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Ocean Leaders Fellowship 2026
Deadline: February 15, 2026 · 11:59 PM PST
Cohort: 40 Global Fellows · Ages: 18–35
The Challenge:
The ocean is our lifeline. And the next generation of ocean leaders is inheriting the responsibility to protect it. Yet systemic barriers, such as limited opportunities and exclusion from critical decision-making spaces, often prevent young leaders from contributing their expertise and advancing their careers.
The Solution:
The Ocean Leaders Fellowship (OLF), developed by Sustainable Ocean Alliance in partnership with Dona Bertarelli Philanthropy, is an annual program dedicated to empowering the next generation of ocean conservation and climate leaders by equipping 40 early-career delegates each year with critical tactical skills, leadership opportunities, and high-level networks necessary to advance impactful initiatives.
OLF is designed to cultivate belonging, activate collective power, and build lifetime leadership capacity, so Fellows can bridge local knowledge and global decision-making with confidence and integrity.
The program curriculum includes skill development workshops, access to mentors, collaboration opportunities with peers, and a special opportunity to travel and participate in an international conference and leadership institute in June 2026.
The Fellowship Experience:
The Fellowship runs from March 26th to December 5th 2026, and combines weekly virtual programming with an immersive in-person institute. OLF supports young ocean leaders who are already organizing, leading teams, and influencing systems, and want to deepen their impact.
Thematic Focus: Advancing 30x30
The 2026 cohort is centered on furthering the goals for the 30x30 roadmap: protecting 30% of the ocean by 2030.
By elevating 40 leaders, the Fellowship activates ripples far beyond the cohort, strengthening ecosystems of action worldwide.
Rather than abstract pledges, Fellows work on:
- What protection means in their specific local and regional context
- Equity, livelihoods, and Indigenous leadership
- Ocean–climate connections
- How collective leadership shifts systems
Fellows will:
- Work in peer leadership pods (4–5 Fellows) that form the backbone of belonging and accountability
- Participate in dialogue-based learning, coaching, and office hours
- Practice leadership skills in real high-stakes policy contexts
- Build trust, confidence, and clarity as leaders in complex systems
The 2026 Learning Arc
Phase 1: Listening & Storytelling
Goal: Gather and represent community voices on ocean protection and 30x30
What Fellows Practice:
- Hosting Community / Citizen Dialogues
- Active listening and multi-stakeholder engagement
- Creating a policy brief grounded in local realities
- Developing a media package and press outreach strategy
Phase 2: Bridge Building
Goal: Translate community knowledge into global policy spaces
What Fellows Practice:
- Influencing decision-makers
- Strategic networking and relationship-building
- Storytelling in high-stakes environments
Phase 3: Activating Collective Power
Goal: Turn learning into action
What Fellows Practice:
- Designing and leading a global and/or local campaign
- Coalition and movement building
- Digital campaigning
- Fundraising basics and career pathing
- Sustaining momentum, joy, and resilience as leaders
Program Details
Dates: March 26 – December 5, 2026
Time Commitment: ~5 hours/week (average)
Who Should Apply & Eligibility
Please review all eligibility requirements carefully before submitting your application
Applicants must:
- Be 18–35 as of June 20, 2026
- Work in ocean or climate action (with a strong interest in 30x30)
- Align with one of SOA's five Ocean Impact Areas
- Have C1 English proficiency
- Be available for international travel the entire dates of June 9-19th 2026
- Not have previously attended OOC or UNOC Youth forums
Apply or Nominate:
The 2025 OLF Cohort
The Ocean Leaders Fellowship launched in 2025, welcoming 40 young ocean leaders. The inaugural cohort focused on Leadership & Storytelling, with a program curriculum that included skill-building workshops, expert mentorship, peer collaboration, and participation in the 2025 Our Ocean Youth Leadership Summit and UN Ocean Conference.
Explore the 2025 OLF Fellows in the gallery below: