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Asia Foundation Development Fellows

Investing in Leadership

The Asia Foundation Development Fellows program is a dynamic and multifaceted learning program designed for highly talented individuals from Asia and the Pacific under age 40 to enhance their leadership skills, regional development knowledge, professional networks, and international exposure. The program reflects the Foundation’s nearly seven-decade tradition of investing in the region’s most promising future leaders.

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Meet the Fellows
Program Information
News and Highlights

Meet the Asia Foundation Development Fellows

Program Description

In recognition of the growing urgency of the global climate crisis, the 2025 Asia Foundation Development Fellows Program will focus on Climate Action. Eligibility will require candidates to demonstrate a career background or vocation focused on addressing climate change and a proven commitment to working toward achieving a resilient, sustainable future. The program will remain designed to develop leadership skills and include a multidisciplinary cohort. Fellows may come from various professional backgrounds, including but not limited to environmental sciences, sustainability, climate and conservation, community engagement and activism, and environmental policy and law. They may also be journalists, conflict and fragility specialists, women’s rights activists, or any field whose work intersects climate issues. No professional background is ineligible if a candidate can demonstrate the intersection of their work with climate action.

The Asia Foundation Development Fellows program is comprised of the following components:

Nepal, February 17 to 28, 2025

The Leadership Dialogue and Exchange program in Asia and the Pacific includes a series of highly interactive leadership training modules with executive coaches; site visits with leading development practitioners and thinkers recognized policy leaders, and local innovators; short assignments; and sessions focused on building self-awareness and wellness for leaders. Training modules focus on strategic thinking and decision-making, working with participants on developing critical perspectives, problem-solving skills, managing change, and introducing innovative approaches in leadership and management. Site visits will allow fellows to explore approaches that deliver a positive impact and advance development knowledge. The internal leadership curriculum will address pain points specific to leaders fighting for climate change, and external meetings both in Asia-Pacific and the US will focus more intently on trends in climate action and meeting with individuals and organizations doing innovative work in the climate space. The program takes place in countries across Asia and the Pacific where local needs and challenges serve as a contextual backdrop for exploring theories of change and practice in international development.

United States, October 6 to 17, 2025

The Leadership Dialogue and Exchange Program will continue the work from the spring session, providing important opportunities for Fellows to extend personal bonds with their cohort and build new international perspectives and networks of support, particularly in the climate action space. Over this two-week period, the Fellows will participate in a comprehensive series of programs, policy discussions, and unique learning and leadership development opportunities organized in the San Francisco Bay Area and Washington, DC.

An award of up to USD 5,000 will be made available to each selected fellow. This cash award will allow fellows the opportunity to design individualized plans to further their leadership skills and relevant professional experience in areas of particular importance to their career growth. Each fellow will be asked to develop a personalized yearlong work plan involving enrollment in specialized training programs or short courses, language study, travel to attend key regional forums or workshops, or engagement in other enrichment activities.

The Asia Foundation lends valuable perspectives to the field of leadership development, with a proven program history and record of commitment throughout Asia and the Pacific. Building on the Foundation’s regional network and local capacity, the program offers mentorship-matching support tailored to the background and professional interests of each of the fellows. Additionally, fellows are offered a fixed number of one-on-one executive coaching sessions throughout their fellowship year.

Latest Across Asia and the Pacific

View all news and insights

  • The Asia Foundation Hosts “Trump 2.0 and the Indo-Pacific” Roundtable Dialogue 
  • 2019 Asia Foundation Development Fellows sit together for a training session.

    The Asia Foundation Unveils 2025 Development Fellows

  • Pakistan Builds Inclusive Climate Responses that Safeguard Women and Children

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