The NextGen: Emerging Leaders Fellowship is a 10-month educational and experiential learning program that aims to build young and emerging leaders to respond to the HIV epidemic within the United States. By equipping them to become more effective and informed health advocates, it is our goal to empower them to become more active in their communities.
Each year the NMAC selects up to 30 young adults ages 18-25, both living with HIV and HIV negative allies who are interested in HIV and public health, to build their capacity to become culturally responsive leaders in the HIV workforce.
The NextGen Fellowship is an initiative that belongs to NMAC’s Coalition for Equality and Justice Across Movements. The Fellowship has been funded by ViiV Healthcare for over 7 years and is currently training its seventh cohort of NextGen Fellows.
What is the NextGen: Emerging Leaders Fellowship
NextGen is an evolution of the Youth Initiative – a long-standing NMAC program sponsored by ViiV Healthcare for 7+ years engaging & empowering young adults.
The NextGen fellowship includes two cohorts – First-Year Fellows and Advanced Fellows. After completing the first-year cohort, all fellows are eligible to apply and participate in the advanced cohort.
Specifically, the fellowship has 3 components: Training/Education, Community Engagement, and Professional Development.
Component 1: Training and Education
This component includes a curriculum focused on preparing fellows for community engagement projects aimed to address HIV and its correlates. Sample curriculum topics for the first-year fellows include: HIV Stigma, Medical Mistrust, Epidemiology, Social Determinants of Health and Public Health Program Planning.
Component 2: Community Engagement
For advanced fellows, curriculum topics include: HIV criminalization, health policy, stigma impacts on HIV care/treatment, and addressing health disparities. To further deepen their knowledge around HIV, all fellows are fully funded (lodging, travel, registration and per diem) to attend the United States Conference on HIV/AIDS. In addition, advanced fellows are also fully funded to attend NMAC’s Biomedical HIV Prevention Summit.
After completing Component 1 of the training and education component, the first-year fellows receive a mini-grant to facilitate an individual HIV community project. Advanced fellows are randomized into groups and given a budget to facilitate a health education campaign on social media.
Component 3: Professional Development
During the last 5 months of the fellowship, both cohorts are engaged in professional development from guest speakers focused on addressing health disparities, cultural responsiveness, and mental health.
Champions, who have graduated from the Fellowship, provide technical assistance to current Fellows working on HIV Community Projects and Health Education Campaigns. They also serve as role models for community engagement and this aspect of mentoring and relationship building remains essential to the success of the Fellowship.
Where Are Our NextGen Fellows?
NextGen Fellows can be found in various locations across the United States. Check out the graphic below that highlights the representation of the 2024-2025 fellows within the United States.
NextGen Fellowship Eligibility Criteria?
This fellowship is a status neutral program open to all young adults between the age of 18-25 living in the United States (including territories).
Contact
For more information about NextGen: Emerging Leaders Fellowship, please contact:
