COBS Emerging Leaders Fellowship (formerly "Fellowship for People of Color")

Launched in 2018, the COBS Emerging Leaders Fellowship (formally called COBS Fellowship for People of Color) is aimed to engage people of color and other historically marginalized groups by increasing access to employment at Colorado Outward Bound School (COBS) and in the outdoor industry. We recognize that our students, staff, and community need the perspectives, leadership, and voices that represent the diversity of our larger society, and we acknowledge that we have struggled to attract and support this diversity in our community. People from different marginalized groups have often experienced barriers in access and feeling welcome to the public lands in which COBS operates, to the character development and leadership that the outdoors can provide, and to inclusive experiences in the outdoors and the outdoor industry.

As a result, we are committed to changing our practices and structures to remove barriers to accessing these important opportunities and resources. The COBS Fellowship Program builds upon our successful intern program and access stipends to give field-based practice to Fellows to develop the needed educational practices, support, skills, and experiences to be successful outdoor educators and leaders.  Applications open December each year.

How does it work:

• Five Fellows will serve in field-based, student instructional roles. One Fellow position will be focused on program administration and management. All positions are paid positions, designed to get Fellows up to speed quickly and with adequate support to do the work.
• The field based positions can expect to work from mid-May to end of August. The Program Administration and Management Fellow can expect to work from May to late August.
• COBS will post these positions in December annually with a goal to hire these positions by March annually.
• The application and more information can be found here (https://www.cobs.org/connect/employment/field/). Please contact Matt Olsen, Staffing Manager, with any other questions [email protected]

Who are we looking for:

• Individuals that identify as a member of an underrepresented or marginalized groups such as BIPOC, LGBTQIA+, people with disabilities, or other groups.
• Outdoors inspired people who enjoy teaching young people.
• People with a love of community and being part of something bigger than themselves.

The Fellowship Offers:

• A cohort of five to six Fellows at COBS’s Leadville Mountain Center who are committed to educating and instructing students toward our outcomes of leadership, service, and character. 
• Paid Training: While all new COBS trainees receive their training for free, the Fellows are paid assistant instructor wages to attend trainings.
• Opportunity to develop competency in a professional, hands-on and supportive environment. COBS will provide mentoring to Fellows to increase their competencies on the job as well as build upon the competencies they bring from past professional and personal experiences. 
• One-on-One leadership support: Fellows will work with a dedicated program leader who will support their career aspirations, assist with skill development, support transition, scheduling, community, and professional needs. This program lead also helps support Fellows by creating opportunities to network with others within the outdoor industry. 
• Opportunity to complete Wilderness First Responder Certification (WFR): Recognizing that the industry standard for First Aid requirements has a high upfront cost, COBS will cover the cost of the Fellows’ WFR ($800 per person), or the bridge course (Wilderness First Aid to WFR).
• Gear Support. Fellows will receive financial support to assist with the required purchasing of gear used by instructors in our course areas and provide donated product from program partners as available. 
• Travel support. Recognizing that we want to attract people both from Colorado and from a wider community, we will provide a stipend to offset the travel cost for Fellows to get to our remote basecamps.

Our partners:

COBS is grateful to the philanthropic partners that make this program possible including Boettcher Foundation and VF Foundation.
We are also grateful to Kim Miller, CEO of Scarpa North America, for being the inspiration behind this program and one of our greatest cheerleaders and connectors. 

It takes a community to support emerging leaders in the outdoor industry, who impact will ripple far beyond the Colorado Outward Bound School. 

For more information or to become a philanthropic sponsor of this program, please contact Darcy Lattof, Director of Development, at [email protected]

Job Description - Emerging Leaders Fellowship - Field Staff.pdf

Job Description - Emerging Leaders Fellowship - Admin Position.pdf

Please send any questions to Matt Olsen, COBS Staffing Manager at [email protected]