As society confronts increasingly complex environmental issues, decision makers need relevant and credible scientific information to make critical choices about the future of our planet. Environmental decisions are based on a wide variety of factors, including values, economics, social pressures, and politics as well as scientific and technological knowledge. These decisions are better informed when they include the most current scientific information presented in an understandable and straightforward manner.

Academic environmental scientists are a primary source of credible information on the state of the planet and their knowledge is urgently needed to help advance decision-making. Yet, traditional scientific training does not adequately prepare them to be effective communicators with stakeholder groups outside of academia. To address this challenge, the Leopold Leadership Program at the Woods Institute for the Environment provides academic scientists with the skills and connections they need to be effective leaders and communicators.

Program Goals:
-Provide leadership and communications training opportunities for a broad array of academic scientists to ensure they have the necessary skills to serve as leaders and communicators

-Increase the involvement and visibility of academic scientists in public outreach by actively linking them with decision makers and opinion shapers

-Encourage academic institutions to recognize and reward outreach efforts to decision makers and other external audiences


The Leopold Leadership fellowships focus on training, networking and outreach to help leading environmental scientists move ideas into action and advance science-based decision-making. Training is the first step to ensure that academic scientists are effective spokespeople and have the skills to engage with non-scientific audiences in the most meaningful way. Through networking and mentoring, the Program provides opportunities for Fellows to continue honing their skills while also building a broad support network for engaging in outreach activities. The Program actively links Fellows and their expertise with those decision makers who most need scientific information to make critical choices on key environmental issues.

Through a competitive application process, up to 20 scientists from the U.S., Canada and Mexico are selected each year as Leopold Leadership Fellows, participate in the training and become members of the Leopold Leadership network. The program's founder and Advisory Board chair, Jane Lubchenco, and Scientific Director Pamela Matson are among the program's trainers and serve as resources for the Fellows.