Become part of a cohort of 135 Fellows throughout California, Colorado, and Washington making an impact in local communities!
Need help with a sustainability or social impact project in your community? Apply to receive support from a Fellow!
CivicSpark has been excellent, because it pairs you with local leaders. It has been a huge professional development experience. It is the ultimate way to dive in head first without hitting your head on the bottom.
Trevor Wilson
2015-16 Fellow, Central Valley Region
It’s nice knowing that a running theme that binds us is AmeriCorps’ mission: Get things done. It certainly feels like that when we can congregate and reflect on the work we’re doing in our own region, and share that with other fellows.
Kriselda Bautista
2014-15 Fellow, Sierra Nevada Region
CivicSpark gave me incredible opportunities to build my professional skills and solidify some of my career goals. The work I accomplished was beyond what I ever imagined I would have the opportunity to do right out of college, and my success with those projects has given me confidence to pursue the next steps in my career.
Rebecca Berg
19-20 & 20-21 Fellow, Central Valley Region
The CivicSpark fellowship helped in launching my career in the environmental field. It was an invaluable experience and provided a vast network of connections and resources that I continue to use today.
Elektra Fike-Data - Director, Tree San Diego
CivicSpark 2016-17 Fellow
I would consider CivicSpark just the program I needed to jumpstart my career and provide me with more possibilities for my future. Additionally, I feel so grateful to have been part of the CivicSpark fellowship program. Beyond the professional development, I have also gained friendships, knowledge and expertise as well as a great community with the Sonoma County Energy and Sustainability Division.
Lauren Lum
2015-16 Fellow, Bay Area Region
It is difficult to put a dollar amount on a program that offers you a life-long professional and social network, access to subject matter experts in your field, and challenges you to think critically about issues you are passionate about. If you are not considering a postgraduate program, I would dare to say that you can get equal or greater value from participating in the CivicSpark program.
Oswaldo Martinez - Energy Programs Analyst, Central Coast Community Energy (San Luis Obispo)
CivicSpark 2018-19 Fellow
I am so happy with what I have learned and how I have grown throughout this service year. The experiences and autonomy I had in my service project were invaluable. The amount that I learned about environmental sustainability and the workings of government has given me so much insight into the way I want to work on the issues I care about most.
Bree Swenson
2015-16 Fellow, Southern California Region
CivicSpark allowed me to spend my gap year before going back to school by working directly with the communities I grew up in and advancing the tenets of sustainability, equity, and access to structurally disempowered neighborhoods. It cemented my decision to work within the local and municipal government space and assist local bodies in ensuring they are doing their part to comprehensively and intentionally address climate change on a local and tangible level, whether in the realm of public utilities, housing, or information governance for small businesses.
Marjan Kris - UC Davis School of Law Graduate, 2022
CivicSpark 2018-19 Fellow
Joining CivicSpark gave me the opportunity to gain tangible skills to address not just the theoretical issues of the Valley, but the actual policy needs of communities. It’s allowed me to understand the language that is needed to make change at the local level.
Mitchelle De Leon
2015-16 Fellow, Central Valley Region
CivicSpark helped launch my career in water, pairing with me an excellent site supervisor during my service year. I have been able to turn to him for advice and guidance ever since my service year ended. Working with the Santa Ana Watershed Project Authority on their Disadvantaged Communities Involvement (DCI) Program, allowed me to jump straight into another region’s Disadvantaged Community program with plenty of experience and insights to share. I have had the privilege to work with a fellow CivicSpark alumnus for the last several years on this program and our shared experience has made us a great team!
Ryan Hirano - Water Resources Planner, Woodard & Curran
CivicSpark 2017-18 Fellow
CivicSpark Fellows assist in many ways to build local government capacity to respond to pressing community resilience issues.
CivicSpark Fellows focus on a range of climate change, water, housing, and mobility projects. The video to the left shows an example of a project from the 2017-18 cohort year.
