The Donella Meadows Leadership Fellows Program launched in 2003 with the goal of accelerating the shift to global sustainability by increasing the effectiveness of well-positioned, mid-career sustainability leaders. Between 2003 and 2010, we trained seventy-four fellows in sixteen different countries in the tools of systems thinking, visioning, and reflective conversation. In addition to participating in four week-long retreats, fellows developed their skills through monthly coaching calls, homework, and meetings with small peer groups.
The Donella Meadows Project is not currently accepting applications for new cohorts of Fellows. However, our sister organization the Sustainability Leaders Network (SLN) has taken on much of this coaching and convening work. The SLN actively works with the network of Fellows to expand their capacity for leadership and change, deepen their relationships with key partners and with one another, and enhance their ability to realize visions of sustainability. This work includes convening annual seminars for the Fellows, as well as facilitating in-person and online communication that provides Fellows with opportunities to continue to learn from one another, collaborate on projects, coach across sectors, and dive deeper into the skills they learned during their Fellowships.
The SLN maintains a wealth of information about the Donella Meadows Leadership Fellows, including Fellow profiles, a blog, and recent publications and videos by Fellows. In addition, as experts in sustainability, visioning, systems thinking, and reflective conversation, the SLN offers services to individuals and organizations including coaching, learning journeys, workshops, and webinars. They are an excellent resource for anyone interested in learning these skills.
