The Spring 2026 TESI Environmental Leaders Fellowship brings together students from diverse majors and backgrounds and provides them with the knowledge, skills, confidence, and network to advocate for the planet as they take on leadership roles in their respective careers.

Funded with support from the National Academies, this Fellowship offers UF undergraduates the opportunity to gain experience in environmental research, education & outreach, and civic engagement. Our Spring 2026 cohort attends seminars featuring environmental experts, takes part in four days of immersive field experiences, networks with peers, and engages with the public through TESI outreach events.

Spring 2026 Fellows

Benefits of the program

Fellows will leave the program with the following:

• Four days of field experiences, including a bird banding event and spring break field trips.
• Enhanced understanding of environmental issues.
• A broad skill set in different approaches to tackling environmental issues.
• Professional and leadership skills focused on research, education, and civic engagement. Fellowship experiences will culminate in a final project focused on the experiences of the fellows with the UF Bird Observatory or other environmental topics of interest.
• A network of colleagues as they emerge as leaders in their respective fields.
• Stipend of $1,200.

Program components

• Seminars: These discussions feature environmental professionals from a variety of fields.
• Cohort meetings: Fellows attend biweekly cohort meetings to network with one another and with professionals in the community.
• Outreach: Fellows can help out on an outreach project during the spring semester, working with members of the TESI team to educate the public on environmental issues.
• Field experiences: Fellows gain hands-on research experience and have opportunities to engage and connect with professionals, researchers, and other stakeholders tackling environmental issues from various perspectives.
• Final blog project: Fellows each work on a blog reflecting on the environment and the study of ornithology in Florida.

Program partnership

The Spring 2026 cohort is partnered with Dr. Glaucia Del-Rio, Assistant Curator of Ornithology at the Florida Museum. This cohort will have a focus on outreach and engagement through the lens of ornithology and connecting with birds in the community. Opportunities will include (but are not limited to) bird banding training with the UF Bird Observatory and seminars on avian research and conservation.

In addition to this ornithological theme, the fellowship will provide opportunities to engage with environmental topics such as water resources or environmental conservation. Fellows will have opportunities to share their interests, so that the fellowship can be enriching in many areas of environmental education.

Fellowship Organizers

Sadie Mills

Program Coordinator and Educator, UF Thompson Earth Systems Institute
Email: smills@floridamuseum.ufl.edu

Megan Ennes

Associate Curator of Museum Education, Florida Museum
Director, UF Thompson Earth Systems Institute
Email: mennes@floridamuseum.ufl.edu

Lexi Bolger

Graduate Student Coordinator, ELF Cohort II
Email: abolger@ufl.edu

Elle Henson

Wildlife Ecology and Conservation Undergraduate, TESI Program Assistant
Email: ellehenson@ufl.edu

ELF Blog

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Interested in supporting this program?

This program has been made possible by the generous support of private foundations as well as campus and community partners. If you are interested in supporting the next cohort of our TESI Environmental Leaders Fellowship, please email Sadie Mills at smills@floridamuseum.ufl.edu.