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Sara Little Turnbull Fellowship
POSITION: FULL TIME or PaRT TIME (TEMPORary)
LOCATION: IN-PERSON, PHILADELPHIA
CLOSING DATE: NOVEMBER 1, 2026
Tiny WPA is thrilled to continue the Sara Little Turnbull Fellowship this year!
WHAT IS IT?
The Fellowship is a paid, 2-3 month, part-time or full time fall/winter fellowship for an early career woman or non-binary person of color. This year, we’re looking for someone who is curious, driven and passionate about small public space design and participatory design. The fellow will be a part of Tiny WPA’s team, working as an in-house designer and contributing to the organization’s community-engaged design-build projects around activating underutilized public green spaces throughout Philadelphia.
The Sara Little Turnbull Fellowship supports women and non-binary people of color who work in, or aspire to work, the design fields. Created by Tiny WPA and supported by the Sara Little Turnbull Foundation, the Fellowship extends Tiny WPA’s commitment to design and social justice while providing more opportunities for women and non-binary people in the design industry. Specific to this year’s Fellowship, special emphasis is placed on meaningfully designing “with” communities rather than “for” them.
This is a unique opportunity for an individual to explore design, learn new or hone existing participatory design skills, and have a real impact in local public spaces.
To get a better sense of the breadth of projects that the Fellow could be working on, please visit www.instagram.com/tinywpa
Eligibility
We welcome applications from currently enrolled undergraduate and graduate students, recent graduates with a 2-year or 4-year degree from a public, private, or community college or university, and/or those with building, fabrication, and landscaping or horticulture experience who are exploring or are interested in exploring design.
Applicants from low-income households and/or first-generation college students are strongly encouraged to apply. In particular, Tiny WPA is looking for candidates of color interested in pursuing a career in one of the following fields, and who have demonstrated some experience related to their interest:
Product Design
Architecture
Landscape Architecture
Applications are due on November 1st, 2026 by 11:59 pm.
All candidates will be required to share or obtain background clearances: PA Child Abuse, FBI Fingerprinting, and PA Background Check.
Compensation
This is a part-time (20-30 hours per week) OR a full time (37.5 hours per week) position that is on-site at Tiny WPA’s workshop, located at 3145 W. Jefferson St., Suite C7, Philadelphia, PA 19121.
The compensation range is $20-25 per hour, depending on experience.
how to apply
1- Please complete our Google Form for consideration for the Sara Little Turnbull Fellowship. For questions about the application, please contact Renee Schacht at renee@tinywpa.org. We will continue to review applications until the application deadline.
2- If you have never participated in a Tiny WPA project, visited our shop, or seen us in action in the community, we HIGHLY recommend you schedule a time to visit our shop at 3145 W Jefferson St (in Brewerytown). Contact Renee Schacht at renee@tinywpa.org to schedule a visit.
Sara Little Turnbull, a trail blazing designer and design consultant, operated at the nexus of design, culture, commerce, and education during the second half of the 20th Century. She described her practice as “applied cultural anthropology.”
Sara was one of America’s first industrial designers. She was also a self-described cultural anthropologist, finding inspiration during her extensive travels throughout the world when she studied how people in different places engaged with their environments.
Tiny WPA is grateful to the Sara Little Turnbull Foundation for their support and for making this new fellowship possible.