Omidyar Fellows Program Now Accepting Applicants

Changemakers and leaders statewide are invited to apply for the Omidyar Fellows eighth cohort.

Founded in 2012, the program “seeks to cultivate the conditions in which Hawaiʻi thrives by equipping mid-career leaders with the skills and cross-sector relationships necessary to collectively affect societal change.”

Applications are now being accepted online and are due by noon HST on Wednesday, March 4, 2020.

Candidates should have at least 10 years of professional experience leading and engaging others, and be willing to commit significant time and effort to improve their futures and the future of Hawaiʻi.

The best candidates have been entrepreneurial in their career and have had the experience and drive to be disrupters and transformative catalysts within organizational leadership and/or outside of formal roles.

The application and selection process for the Omidyar Fellows program includes an online written application, letters of support, small group process, and in-person interview. Selected Fellows will participate in an executive-level 15-month curriculum and join a vibrant network – the Forum of Fellows – at no cost to the Fellow or their employer/sponsoring organization. The program provides travel stipends for neighbor island Fellows.

“The future of our state relies tremendously on the ability of its emerging leaders to address and solve the growing, complex challenges facing our community,” said Bill Coy, director of Omidyar Fellows. “The Omidyar Fellows program presents an incredible, life-changing opportunity for those leaders to develop. Together, those leaders will foster and enact transformative change for Hawaiʻi.”

Omidyar Fellows, a program of the Hawaiʻi Leadership Forum, commences in October 2020 with Cohort VIII. The curriculum includes a full-day session once a month, executive coaching, an individual learning excursion, conversations with community, business, and government leaders and more.

After the initial 15 months, the curriculum portion of the Omidyar Fellows journey concludes, and the cohort becomes fully engaged in the Forum of Fellows, an active network of 100 local leaders and changemakers, all of whom are dedicated to making positive movement on Hawaiʻi’s most pressing issues.

“To be of service in one’s community is one of the greatest responsibilities we can be blessed with. The Omidyar Fellows program brings the collective, brave space to unpack, challenge, define, and mold ideas and solutions that can positively impact Hawaiʻi in a responsible way,” said Forest Frizzell, Cohort I.

Entrepreneur, Pierre Omidyar, is the founder of eBay.  The Omidyar Fellows program was built on Pierre’s belief that the challenges of today and tomorrow require discerning leaders who approach solutions with innovative mindsets, unafraid of challenging the status quo.

Cohort VII. PC: Derek Wong Photography via Omidyar Fellows