents).

3.2a. If so, please also share with us any previous experience working with these communities.

SECTION 4: Lived Experience

Purpose: Pathwaves WA creates pathways for leaders of color to hold decision-making roles in early childhood systems, to equitably drive and shape the design of policies that affect future generations of children and communities. We know that communities that are most impacted by systemic injustices are uniquely qualified to do this work and we are interested in increasing the representation of people of color in positions of power within policy development processes.

4.1. Please share a short statement on how your lived experience would contribute towards helping us meet our purpose and goals. (400 character max)

SECTION 5: Logistics

The Pathwaves Fellowship is a FULL TIME, at-will role with a 20-month commitment (September 2026-April 2028). A typical week for Fellows will consist of 4 days/week working with Placement Site and 1 day/week participating in Professional Development with the Cohort and Fellowship Team. Professional Development Days will be held on Fridays during typical work hours (9 AM - 5 PM).

The following questions help us understand your individual situation with respect to the logistics of the program design. Please Note: Fellows are required to live in the State of Washington for the duration of the Fellowship. Some positions are remote, some hybrid, and some are onsite.

5.1. What city (in Washington state) do you expect to live in during the duration of the Fellowship?

5.2. Do you foresee any barriers to fulfilling the Pathwaves Fellowship commitments as described above?

5.3. Is there anything else you would like us to know as we consider your application materials?

SECTION 6: References

Pathwaves staff will check references between the screening interview and the placement site interviews. After the screening interview, we will ask for 3 to 5 professional references who can speak to your professional and/or educational experience. We will request that at least 2 of the references be supervisors and one peer.

Please acknowledge that you understand this requirement and will be ready to provide 3-5 professional references after the screening interview

I understand this requirement