STARKVILLE, Miss. -- The National Academies of Sciences, Engineering and Medicine have awarded grant funding to Mississippi State University to establish a Gulf Coast-based climate resilience fellowship.

The MSU Extension Service was awarded nearly $500,000 to launch the program, known as Expanding and Diversifying Youth Climate Resilience Opportunities in Coastal Mississippi.

The leadership training program will equip young adults from underrepresented groups with the expertise and leadership needed to tackle climate hazards. MSU Extension was one of four awarded projects from the NASEM Gulf Research Program.

The project director is Alison Rellinger, an MSU Extension instructor based at the MSU Coastal Research and Extension Center in Biloxi. She said the project’s overarching goal is to develop a more diverse climate resilience workforce that reflects the communities of the northern Gulf Coast.

“This project aligns with the mission of enhancing community resilience in the Gulf region by addressing diversity and equity issues and empowering young adults to take leadership roles in climate resilience actions,” she said.

The six applicants selected will be treated as full-time professionals during their tenure, contributing to their host organizations while also pursuing their own interests and professional development, Rellinger said. The project team will also share its findings, including best practices, lessons learned and evaluation results, with professional networks and organizations in the climate resilience field.

To learn more about MSU Extension’s climate resilience work, visit the Coastal Marine Extension Program homepage at https://extension.msstate.edu/coastal-marine-extension-program.