Mountaintop

Activating transformational local leadership worldwide

Meet Our 2024 Fellows

THE PROBLEM

From war to poverty to climate change, the challenges facing our world are immense. The leadership that this moment requires is born into every community. But structural barriers hamstring the development of local leaders in our world's most vulnerable communities, meaning the places most in need are least likely to be able to address their own problems. These barriers prevent our highest potential leaders from getting the support and resources they need, causing many leaders to abandon the social impact and public service fields, migrate away from their communities, or struggle to grow their impact and make a large scale difference. Far too many people growing up around the world have given up on their dream of strengthening their communities, and have resigned themselves to finding a lucrative but non-impactful job or leaving their home community altogether.

THE SOLUTION

Mountaintop is an international nonprofit that works toward a future where every community can solve its own problems in order to build a just, loving, and peaceful world for all. In the spirit of Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr., whose "Mountaintop" speech called for a locally led movement to stir our global consciousness, Mountaintop cultivates transformational local leadership and strengthens communities in places worldwide where success too often means leaving and not coming back.

Mountaintop’s flagship program is a paid, one-year, full-time fellowship for the most promising local leaders to stay in or return to their home communities and contribute to systems change in lower-income places around the world. Mountaintop’s Fellows receive a full-time stipend, two week leadership institute hosted at Harvard University's Edmond & Lily Safra Center for Ethics, 1:1 mentorship, grants, and a lifelong community of inspiring peers to accelerate their local leadership journeys and prepare them for large-scale impact to transform their communities and countries.

Placement

Mountaintop provides host led fellowships and applicant led fellowships. For 1) host led fellowships, Mountaintop partners with high-impact government agencies, NGOs, and social ventures in underserved communities in lower income countries to address a critical community need. Hosts determine a stipend for a one-year full-time position equal to the annual salary of comparable employees on their team. For 2) applicant led fellowships, Fellows apply for a scholarship to lead a high-impact independent project anywhere in the world outside the United States.

Selection

Mountaintop selects outstanding emerging professionals who are committed to permanently staying in their home communities over the course of their careers and who have a demonstrated track record in public service and/or entrepreneurship. There are no age restrictions. For its inaugural cohort, Mountaintop will place 15-25 Fellows across 8+ countries.

Training

Fellows attend a two-week Leadership Institute at Harvard's Edmond & Lily Safra Center for Ethics in Cambridge, Massachusetts. The Leadership Institute prepares Fellows for impact through its transformational leadership curriculum, which includes: moral leadership, systems leadership, public leadership, and collective leadership.

Catalyst Funds

Once their placements begin, Fellows can apply for up to $2,500 in competitive Mountaintop funding to invest in human capital development projects to strengthen their communities.

Long-Term Sustainability

For alumni, Mountaintop provides lifetime support through mentorship, job support, and access to grants to help them stay rooted in their communities. For hosts, Mountaintop provides trainings, a network of practice, and access to funders to help them deepen and scale their work.

Placement

Mountaintop provides host led fellowships and applicant led fellowships. For 1) host led fellowships, Mountaintop partners with high-impact government agencies, NGOs, and social ventures in low-income communities around the world to address a critical community need. Hosts determine a stipend for a one-year full-time position equal to the annual salary of comparable employees on their team. For 2) applicant led fellowships, Fellows apply for a stipend to lead a high-impact independent project anywhere in the world outside the United States. In all cases, Fellows can only serve in their home community or country.

Selection

Mountaintop selects exceptional emerging professionals who are committed to serving their home communities over the course of their careers and who have a demonstrated track record in public service and/or entrepreneurship. There are no age restrictions.

Training

Fellows attend a free two-week Leadership Institute at Harvard's Edmond & Lily Safra Center for Ethics in Cambridge, Massachusetts. Mountaintop covers all expenses associated with the Leadership Institute, including travel, lodging, meals, and visa fees. The Leadership Institute prepares Fellows for impact through its transformational leadership curriculum, which includes moral leadership, systems leadership, public leadership, and collective leadership, as well as personalized coaching sessions based on individual Fellow needs.

Mentorship and Catalyst Funds

Once their placements begin, Fellows meet with a mentor who is an expert in their field once a month, and can access the "office hours" of other mentors throughout the fellowship. Fellows can also apply for up to $2,500 in competitive Mountaintop Catalyst Funds to invest in projects developing "human infrastructure" in order to strengthen their communities.

Alumni Benefits

For alumni, Mountaintop provides lifetime support through mentorship, job support, and access to grants to help them stay rooted in their communities. For hosts, Mountaintop provides ongoing trainings, a network of practice, and access to funders to help them deepen and scale their work.

Strengthening Local Leadership

Value for Hosts

Mountaintop helps hosts deliver impact by attracting exceptional locally rooted talent drawn to the benefits of a fellowship program. Simultaneously, hosts support the next generation of sustainable, locally-rooted leaders to strengthen their communities’ ability to address its own problems. In addition, Mountaintop provides customized professional development programs, including mentorship, relevant peer networks, and global training opportunities for all hosts to deepen and scale their work. Hosts pay for the cost of the Fellow’s stipend plus a small service fee, while philanthropy covers the cost of training, enrichment, and administration.

Value for Fellows

Mountaintop provides a meaningful, high-impact full-time position in one’s home community or country along with a stipend, a community of inspiring like-minded peers from around the world, a free world class leadership training at Harvard University, monthly mentorship sessions with extraordinary leaders worldwide, a chance to invest up to $2,500 in one’s own community, and ongoing alumni support including career advocacy and additional grant opportunities.

Value for Communities

Mountaintop supports community members’ professional, socio-emotional, and leadership development to strengthen self-efficacy, build a pipeline of local leaders, and support sustainable community development. In essence, Fellows multiply their impact by strengthening the leadership of their fellow community members.

"I am inspired by the belief that to grow with our community, we must deepen our roots and expand our wings. Joining the Mountaintop Fellowship will give me a wing to fly so I can broaden my skills, expand my network, and gain valuable knowledge, ultimately enabling me to strengthen my roots and contribute to the development of my homeland."

Sumarni Laman, 2024 Mountaintop Fellow and Founder of The Heartland Project (Palangka Raya, Indonesia)

Mountaintop

Meet Our 2024 Fellows

THE PROBLEM

THE SOLUTION

Strengthening Local Leadership

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