Discover Your Next Professional Learning Community

Educators are professionals deserving of respect and investment.

Come Grow With Us

Wherever you are in your teaching career, we invite you to join our professional learning community.

Through immersive experiences and leadership training, you will gain the skills and confidence to cultivate meaningful relationships with industry professionals and become part of a diverse learning community of growth-minded teachers.

As a Kenan Fellow, you will experience professional development that is interactive, relevant, and reflective of current trends in education. Our professional development consistently ranks among the best in North Carolina.

90% of Fellows grew their ability to professionally network with other educators

578 Fellows in 74 NC counties from the mountains to the coast

100% of Fellows said the program made them a better teacher

Why Kenan Fellows?

Transformational Experiences

  • Spend 3-weeks immersed in an industry/research setting
  • Make connections between classroom skills and workforce skills and create resources to bring back to your school community
  • Engage in 80 hours of high-value professional development
  • Gain recognition as a Kenan Fellow to open new doors
  • Earn a $5,000 stipend

Dynamic Professional Learning Communities

  • Build lasting connections with educators and community partners
  • Alumni share resources, guidance, and support
  • Kenan Fellows staff provide caring and enduring assistance
  • Cohorts consist of energetic and diverse educators from the mountains to the coast
  • CEUs: 9.2 subject area and/or general.

Career-Changing Professional Learning

Our model pairs you with mentors from local industries or higher education institutions who offer firsthand insights and experiences into the workforce.

You will spend three weeks immersing yourself in your mentor organization’s culture, shadowing employees, touring their facilities, and exploring career pathways available for students.

Our professional learning institutes will then guide you in translating these immersion experiences into resources and programs for your school community, and in some instances, for your mentor organization.

Kenan Fellows touring IQIVA as part of their internship and immersion into our professional learning community.

Fellowship Timeline

Application Period The application period for the 2024-25 fellowship year is closed.
Award Recipients AnnouncedMay 7, 2024
National Teacher Day
Virtual OrientationMay 15, 2024
Summer InstituteJune 17-21, 2024, Cullowhee
InternshipJuly-August 2024
Fall InstituteOctober 17-18, 2024, Raleigh
Spring Institute & CelebrationApril 24-25, 2025, Raleigh
Keslie Sommerfeld participated in professional development workshops as part of her fellowship.

“The Kenan fellowship has been the most beneficial experience of my teaching career thus far.”

Keslie Sommerfeld, Biogen Foundation Kenan Fellow