Do you have a passion for public health and a desire to influence health policy as a staff person in the U.S. Congress? Then you may want to apply for the Public Health Fellowship in Government offered by the American Public Health Association (APHA). The fellowship is based in Washington, D.C., and one fellow will be chosen each year.

From the APHA website:

Candidates must have strong public health credentials and be able to spend one year in the capitol. The fellow will have the option of working in the House or Senate on legislative and policy issues such as creating healthy communities, improving health equity, addressing environmental health concerns, population health or the social determinants of health.

Training for the fellowship will begin in January 2020, so you must be able to move to the Washington, D.C., area in January and stay through December 2020. The fellowship provides a unique learning experience and demonstrates the value and need for basing policy on sound science. Throughout the year, the fellow will gain a practical knowledge of government and how the public policy process works.

To be eligible for the Fellowship, candidates must meet all of the following criteria:

• be an APHA member
• have a graduate degree in public health or a related discipline
• have at least five years’ experience as a public health professional beyond graduate or medical training
• be a citizen of the U.S. or its territories or have permanent residence status in the U.S.

Applications, additional information and brief articles from previous fellows are available on APHA’s website. The application, a CV and three letters of recommendation are due to APHA by 6 p.m. ET on Sept. 4, 2019.