SV@Home is excited to announce the launch of the Brick By Brick Fellowship this September! As part of our 2025-2029 Strategic Plan, SV@Home has been deepening its commitment to creating and empowering our leaders of today and tomorrow by equipping them with the tools necessary to succeed in the affordable housing field. SV@Home launched the Brick by Brick Institute this year, offering a suite of programs in policy advocacy education and action, leadership development, and capacity building. The Brick by Brick Institute includes internships and fellowship programs, but we plan to expand its offerings.
Brick by Brick Fellowship
The Brick by Brick Fellowship program is designed for early-career professionals who are Black, Indigenous, People of Color, multi-lingual, or having lived experience of housing instability and recently began their journeys in the broader fields of community development and housing justice in Santa Clara County. The fellowship aims to bring together people from diverse backgrounds to learn, research, and innovate tools for equity-centered systems change in the affordable housing field. Participants will also be equipped with professional development skills to climb their career ladders — transforming the makeup of leadership in the affordable housing ecosystem into one that is reflective of the diversity of our region.
As SV@Home nears the completion of the program’s curriculum with the help of a hired consultant, we plan to welcome the first Brick by Brick Fellowship cohort in September 2025 through an eight-month pilot program. Pilot participants will be made up of employees with up to two years of experience in their professional careers currently working at organizations that are members of SV@Home. Organizations are welcome to apply by nominating an employee, as the Brick by Brick Fellowship will provide unique learning opportunities, such as affordable housing policy analysis, advocacy, and coalition-building. Through a nomination and interview process, selected fellows will:
- Gain technical, critical thinking, and communication skills necessary for professional entry, development, and advancement in the affordable housing field.
- Learn practical concepts of housing justice and affordable housing history, policy, analysis, and advocacy.
- Connect with SV@Home’s vast network of community partners in the affordable housing ecosystem.
- Embark on a project within your organization that contributes to systems-changing solutions in the affordable housing field.
- Design, plan, and execute event organizing and presenting the findings of their affordable housing-related project to the public.
- Learn healing and resiliency practices to ensure longevity in their professional housing careers.
Future visions of the Fellowship program include a 10 to 12 month program, employing several full-time fellows with salary and benefits who will work on SV@Home’s programs and policy campaigns, while completing a systems-changing affordable housing project with a community partner.
Interested in nominating your coworker or staff member from your organization for the Brick by Brick Fellowship? Stay tuned for more details either through our email list, socials, and throughout Affordable Housing Month! We plan to promote the nomination process starting in May. More to come!
Contact Kenneth Javier-Rosales for any questions or your organizational interest in the fellowship program at kenneth@siliconvalleyathome.org