2022 U.S. Grassroots Accelerator

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2022 Applications Are Now Closed

Calling all...

Women leaders who are stepping forward to protect our families, communities, and ecosystems from environmental and climate threats.

Join a Powerful + Diverse Cohort

who are ready to accelerate their impact and deepen their work

2019 U.S. Accelerator cohort. Photo: Paige Green
2019 U.S. Accelerator cohort. Photo: Paige Green

The Accelerator Cohort will include leaders nominated by organizations from around the U.S. and U.S. Territories. You'll participate in a four-month interactive, virtual curriculum that is collaborative, hands-on, and non-extractive.

Through a time-tested curriculum, you will build your capacity to up-level, improve on and scale your existing environmental and climate initiatives. The Accelerator will provide support, tools, and mentorship to develop actionable climate and environmental strategies for your region. You'll also gain new skills, visibility, resources, and momentum for your critical work. Although there are regional and sector-specific small groups within the cohort, you will gain considerably by exchanging and linking strategies with your national counterparts. Throughout the program, you will also work to pivot or position your initiatives to respond directly to the COVID-19 pandemic.

The world is calling you to expand your leadership.

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SCALE YOUR IMPACT

As part of a national cohort, you will strengthen and unify women's climate initiatives, generating measurable and sustained impacts to our global environment, economies, and communities.

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NETWORK WITH OTHER LEADERS

By joining WEA's U.S. Grassroots Accelerator, you will join a national and global network of grassroots, environmental leaders, gaining access to new funding, best practices, allies, and visibility.

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SHARE RESOURCES

You will gain skills in professional development, leadership, entrepreneurship, advocacy, communications, and technical solutions from global facilitators, regional experts, and cohort peers.

Through the Accelerator, you'll gain:

Skills in professional development, leadership, economic justice, advocacy, communications, and environmental innovations facilitated by issue experts and cohort peers

A comprehensive Action Plan to accelerate your climate/environmental initiative, including an impact framework & metrics, implementation strategy, timeline, and budget

Professionally produced media assets for participants to leverage in your work

Skill and knowledge exchange within Affinity Groups (e.g., Just Transition, food sovereignty, land/resource rights, etc.)

Scaling Funds to grow your urgently needed, high-impact climate/environmental initiatives, campaigns, or policy platforms

Accelerator Alumni sharing resources, networks, and a repository of best practices

Guidance in pivoting/positioning your work to respond to COVID-19

Ongoing Global Alliance Support to implement your Action Plans that are designed for long-term sustainability, policy change, and environmental + climate resilience

WEA Leader Xochitl Bernadette Moreno (left), 2020 U.S. Accelerator.
WEA Leader Xochitl Bernadette Moreno (left), 2020 U.S. Accelerator.
WEA Leader AmyRose Foll, 2020 U.S. Accelerator.
WEA Leader AmyRose Foll, 2020 U.S. Accelerator.
WEA Leader Dr. Tiara Moore, 2021 U.S. Accelerator.
WEA Leader Dr. Tiara Moore, 2021 U.S. Accelerator.
WEA Leader Yakuta Poonawalla (right), 2021 U.S. Accelerator.
WEA Leader Yakuta Poonawalla (right), 2021 U.S. Accelerator.

2022 U.S. Grassroots Accelerator Timeline

  • March 28, 2022

    Applications & Nominations Open

  • June 6, 2022

    Applications & Nominations Close

  • July 6, 2022

    2022 Cohort Announced

  • August 24, 2022

    U.S. Accelerator Launches

  • October 26, 2022

    Virtual "Collaboratory" - Day 1

  • October 27, 2022

    Virtual "Collaboratory" - Day 2

  • November 30, 2022

    National Community Event

  • December 7, 2022

    U.S. Accelerator Concludes

Here's what previous U.S. Accelerator Leaders are saying:

"This is the first space I've been in that has the absence of power dynamics. In St. Louis there is a fight for power, someone always has to be in power and someone always has to have power extracted from them. I ran from being called a leader, because leader is a title that gives people a false sense of power and it has been "leadership" that has sold my community out in St. Louis, but this is the first time I have ever been proud to call myself a leader."

TOSHA PHONIX  ·  2019 U.S. ACCELERATOR LEADER  · 2020 ALUMNI MENTOR

niria-alicia

“This women’s grassroots accelerator is so important because we’re bringing together experts on environmental justice, people on the front lines who have the solutions. We’re bringing them all together.”

NIRIA ALICIA  ·  2019/2020 U.S. ACCELERATOR FACILITATOR

niria-alicia

“It’s the most elegant, well thought out, loving, comprehensive, integrated, decolonized, female-centered program. Like, it was bomb.”

COCO PEILA  ·  2021 U.S. ACCELERATOR LEADER

Ready to join the cohort?

Or maybe you have some questions. We're here to help.

I'D LIKE MORE INFORMATION.

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Or send us a message at:

usaccelerator@womensearthalliance.org 

I'M READY TO APPLY!

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I'D LIKE TO NOMINATE A LEADER.

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