Berkeley Food Institute  –  Bonnie Reiss Leading on Climate Fellowship 

Job Title: Campus Agroecology Fellow (SA3)

Appointment: August 26, 2026 – May 14, 2027 – 8-10/hours per week

Compensation: $29.25/hr

Deadline: Friday, July 10, 2026, at 5 pm Pacific Time

Application: The applicant must be a matriculated graduate student at UC Berkeley. Priority is given to work-study students. To apply, submit the following items as a single PDF to foodinstitute@berkeley.edu with the subject line “Campus Agroecology Fellow.” Any applicants who do not follow these instructions will not be considered. 

1. Cover letter stating your reasons for applying to this fellowship and a summary of your most relevant experiences, skills, and/or education. (limit 1 page)
2. Resume outlining relevant courses, work, and/or volunteer experiences. Include contact information for 2 references; one should be a professor or major advisor (limit 2 pages).

About the Berkeley Food Institute: Established in 2013, the Berkeley Food Institute (BFI) is a collaboration among eight colleges and schools at UC Berkeley (Natural Resources, Public Health, Law, Public Policy, Journalism, Business, Environmental Design). Today, BFI is an interdisciplinary research, education, and policy institute that works in partnership with communities to advance a just and sustainable food and farm system. 

BFI has grown into a network of more than 150 affiliated faculty and staff representing departments and programs from eight schools across campus. Through this network, we train tomorrow’s food and farm systems leaders. We support a robust agriculture and food studies curriculum on the Berkeley campus and with UC system partners through the Graduate Certificate in Food Systems, the Food Systems Minor, and our summer UC-wide field quarter offerings. We organize and sponsor events to connect our campus community to the larger food movement. We elevate and catalyze new, timely food and farm systems research. Working with community partners, we connect those policy-oriented research efforts with state and federal decision-makers to advance just and sustainable food and farm systems policy innovation. 

About the Fellowship: University of California Office of the President (UCOP) Bonnie Reiss Leading on Climate Fellowship engages and energizes students in support of UC’s climate action and sustainable food goals. The fellowship program is funded by the UC President’s Global Climate Leadership Council (GCLC) in support of the President’s Leading on Climate priority, Sustainable Food and Agriculture Fellow Cohort. The goals of the fellowship program are to actively engage students in: shaping the University’s climate action programs and supporting the University’s aggressive goals for reducing greenhouse gas emissions while creating a more equitable, sustainable, resilient, and healthy world; and conducting projects and engagement that support the University’s sustainable food procurement goals and sustainable agricultural practices.

Fellowship Position: The goal of this position is to support student agroecology education and food security through sustainable agriculture education and training, campus food production and food procurement projects, working with the Berkeley Student Farms, the Basic Needs Center, CalDining, and other campus partners. The Campus Agroecology Fellow will report to BFI’s Agroecology Director. The position is a hybrid model with work at Oxford Tract on campus and remote work. The three main areas of fellowship responsibilities include the following: 

Farm production: 

• Supporting food production with BFI and Berkeley Student Farms (BSF) through activities like: Crop planning, planting, irrigation, weeding, and harvesting
• Collect and maintain accurate reports of the quantity of produce grown, harvested, and transported from Oxford Tract to partners, including the Basic Needs Center, CalDining and off-campus partners like People’s Programs
• Analyze data for trends and develop visualizations or external marketing materials for reporting
• Other duties as assigned

Communications & Programming:

• Proactive communication, as needed, BSF, student and other campus and community partners
• Coordinate with BSF student interns as needed to support and oversee their involvement in Oxford Tract farm production and related food procurement projects.
• Coordinate educational workshops and farm tours, highlighting agroecology practices, land as wellness, and food safety training for BSF and campus partners. 
• Other duties as assigned.

Administrative:

• Weekly check-in with BFI’s Agroecology Director.
• Support campus grant proposal development and submission to support BFI and BSF. 
• Keep up with emails and other communication in a timely fashion. 
• Ensure that your bCal is accurate and up-to-date at all times.
• Help with a building project.
• Other duties as assigned. 

Required Qualifications:

• Matriculated graduate student at UC Berkeley
• Experience with gardening and/or farm production
• Agroecology coursework or related experience
• Event/workshop planning experience on and off campus, including communicating with partners and managing schedules
• Comfortable collaborating with a diversity of people and programs. Interest in learning more and developing these skills is a must
• Demonstrates effective time management and task planning.
• Strong attention to detail and comfortable asking for help as needed
• Ability to work independently and collaboratively in a group setting
• Demonstrates cultural competence, professionalism, courtesy, punctuality, open communication, and good humor
• Proficient in Google Suite, Canva, and Eventbrite. 
• Interest in public service and equity is a core tenet of the UC Berkeley experience and the BFI mission 
• Approaches work with a growth mindset and is open to learning more about how to give and receive feedback effectively

UCOP Bonnie Reiss Leading on Climate Fellowship Meetings and Reporting: student fellows are expected to attend UCOP Bonnie Reiss events as part of their paid hours, including:

• A virtual orientation in the fall of 2026.
• Leadership training in the fall of 2026.
• A virtual closing symposium and poster presentation in late spring of 2027.
• Additional activities such as conference calls, GCLC meetings, and training or cohort-building activities.

Additionally, fellows are encouraged to engage with other fellows to share information, coordinate projects, and pose questions for peer support on Slack or other collaborating spaces.

Fellows will be asked to submit progress reports and a final evaluation to UCOP, including the metrics used to evaluate their project’s impact. Fellows will develop an end-of-year poster outlining their projects. Reporting deadlines include:

• Project overview by October 1, 2026.
• Mid-year progress report by mid-February 2027.
• Completion of a project poster in Spring 2027.
• Year-end project report due July 2027.

Please direct any questions to the Berkeley Food Institute at foodinstitute@berkeley.edu

Equal Employment Opportunity: The University of California is an Equal Opportunity/Affirmative Action Employer. All qualified applicants will receive consideration for employment without regard to race, color, religion, sex, national origin, disability, or protected veteran status. For more information about your rights as an applicant, see: http://www.eeoc.gov/employers/upload/poster_screen_reader_optimized.pdf

For the complete University of California nondiscrimination and affirmative action policy, see:
http://policy.ucop.edu/doc/4000376/NondiscrimAffirmAct