the Name
is bren

Overview

Urban Leaders Fellowship is an annual, two-month long fellowship during the summer throughout multiple cities in the United States. Fellows work in two different capacities: 1) with local or regional elected or appointed official(s) on a designated policy topic and 2) with a non-profit in a variety of industries.

I completed the fellowship in Indianapolis in 2024. It was such a great experience, and I learned so much about local policy. The Regional Director asked if I would help with the recruitment of the next cohort. I led recruitment efforts, which was conducted via LinkedIn. The most effective resource was an overview deck shared with potential applicants in lieu of a synchronous meeting.

Discovery

The intended audience of the potential applicant pool was predetermined by the organizers, which was students, teachers/professors, and career-changers. While this stayed true during recruitment, I found that another group emerged - experienced policy officials. These individuals were looking for further insight into other policy topics or subject matter.

When I joined the team for Indianapolis, the messaging and resources available to potential applicants were all over the place. It had very little branding, inconsistent verbiage, and included four to five different documents. I felt that it was important to input every pertinent piece of information into one resource to share with others.

Delivery

The word that I kept at the forefront of designing communication was 'streamline.' We needed to be able to succinctly message the fellowship to those with a full spectrum of availability and learning models. I designed a .pdf deck, which was the preferred resource for sharing. The deck was shared with potential applicants after our synchronous conversations as a reminder of details and with those who could only converse asynchronously.

I also designed a slide deck with the same information and a presentation recording for those interested.

Results

In these recruitment efforts, I was able to engage with 300+ prospective applicants. I was also able to assist in an 100% increase in fellowship applications for Indianapolis. While I cannot prove the driving factor, I believe that the overview deck furthered consistent messaging and removed the 'scam-like' feeling from the organization as a whole.