Fellowships
Paid pathways for young people researching, advocating, and leading change
Why This Work Matters
Girls, young women, and gender-expansive young people of color hold essential knowledge about the issues shaping their lives and communities. Justice + Joy fellowships create paid opportunities for young people to deepen their research, advocacy, and leadership skills while investigating the questions that matter to them.
Justice + Joy’s Approach
Through research training, mentorship, peer learning, and engagement with scholars, organizers, and practitioners, fellows develop the tools to examine systemic challenges, bring forward knowledge grounded in lived experience, and share their ideas with people positioned to act.
No previous research experience is required. Fellows bring their curiosity, questions, experiences, and commitment to change.
Lived Experience Is a Source of Knowledge
Too often, young people are treated as the subjects of research or invited to share their experiences after the questions and priorities have already been established. Justice + Joy’s fellowships create a different kind of space—one in which young people investigate the issues affecting them, develop their own analysis, and contribute ideas for changing the systems and conditions shaping their lives.
Justice + Joy Research Fellowship
The Justice + Joy Research Fellowship is a paid learning experience for girls, young women, and gender-expansive young people of color. Fellows select a social justice issue affecting their lives or communities and develop an original research proposal or conceptual framework grounded in their questions and lived expertise.
Through virtual sessions, independent research, mentorship, guest speakers, and peer collaboration, fellows build skills in research methods, social justice frameworks, and community advocacy. The fellowship concludes with a capstone showcase where fellows present their work to the Justice + Joy community and invited partners.
Envisioning New Structures Fellowship
The Envisioning New Structures Fellowship positioned girls and gender-expansive young people of color as researchers, storytellers, and advocates for mental health justice.
Using Youth Participatory Action Research, fellows identified questions, co-designed a shared research protocol, facilitated focus groups, analyzed findings, and developed recommendations. Their research examined beauty standards and self-worth; access to healing spaces and mental health resources; cultural dynamics and mental health; and gender- and racial-based violence and safety.
Their findings call on schools, policymakers, mental health professionals, and community leaders to create affirming environments, culturally responsive resources, stronger peer and mentorship networks, and meaningful opportunities for young people to shape decisions affecting their well-being.
What Will You Investigate?
Follow Justice + Joy to learn about future paid fellowship opportunities and the questions, ideas, and research emerging from current fellows.
