Community Design Fellows Program
The ETCDC Community Design Fellows Program provides paid, semester-based fellowships that connect emerging design and storytelling talent with meaningful, real-world community work. Through hands-on experience, mentorship, and professional development, fellows build practical skills while expanding ETCDC’s ability to serve community partners, document impact, steward supporters, and elevate stories from across East Tennessee.
Established as a board-designated quasi-endowment, the Community Design Fellows Fund supports these paid fellowships.
Fellows contribute to active projects, preserve and communicate stories of impact, and help strengthen community-centered design throughout ETCDC’s 16-county service region.
Fellows Program Cycle
ETCDC Fellowship positions follow a semester-based schedule:
FALL SEMESTER:
- Runs early September to early December each year
- Applications open in mid-June
SPRING SEMESTER:
- Runs early January to early May each year
- Applications open in early October
SUMMER SEMESTER:
- Runs mid-May to early August each year
- Applications open in mid-March
FELLOWSHIP POSITIONS
Annette Anderson Fellowship:
DesignWorks Archive & Storytelling Fellow
Named in honor of former ETCDC Executive Director Annette Anderson, this fellowship is part of the ETCDC Community Design Fellows Program. Each fellow documents DesignWorks projects through photography, video, interviews, historical research, writing, and archive management—creating compelling content for donors, partners, and communities.
By the end of each term, fellows will have:
- Created a professional portfolio featuring real-world community design stories
- Received mentorship, gained feedback, and established connections with design and nonprofit leaders
- Developed practical skills in research, interviewing, photography, design communication, storytelling, and project management.
The Annette Anderson Fellowship is a good match for undergraduate or graduate students in architecture, landscape architecture, interior architecture, urban planning, communications, journalism, history, public relations, nonprofit management, or a related field.
DesignWorks Fellowship:
Project Support Fellow
The Project Support Fellow will contribute to ETCDC’s current DesignWorks projects through collaborative design, photography, client communication, historical research, writing, and project management.
By the end of each term, fellows will have:
- Developed a professional understanding of client communications
- Created a professional portfolio featuring real-world community design projects
- Received mentorship, gained feedback, and established connections with design and nonprofit leaders
- Developed practical skills in research, pre-design, design, client interaction, and professional interaction skills
The DesignWorks Fellowship is a good match for undergraduate or graduate students in architecture, landscape architecture, interior architecture, urban planning, or related fields. Architecture, landscape architecture, interior architecture, and/or urban planning educational experience is preferred.