The doldrums of winter are upon us, which means that to counter the cold nights and grey skies we get another round of the American Council of Learned Society's Leading Edge Fellowship program.

Since 2019, ACLS has run the program to place those who have recently earned their PhD in a humanities field (sociology, literature, political science, geography, history, and many others, broadly defined) in a two-year role with a social justice-focused organization to contribute their expertise and offer exposure to the nonprofit world. The Institute for Local Self-Reliance has hosted three ACLS fellows (including current Tribal Broadband Policy Analyst Dr. Jessica Auer), and all have been wonderful, mutually beneficial experiences.

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12 fellows will be chosen in 2025 and placed among a collection of organizations, including the North Carolina Justice Center, Sojourner House, the Coalition for the Homeless, The Afiya Center, the Amica Center for Immigrant Rights, and many others. Each appointment includes:

In a historic effort to blanket Vermont with fiber-to-the-home networks, the Green Mountain State has been banking on a community broadband-driven approach to connect the unconnected through its ten Communications Union Districts (CUDs).

Now, state leaders are adding another community-rooted program to its toolbox that promises to help fill the ranks of the very workforce building the networks.

Earlier this week, the Vermont Community Broadband Board (VCBB) announced the launch of a new Fiber Optic Apprenticeship Program officials say will put “participants to work right away, allowing them to learn on the job and earn a paycheck from the start.”

The workforce development initiative will be a part of the Telecommunications Industry Registered Apprenticeship Program (TIRAP), a “competency-based apprenticeship” sponsored by the Wireless Infrastructure Association (WIA). And in addition to earning a paycheck, apprentices who complete the program will also earn a national credential recognized by the U.S. Department of Labor.

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VCBB Executive Director Christine Hallquist characterized the apprenticeship program as “a huge opportunity for Vermonters to get into a new career without any cost to them that will provide a paycheck from day one and many options for career advancement.”

In a historic effort to blanket Vermont with fiber-to-the-home networks, the Green Mountain State has been banking on a community broadband-driven approach to connect the unconnected through its ten Communications Union Districts (CUDs).

Now, state leaders are adding another community-rooted program to its toolbox that promises to help fill the ranks of the very workforce building the networks.

Earlier this week, the Vermont Community Broadband Board (VCBB) announced the launch of a new Fiber Optic Apprenticeship Program officials say will put “participants to work right away, allowing them to learn on the job and earn a paycheck from the start.”

The workforce development initiative will be a part of the Telecommunications Industry Registered Apprenticeship Program (TIRAP), a “competency-based apprenticeship” sponsored by the Wireless Infrastructure Association (WIA). And in addition to earning a paycheck, apprentices who complete the program will also earn a national credential recognized by the U.S. Department of Labor.

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VCBB Executive Director Christine Hallquist characterized the apprenticeship program as “a huge opportunity for Vermonters to get into a new career without any cost to them that will provide a paycheck from day one and many options for career advancement.”

In a historic effort to blanket Vermont with fiber-to-the-home networks, the Green Mountain State has been banking on a community broadband-driven approach to connect the unconnected through its ten Communications Union Districts (CUDs).

Now, state leaders are adding another community-rooted program to its toolbox that promises to help fill the ranks of the very workforce building the networks.

Earlier this week, the Vermont Community Broadband Board (VCBB) announced the launch of a new Fiber Optic Apprenticeship Program officials say will put “participants to work right away, allowing them to learn on the job and earn a paycheck from the start.”

The workforce development initiative will be a part of the Telecommunications Industry Registered Apprenticeship Program (TIRAP), a “competency-based apprenticeship” sponsored by the Wireless Infrastructure Association (WIA). And in addition to earning a paycheck, apprentices who complete the program will also earn a national credential recognized by the U.S. Department of Labor.

Image

VCBB Executive Director Christine Hallquist characterized the apprenticeship program as “a huge opportunity for Vermonters to get into a new career without any cost to them that will provide a paycheck from day one and many options for career advancement.”

In a historic effort to blanket Vermont with fiber-to-the-home networks, the Green Mountain State has been banking on a community broadband-driven approach to connect the unconnected through its ten Communications Union Districts (CUDs).

Now, state leaders are adding another community-rooted program to its toolbox that promises to help fill the ranks of the very workforce building the networks.

Earlier this week, the Vermont Community Broadband Board (VCBB) announced the launch of a new Fiber Optic Apprenticeship Program officials say will put “participants to work right away, allowing them to learn on the job and earn a paycheck from the start.”

The workforce development initiative will be a part of the Telecommunications Industry Registered Apprenticeship Program (TIRAP), a “competency-based apprenticeship” sponsored by the Wireless Infrastructure Association (WIA). And in addition to earning a paycheck, apprentices who complete the program will also earn a national credential recognized by the U.S. Department of Labor.

Image

VCBB Executive Director Christine Hallquist characterized the apprenticeship program as “a huge opportunity for Vermonters to get into a new career without any cost to them that will provide a paycheck from day one and many options for career advancement.”

In a historic effort to blanket Vermont with fiber-to-the-home networks, the Green Mountain State has been banking on a community broadband-driven approach to connect the unconnected through its ten Communications Union Districts (CUDs).

Now, state leaders are adding another community-rooted program to its toolbox that promises to help fill the ranks of the very workforce building the networks.

Earlier this week, the Vermont Community Broadband Board (VCBB) announced the launch of a new Fiber Optic Apprenticeship Program officials say will put “participants to work right away, allowing them to learn on the job and earn a paycheck from the start.”

The workforce development initiative will be a part of the Telecommunications Industry Registered Apprenticeship Program (TIRAP), a “competency-based apprenticeship” sponsored by the Wireless Infrastructure Association (WIA). And in addition to earning a paycheck, apprentices who complete the program will also earn a national credential recognized by the U.S. Department of Labor.

Image

VCBB Executive Director Christine Hallquist characterized the apprenticeship program as “a huge opportunity for Vermonters to get into a new career without any cost to them that will provide a paycheck from day one and many options for career advancement.”

In a historic effort to blanket Vermont with fiber-to-the-home networks, the Green Mountain State has been banking on a community broadband-driven approach to connect the unconnected through its ten Communications Union Districts (CUDs).

Now, state leaders are adding another community-rooted program to its toolbox that promises to help fill the ranks of the very workforce building the networks.

Earlier this week, the Vermont Community Broadband Board (VCBB) announced the launch of a new Fiber Optic Apprenticeship Program officials say will put “participants to work right away, allowing them to learn on the job and earn a paycheck from the start.”

The workforce development initiative will be a part of the Telecommunications Industry Registered Apprenticeship Program (TIRAP), a “competency-based apprenticeship” sponsored by the Wireless Infrastructure Association (WIA). And in addition to earning a paycheck, apprentices who complete the program will also earn a national credential recognized by the U.S. Department of Labor.

Image

VCBB Executive Director Christine Hallquist characterized the apprenticeship program as “a huge opportunity for Vermonters to get into a new career without any cost to them that will provide a paycheck from day one and many options for career advancement.”

The Community Broadband Networks (CBN) team here at the Institute for Local Self-Reliance (ILSR) is thrilled to announce we will once again welcome a postdoctoral fellow this coming fall to undertake a two-year project that advances policy initiatives in support of expanding broadband access and digital sovereignty for Tribal Nations across the U.S.

It’s the second time the American Council of Learned Societies (ACLS) has selected ILSR as a host organization for a Leading Edge Fellowship, which embeds humanities and social science PhDs with nonprofits committed “to solve problems, build capacity, and advance justice and equity in society.”

Earlier this month, ACLS announced 18 new ACLS Leading Edge Fellows for 2023. In September, one of those fellows – Jessica E. Auer (PhD, History, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill) – will join the CBN team, kicking off her full-time fellowship as a Tribal Broadband Policy Analyst.

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Jessica will conduct original research and writing to help develop policy narratives that can be used to support new and existing tribal broadband efforts.

With less than 60 percent of those living on Tribal lands in the lower 48 states having access to basic broadband connections – as Native Nations have regularly been excluded from policy conversations around these issues – Tribal citizens miss out on educational, economic, telehealth, social networking, and a panoply of other activities that foster community resiliency and democratic engagement in the modern world.

The Community Broadband Networks (CBN) team here at the Institute for Local Self-Reliance (ILSR) is thrilled to announce we will once again welcome a postdoctoral fellow this coming fall to undertake a two-year project that advances policy initiatives in support of expanding broadband access and digital sovereignty for Tribal Nations across the U.S.

It’s the second time the American Council of Learned Societies (ACLS) has selected ILSR as a host organization for a Leading Edge Fellowship, which embeds humanities and social science PhDs with nonprofits committed “to solve problems, build capacity, and advance justice and equity in society.”

Earlier this month, ACLS announced 18 new ACLS Leading Edge Fellows for 2023. In September, one of those fellows – Jessica E. Auer (PhD, History, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill) – will join the CBN team, kicking off her full-time fellowship as a Tribal Broadband Policy Analyst.

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Jessica will conduct original research and writing to help develop policy narratives that can be used to support new and existing tribal broadband efforts.

With less than 60 percent of those living on Tribal lands in the lower 48 states having access to basic broadband connections – as Native Nations have regularly been excluded from policy conversations around these issues – Tribal citizens miss out on educational, economic, telehealth, social networking, and a panoply of other activities that foster community resiliency and democratic engagement in the modern world.

The Community Broadband Networks (CBN) team here at the Institute for Local Self-Reliance (ILSR) is thrilled to announce we will once again welcome a postdoctoral fellow this coming fall to undertake a two-year project that advances policy initiatives in support of expanding broadband access and digital sovereignty for Tribal Nations across the U.S.

It’s the second time the American Council of Learned Societies (ACLS) has selected ILSR as a host organization for a Leading Edge Fellowship, which embeds humanities and social science PhDs with nonprofits committed “to solve problems, build capacity, and advance justice and equity in society.”

Earlier this month, ACLS announced 18 new ACLS Leading Edge Fellows for 2023. In September, one of those fellows – Jessica E. Auer (PhD, History, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill) – will join the CBN team, kicking off her full-time fellowship as a Tribal Broadband Policy Analyst.

Image

Jessica will conduct original research and writing to help develop policy narratives that can be used to support new and existing tribal broadband efforts.

With less than 60 percent of those living on Tribal lands in the lower 48 states having access to basic broadband connections – as Native Nations have regularly been excluded from policy conversations around these issues – Tribal citizens miss out on educational, economic, telehealth, social networking, and a panoply of other activities that foster community resiliency and democratic engagement in the modern world.