The Opportunity

As a Rithm Fellow, approximately 60% of your role is spent bringing youth voice to the forefront — in The Rithm Project's internal network and in external conversations with other youth leaders and adult educators, mental health professionals, funders and researchers. The remaining 40% is hands-on project work: contributing to research, piloting content, and helping shape the tools and ideas The Rithm Project puts into the world.

As a group, we’re looking for five fellows from different walks of life — across geography, background, and experience — each bringing something distinct. We're building a cohort, not filling a single seat.

The ideal fellow is someone with a thoughtful, heart-centered and lived-experience-grounded point of view on human connection in the age of AI, and has the courage and care to  say it out loud, even (and especially) in rooms of adult leaders. They have a savviness with storytelling about how young people are thinking / feeling / navigating this new era, coupled with a genuine sense of empathy and open-ness to divergent opinions and holding multiple truths. They should have a strong capacity for asking thoughtful questions, coupled with an orientation towards action (they should be hungry to ask and answer: “so what? What does this mean for our work?”)

What You’ll Do

Youth voice and public representation (~60%)

• Represent youth perspectives in internal Rithm conversations and at external conferences, workshops, and speaking engagements

• Facilitate discussions and hold space for other voices — drawing out perspectives, not just sharing your own

• Show up actively and travel independently within the US for public-facing events

Project-based contributions (~40%)

• Contribute to Rithm's R&D work — helping develop frameworks, inform research, and provide feedback on Equip Youth materials

• Co-lead monthly fellowship meetings (September–May), bringing emerging tech examples through a human connection lens

• Opportunities to contribute to blog posts, reports, or toolkits based on your interests

You’ll Thrive in This Role If…

• Expertise or lived experience in the issue. Has lived experience or unique insight into human connection in the AI age — from tech, mental health, education, social policy, community organizing, or navigating their own life with unusual clarity. Can tell their personal story and derive real insight from it — not just describe what happened, but say what it meant, and what that might mean for systems change. Goes beyond their own story — stays connected to how other young people are thinking and feeling, and can speak to youth perspectives beyond their own.

• Passion, boldness, and conviction. Is actively practicing what they believe, not just articulating it. Seeking a platform to act, not just discuss. Speaks with conviction in unfamiliar rooms. Raises their hand. Pushes back — respectfully, but clearly.

• A compelling communicator. Can tell a story, balance authority with warmth, and make a powerful point succinctly, especially in adult-dominated rooms.

• Intergenerational ease. Genuinely comfortable engaging across generations — with adults and with young people — in mixed settings.

• Empathy and curiosity. Open to gray areas and genuinely interested in other people's perspectives, not just sharing their own.

• Growth mindset. Doesn't need existing facilitation expertise — but are willing to learn and possess self-awareness to know where they're growing. Can receive and apply feedback in real time. Comfortable stepping into vulnerability and sitting with uncertainty when invited.

• Contribution mindset. Brings their own ideas and follows through what’s asked. Willing to roll up their sleeves on the Rithm Project’s project work and takes ownership of what they produce

• A heart-open collaborator. Draws out others' voices, makes space, doesn't need to be the loudest person in the room to have impact.

More About This Fellowship

• Fellowship term: September – May

• Stipend: Fellows will receive a $2000 USD stipend

• Commitment: Approximately 7–10 hours per month, plus ad-hoc travel

  • Must be available October 16-18, 2026 to attend the Fellowship kickoff in Denver, CO

  • Must be available May 10-13, 2027 to attend The Rithm Project’s Human Connection and AI Summit in Denver, CO

• Cohort size: 5 fellows

• Eligibility: Ages 18–22 at start of fellowship; college enrollment not required. Must be eligible to work in the U.S.

• Travel: Must be able to travel independently within the U.S.