Reach the Decision Makers Fellowship
Program Description
The Reach the Decision Makers Fellowship trained scientists, community members, clinicians and public health professionals to effectively promote science and health-based policies at the US EPA. Fellows included local, state, and national advocates. Through their involvement, fellows gained a better understanding of the underlying science linking environmental contaminants to reproductive harm and built their skills for shaping environmental health policy at the national level. As part of the project, fellows visited the US EPA in Washington, DC to learn more about the Agency’s activities and to share their perspectives on environmental reproductive health science and policy.
The training model utilized for Reach the Decision Makers drew on successful training methods implemented by the Women’s Foundation of California for the Women’s Policy Institute (WPI), which trains nonprofit and community leaders in effective public policy engagement. The WPI model draws upon best practices for adult learning, incorporating three primary modes of instruction to enhance participant learning—reading, listening and doing. Fellows both developed the tools and skills to effectively engage key offices and staff members within the US EPA and learned to work with others to enhance the outcomes of their engagement. Having participants engage US EPA on real policy issues of their own choosing allowed them to contribute to immediate and lasting changes in environmental health policy.
The Reach the Decision Makers program ran from 2010-2016, and in that time we were honored to meet and be inspired by each fellow’s work and passion for making a difference in the world.
Learn more about the Reach the Decision Makers program:
- Informational Overview: Learn about the accomplishments of Reach in this 2-page overview
- Reach Project Overviews: Learn about past project accomplishments
- Reach the Decision Makers Fellows: List of Reach the Decision Makers fellows and alumni