Kinship Conservation Fellows Announce 2009 Cohort Representing Ten Different Countries

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

KINSHIP CONSERVATION FELLOWS ANNOUNCE 2009 COHORT REPRESENTING TEN DIFFERENT COUNTRIES

Conservation leaders to gather in Bellingham, Washington, USA for a month-long fellowship exploring market approaches to environmental issues.

Kinship Foundation

CHICAGO, IL, March 23, 2009 --/WORLD-WIRE/-- Kinship Conservation Fellows announced today the selection of their eighth cohort of Fellows. Of the 18 Fellows, 8 come from the United States, while the others hail from Bolivia, Botswana, Brazil, Ghana, Hungary, Madagascar, Pakistan, South Africa, Uganda and the United Kingdom. All will gather at Western Washington University’s Bellingham Campus from June 24th through July 24th, 2009 for an intensive and unique opportunity to develop leadership skills, interact on a one-to-one basis with an elite faculty, develop a project of importance to their work, and enjoy the fellowship of a dynamic learning community.

“The 2009 applicants included a very strong and diverse group of conservation practitioners from all across the globe, and I am truly honored to be able to work with the 18 Fellows selected for this year’s program,” said Kinship Conservation Fellows Director, Jim Tolisano. “The 2009 Fellows have already demonstrated a profound commitment to creating innovative solutions to complex conservation issues in their work and careers. My faculty and I are very excited to help them now incorporate the best lessons learned from ecological economics, strategic conservation planning, organizational management, and business development to support their very important conservation project strategies.”

Typically, Kinship Fellows are conservation leaders with at least five years work experience, a deep commitment to conservation values, and an interest in learning about market approaches to environmental issues. All Fellows have had some exposure to business and economic principles and work in an environment where these principles can be integrated with conservation work after their fellowship is over.

During their month at Kinship, Fellows have direct access to leaders responsible for the design, implementation, and evaluation of conservation programs worldwide. The program’s mix of seminars, working groups and independent research periods, along with an active fieldwork component that combines market tools, collaborative planning and community driven programs, provides Fellows with the opportunity to respond to complex conservation issues within a real-world context.

Highlights of the Kinship Fellows Program include:

Renowned faculty
Focus on market-based approaches
Development of leadership, business and economic skills
Hands-on project development
Fellows Network
$6,000 stipend, lodging and meals

ABOUT KINSHIP
In 2006, Kinship Conservation Fellows became the new name for the groundbreaking program that launched in 2001 as the Kinship Conservation Institute. Kinship’s mission is to develop a community of leaders dedicated to applying market-based principles to environmental issues.

For more information about Kinship Conservation Fellows contact Renee Michaels at (847) 714-1702, Renee@kinshipfellows.org, or visit www.KinshipFellows.org.