The Bulletin of the Atomic Scientists’ Board Fellows Program is a professional development opportunity in organizational leadership designed to increase the skill-base and diversity of future leaders in the fields of nuclear risk, climate change, disruptive technologies, and not-for-profit journalism. The fellowship is aimed at supporting a next-generation cohort of confident and experienced organizational leaders by providing direct access to a key power center of any organization – the Board of Directors.

Board Fellows will receive first-hand experience in governance, finance, fundraising and strategic oversight. Fellows will develop a perspective on how the leadership of an organization engages, aligns, manages and is responsive to its board of directors. When Board Fellows themselves become future board members and/or organizational leaders, they will have “been there before,” reducing some elements of the corrosive “imposter syndrome” that burdens many potential leaders, especially those from historically marginalized communities.

Working closely with Women of Color Advancing Peace, Security and Conflict Transformation, the Bulletin will select two Board Fellows to serve a one-year term with the possibility of renewal. Fellows will be invited to participate in the Board’s deliberations, but without voting rights. Like all Governing Board members, the Board Fellow will join at least one of the Bulletin’s standing committees: Advancement, Finance, Governance, Marketing and Communications.

Board members play a significant role in contributing to the organization’s culture, strategic focus, effectiveness, and financial sustainability. They must constantly balance the need for organizational and fiscal stability with the growth and change required to achieve the organization’s mission. Board members serve as ambassadors and advocates for the organization.

Serving on a board can broaden a member’s network and provide invaluable learning opportunities about running and governing an organization. Board Fellows are encouraged to contribute their perspective and views to Board discussions. Board members will benefit from Board Fellows’ fresh perspective and visibility into emerging issues that might be otherwise unavailable to current members. Board fellows will help ensure that the Bulletin’s board discussions include individuals who are closer to the experience of its young and growing audience.

The Bulletin’s Board Fellows Program offers rising leaders the opportunity to contribute to the Bulletin’s board work, while “pulling back the curtain” on the regular workings of a governing board. The experience is designed to help Board Fellows develop their own unique perspective on leadership.

Board Fellows are expected to attend quarterly Governing Board meetings that occur in March, June, September and November. The June and November meetings are held jointly with the Bulletin’s Science and Security Board. The March and September meetings are half-day meetings while June and November span multiple days. Like all Board members, Board Fellows are expected to join a standing or ad hoc committee. Committees meet remotely quarterly for 90 minutes. Board Fellows are invited to join the Bulletin’s annual event in November and special community engagement activities, as their schedules allow.

The Bulletin will pair Fellows with a mentor from its board who will be available to share board governance best practices, process meetings after they occur and further support the fellow’s professional leadership development. WCAPS will also provide Fellows with a mentor for additional support, guidance, and engagement. At the end of the program, each Fellow will submit a short reflection on what they have learned to help consolidate the Fellow’s experience, support improvements to the program, and share their learnings with a broader audience. The reflection will be published on the websites of the Bulletin, and WCAPS. Fellows will be available to serve as mentors and serve on the selection committee for future Board Fellows.

Like all Governing Board members, Board Fellows will be expected to follow existing policies and procedures of the Bulletin, including but not limited to all confidentiality agreements. The Governing Board reserves the right to terminate a Board Fellow’s term prematurely if it is deemed in the best interest of the Bulletin.

The Bulletin will cover all reasonable associated travel costs and incidental expenses, including travel and lodging for board meetings. Expenses must be approved in advance of incurring. Fellows will be listed on the Bulletin’s Governing Board webpage as Board Fellows. Fellows are not expected to contribute monetarily to the organization.

We are seeking rising leaders in the fields of national security or not-for-profit journalism with a demonstrated ability for strategic thinking. Applicants will need 7-10 years of work experience, or 3-5 years of work experience paired with an advanced graduate degree.

Applicants should be interested in not-for-profit and organizational leadership in addition to learning more about the governance of the Bulletin. As discretion is of the utmost importance in board proceedings, applicants should also have demonstrated ability to maintain appropriate levels of confidentiality.

Applicants MUST currently have U.S. residency or be a U.S. citizen.

Please submit a CV, the name and contact information of two references, and a short narrative (approximately 400 words) addressing how the program will contribute to your professional development and why you would like to serve as a Bulletin Board Fellow. Please remember this fellowship aims to advance your institutional governance and management experience, rather than your subject-matter expertise.

Applications are to be submitted via email to wcaps@wcaps.org and are due at the end of the day on September 29, 2025.

Working closely with the Bulletin, a selection committee organized by WCAPS will identify finalists who will then meet with select Bulletin board members. The selection process will culminate no later than the end of December and Board Fellows will be announced in January. Board Fellows will begin their term on January 1 and attend quarterly board meetings beginning in March 2026.

The Bulletin equips the public, policymakers, and scientists with the information needed to reduce man- made threats to our existence.

The Bulletin began as an emergency action, created by scientists who saw an immediate need for a public reckoning in the aftermath of the atomic bombings of Hiroshima and Nagasaki. One mission was to urge fellow scientists to help shape national and international policy. A second mission was to help the public understand what the bombings meant for humanity.

These scientists anticipated that the atom bomb would be “only the first of many dangerous presents from the Pandora’s Box of modern science.” They were all too correct.

The Bulletin is an independent, nonprofit 501 (c) (3) organization that pursues its goals through media products, starting in 1945 as a mimeographed newsletter, then a magazine, now as an online publication. Today, the Bulletin’s website, premium magazine, videos, iconic Doomsday Clock, and regular events help advance actionable ideas to reduce existential threats.

The Bulletin focuses on three main areas: nuclear risk, climate change, and disruptive technologies. What connects these topics is a driving belief that because humans created them, we can control them.

At the Bulletin we gather a diverse array of the most informed and influential voices tracking man-made threats and bring their innovative thinking to a global audience. We apply intellectual rigor to the conversation and do not shrink from alarming truths. The profound challenges of our moment cannot be met without increasing the variety of backgrounds and perspectives of our organization and the public debate.