For over a decade, Mozilla Fellowships have sought to nurture talent at the intersection of technology and society. Launched in 2011, our fellowships program has grown into a recognized catalyst for some of the most celebrated leaders in open source innovation, public interest tech, and tech policy. From debunking myths about AI to exposing targeted disinformation campaigns in Kenya, our 200+ Mozilla Fellows have been at the forefront of some of the most critical conversations about technology and its impact in today’s society.

Building on our experience and lessons learned over the past 10+ years, we’re now exploring how to further strengthen and streamline our fellowships program to meet the changing needs of both existing leaders and the next wave of changemakers. And because openness is key to who we are as Mozilla, we’re sharing our early thinking on the future of fellowships—in the same manner we’ve done with our advocacy work and technical grantmaking—even as our approach evolves. By being candid about our questions, challenges, and aspirations, we hope to both improve our own approach and invite broader dialogue about how we can best support technological talent that serves the public good.

The Future We Want

In a technological landscape increasingly dominated by proprietary systems and reckless metrics, the industry’s loudest voices are often focused on scale and power, not on creating a better future for individuals and communities. We want our fellowships program to scout and amplify a different kind of tech leader: innovators who are imagining, advocating for, and building better futures that put people first.

In many ways, we’re already doing this: Mozilla’s fellowships have long supported experts, artists, researchers, and other changemakers to launch, grow, or pivot into careers as stewards of responsible and trustworthy technology. Through this work, we’ve supported idealistic young technologists searching for likeminded people and projects into which to pour their energy, mid-career professionals seeking to grow into leaders in their field, and rising star experts arguing for technology that works in the service of people.

Now, we want to get even better at discovering and supporting both established and emerging leaders challenging the status quo in tech. Whether a recent graduate who participated in a Responsible Computing Challenge now trying to find a job where they can deploy their ethical education or a “defector” within a tech company longing to build more trustworthy products, we want our fellows to have the supports they need to reach the next echelon of their careers, blazing new trails that others can follow without having to compromise their values.

Essential Questions

As we reimagine how we discover, support, and amplify talented leaders working to center people in tech’s future, we’re exploring some key questions that will shape our approach:

1. How do we deepen the technical expertise of our fellows? While our fellowships have always valued diverse skill sets, we want to place an even stronger emphasis on deep technical expertise. We want our fellows to not just critique technological systems, but to also have the technical skills to fundamentally redesign them. While we’ve long supported technical work through grantmaking programs like the Mozilla Technology Fund and the Data Futures Lab, we are keen to support the growth of individual technologists via fellowships as well.
2. How can we become even better at scouting the next wave of leaders? We want our fellowships program to be known for finding the best-of-the-best leaders working to advance human-centered tech futures. We’re thinking about how we get even better at scouting these leaders through events like Mozilla Festival and through our partners and allies in the ecosystem, and we’re also focused on how to continue to broadly support fellows at various career stages while simultaneously offering deep support to rising stars in the field.
3. How do we support fellows to become the drivers of a better, more inclusive innovation ecosystem? We want to empower Mozilla Fellows to challenge the status quo in tech and become the standard bearers of a better innovation ecosystem. To do this, we need to reimagine the support we offer fellows — from mentorship opportunities to speaker training— so that they’re well positioned to springboard into the next level of their careers and into roles as thought leaders in tech.

Looking Forward

We’re exploring these questions as we welcome new Fellows in January (stay tuned for more!) and plan for the longer term of the program. As we reimagine how we support leaders and changemakers through our fellowships program, we want to hear from you. Have ideas on the above questions or an example of a great fellowships program we should learn from? Get in touch via email, share your ideas on Discord, and let’s chat.

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