Boards and Commissions Fellowship alum Keisha Samara talks lessons from her fellowship with the North Carolina League of Conservation Voters Foundation, and how board members can make a difference in their communities.

Boards and Commissions Fellowship alum Shelly Buchanan talks lessons from her fellowship with the Conservation Voters for Idaho Education Fund, and how she has carried them with her into a career in public service.

Many leaders get their start by serving on a local board or commission. Learn how one state fellowship program helps prepare future leaders to serve their communities.

Shari Baber never felt that City Hall was a place for her, until she became the first Black woman to serve on the Boise Parks and Recreations Commission. A 2021 graduate of the Conservation Voters Movement’s Boards and Commissions Fellowship, Shari reflects on how the program prepared her to serve on the commission and to understand how government policy can drive social justice.

The Fellowship program aims to ensure that the people influencing environmental policy are reflective of their communities, and that we are increasing the share of environmental leaders serving on boards and commissions.

LCV Education Fund’s grant program supports Boards and Commissions Fellowship programs led by our state affiliates in the Conservation Voter Movement. Fellows are drawn from our state affiliates and allied community organizations. The fellowship is intended to recruit racially diverse, values-aligned environmental leaders and help them to secure appointments to boards and commissions that can help to advance a clean energy and pro-environment agenda.