NAAOP Announces 2019 Fellowship on Public Policy and Advocacy
ATTENTION ALL O&P CONSUMERS: The National Association for the Advancement of Orthotics and Prosthetics (NAAOP) is soliciting applications for its annual health policy/advocacy fellowship. NAAOP is a national nonprofit association advocating for consumers/patients requiring orthotic and prosthetic care, as well as the providers who serve them. The NAAOP Fellowship is a paid, 10-week summer program based in Washington, D.C. The fellow will learn about orthotic and prosthetic (O&P) policy, advocacy, and how NAAOP and other O&P organizations function on behalf of the O&P community and within the broader rehabilitation and disability policy and advocacy environment at the federal and state level. The fellowship also includes exposure to O&P clinical and business settings, and state-based public policy and advocacy, at no cost to the fellow.
Two fellows will be selected for the summer of 2019 through a competitive process using the application on the www.naaop.org website. The deadline to electronically submit this application is January 31, 2019 by 12:00 Midnight, Eastern Time. Finalists will be interviewed via videoconference and two will be selected, assuming high quality candidates are identified. If the finalists selected cannot accept the fellowship for any reason, the next highest ranked fellow will be offered the position.
Selection Criteria: All applicants must:
Personally use a custom fabricated orthosis or prosthesis;
Have an interest in public/health policy and advocacy;
Demonstrate an interest in advancing O&P care;
Have excellent writing, speaking, and analytical skills (see application for additional factors).
NAAOP fellows each receive a stipend of $500 per week for a ten-week period, although the fellow will have paid time-off during Independence Day week. NAAOP will provide the fellows with an office, phone, and computer in its offices at NAAOP’s counsel, the Powers Law Firm, 1501 M Street, NW, Suite 700, Washington, DC 20005. NAAOP will assist the fellows in exploring inexpensive summer housing options with area colleges for those with no other housing options. The NAAOP fellows will be responsible for their own housing costs but NAAOP housing subsidies may be available if necessary.
The NAAOP fellows will shadow NAAOP’s General Counsel, Peter W. Thomas, who will assign and oversee the fellows’ health policy and advocacy work. That work will focus on O&P policy but also include exposure to the broader rehabilitation and disability policy environment. Other O&P organizations will host the fellows for a day of activities. The fellows will also be exposed to policy and advocacy speakers, attendance at Congressional hearings, participation in coalition and “think tank” meetings/presentations throughout Washington, and meetings with organizations in the broader rehabilitation and disability field.
Application Deadline: 12:00 Midnight, Eastern Time, Thursday, January 31, 2019
Applications must be submitted electronically to Fellowship@naaop.org.
Fellowship Selection Announcement: March 6, 2019
Fellowship Term: 10-weeks (May 27th to August 2, 2019).
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