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The Partnership For The Bay’s Future Fellowship

Developing transformative leaders to advance affordable housing policy

The Partnership for the Bay’s Future Fellowship develops a transformative generation of Bay Area housing leaders. This two-year, full-time, salaried fellowship embeds experienced, entrepreneurial, values-oriented affordable housing professionals in selected Bay Area cities as catalysts for collaborative policy innovation. Fellows work directly with government jurisdictions and community organizations to forward affordable housing policies. You’ll gain access to sector experts while developing leadership and technical skills needed to create lasting change. As both learners and practitioners, Fellows are uniquely positioned to advance effective policies that help address one of the region’s most foundational challenges.

This Coro California program is offered in the San Francisco Bay Area.

Application Currently Closed

The application cycle has closed. Submit an Interest Form to receive recruitment updates.

INTEREST FORM

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Program Overview

  • Serve as an embedded changemaker, working full-time within one government jurisdiction for two years, providing expertise as a grounding anchor, project manager, and policy innovation leader alongside city and community partners.
  • Develop leadership capacity through monthly cohort convenings with Coro’s proprietary leadership training and Enterprise Community Partners’ technical expertise and mentorship.
  • Receive personalized coaching through one-on-one sessions supporting professional development and leadership growth, tailored to your needs and goals.
  • Build collaborative partnerships by convening regularly with jurisdictional and community partners to build relational trust and maintain ongoing project-level clarity and alignment.
  • Connect across the region through broader community gatherings 2-3 times monthly to cultivate a network of dedicated housing policymakers, share project updates, and learn from peers.
  • Access expert resources including technical assistance specialists and financial resources to support the creation of innovative affordable housing policy solutions.
Explore Calendar

Program Benefits

Professional Development

  • Gain full-time salaried experience in a two-year project management position working directly with government jurisdictions and community partners in the Bay Area.
  • Influence real outcomes by creating policies that produce and preserve affordable housing and protect low-income residents through relationship development, community assessments, and policy priority setting.
  • Work with housing experts, gaining hands-on experience with equity-centered affordable housing specialists, technical assistants, and sector leaders.
  • Build a lasting network, accessing Fellowship staff support, peer cohort connections, and a dedicated alumni community.

Learning & Support

  • Strengthen technical skills through intensive, cohort-based learning focused on collaborative leadership development and affordable housing preservation and production strategies.
  • Participate in gatherings designed to share experiences, build skills, establish networks, and learn collaboratively from peers.
  • Benefit from active rest periods, with structured support for developing innovative approaches, renewed thinking, sustained resilience, and deeper connection to project work.
  • Receive comprehensive benefits, including medical and dental insurance during the two-year fellowship.
Download Benefits Guide

Ideal Candidates & Eligibility

Core Qualifications

  • Affordable housing expertise, with 5-10+ years of experience through education and professional work in housing development, finance, policy, research, or coalition building related to preservation, production, or protection.
  • Commitment to community-based input, including in decisions related to policies, practices, programs, and budgets.
  • Ability to be based in the Bay Area for the full fellowship duration and participate in hybrid office schedules with embedded jurisdiction.

Leadership Qualities

  • Leadership enthusiast who regularly considers how to help people recognize their agency and influence outcomes, regardless of positional authority.
  • Both/and thinking with ability to hold apparently conflicting ideas and embrace non-partisan approaches to collaborating with varied stakeholders.
  • Innovation mindset and capacity to think creatively, identify opportunities for creating value, and increase impact in complex policy environments.
  • Collaboration skills in contexts requiring bringing people together to achieve common goals across different perspectives and backgrounds.

Working Style

  • Autonomous worker with ability to exercise judgment, prioritize work, and take ownership of goals while welcoming advice and input from stakeholders.
  • Lifelong learner consistently seeking new information to stay current with best practices and integrate feedback.
  • Cultural adaptability with capacity for understanding, articulating, and navigating differences and similarities across work cultures.

Format & Curriculum

Fellowship Structure

Two-year, full-time, salaried position with Fellows embedded in selected government jurisdictions working alongside community partners. Fellowship combines hands-on policy work with structured leadership development and technical training.

Learning Components

Monthly cohort learning sessions integrate Coro’s leadership development training with Enterprise Community Partners’ technical expertise. Individual coaching sessions address personal professional development needs. Regular partner meetings with jurisdictions and community organizations build trust and clarity. Broader fellowship community gatherings facilitate peer learning and network building.

Curriculum Themes

Leadership development focuses on navigating complex affordable housing dynamics including varied stakeholder interests, public-private-nonprofit systems, historical and current policy implications, economic forecasting, and evolving conditions. Technical training addresses disaggregated data use, community-based policy design, building grassroots support, and advancing affordable housing development.

Fellowship Outcomes

Fellows develop the capacity to navigate complexity across stakeholder interests and systems, assess and solve housing challenges, incorporate different perspectives in strategic planning, communicate effectively, and enhance self-awareness through emotional intelligence. Technical outcomes include community input and resident power, prevent housing instability and displacement, support rapid rehousing with culturally-informed services, expand affordable housing resources, and lead affordable housing development that advances climate resilience, sustainability, and economic opportunity.

Learning Approach

Coro’s experiential methods center active practice over passive listening. You’ll engage in case discussions, leadership simulations, peer exchanges, and reflective exercises. Facilitators create space for mindfulness, vulnerability, and authentic connection, fostering psychological safety for adaptive collaboration and innovation.

Program Philosophy

Coro’s approach emphasizes three core principles: active leadership practice as lifelong learning, relating productively across differences in identities and perspectives, and embracing curiosity and vulnerability as foundations for authentic leadership and meaningful change.

Cost & Financial Support

Tuition

Fellowship is tuition-free for participants. The program is funded through partnership support, enabling Fellows to focus fully on embedded policy work and leadership development.

Fellowship Compensation

Fellows receive full-time salaries throughout the two-year fellowship period. Compensation is competitive and commensurate with experience in affordable housing policy and project management roles.

Benefits Package

Fellowship includes comprehensive medical and dental insurance coverage. Additional support includes access to technical assistance resources and financial resources for policy innovation work.

Application Process & Key Dates

How to Apply

Complete the online application sharing your affordable housing experience, commitment to racial equity, leadership philosophy, and interest in collaborative policy innovation. Review the Application Guide for detailed instructions and tips for crafting strong responses. Applications are reviewed holistically with priority for varied perspectives across housing sectors, organizational types, geographic locations, and lived experiences.

Application Note: Leadership is a practice; ideal candidates do not need specific titles or positions to apply. The role requires Fellows to be located in the Bay Area and participate in hybrid office schedules.

Application Deadlines

Application portal opens: Winter / Spring 2027

Deadline: Spring / Early Summer 2027

Program Launch: Mid-Summer 2027

Selection Timeline

Applications are reviewed holistically considering housing expertise, community commitment, leadership qualities, collaborative skills, and cultural adaptability. Interviews are conducted with finalists. Fellows are matched with government jurisdictions and community partners based on expertise, interests, and jurisdictional needs.

Meet the Cohort and Past Organizations

Partners