2025 Summer Harris Fellowship (Marketing Intelligence)
Are you a force for good? Does the opportunity to devote your talents to a cause much greater than yourself excite you? Are you eager to work on high-impact projects that directly contribute to sustainability initiatives? The Arbor Day Foundation is a place where you can do work that matters, with people who care. As we say at the Foundation: life is short, love where you work.
As one of the world's largest conservation organizations, the Arbor Day Foundation inspires people to plant, nurture, and celebrate trees. We help others understand and use trees as a solution to global issues (like air quality, water quality, climate change, deforestation, poverty, and hunger) that are critical to survival.
The Arbor Day Foundation is seeking a highly motivated, analytical thinker who is passionate about environmental sustainability and market-driven solutions to join the 2025 Summer Harris Fellowship.
The Harris Fellowship is an opportunity for a graduate student to contribute to innovative research while gaining valuable experience in sustainability, market intelligence, and corporate impact strategies. The selected candidate(s) will lead a comprehensive market analysis of tree-based solutions within one or more of our B2B product lines. Fellows will use data-driven insights to inform our strategies and drive meaningful environmental change.
You Have:
- Passion. For the Foundation’s mission, nature, environmental stewardship, and people.
- Current graduate-level enrollment in Business, Environmental Science, Sustainability, or a related field.
- Strong research and analytical skills. You are skilled at synthesizing data into actionable insights. You are keen on identifying market trends and evaluating competitive landscapes to inform business strategy.
- Excellent communication skills. Skilled in communicating insights both in writing and verbally.
- Experience using data analysis tools. Like Excel, Power BI, or similar platforms to visualize and communicate findings.
- Collaborative spirit. Excited to learn and grow with others as you work cross-functionally in marketing, sales, and product development.
- Ability to be proactive and resourceful. You’re a self-starter who takes ownership, quickly grasps new concepts, and applies them independently to solve challenges and drive meaningful outcomes.
You Will:
- Conduct secondary research by analyzing industry reports, internal data, and key players within the market.
- Perform competitor analysis, evaluating major industry players, their offerings, pricing strategies, and unique differentiators.
- Explore customer needs and challenges, segmenting them into personas or maturity levels.
- Identify untapped market opportunities & emerging trends that align with the Arbor Day Foundation’s values and strengths.
- Develop an executive summary and actionable recommendations for enhancing product positioning and strategy.
- Present findings and recommendations to key stakeholders at the Foundation.
What will you learn:
- Develop expertise in market analysis and competitive research within the sustainability space.
- Gain hands-on experience conducting customer discovery interviews and identifying strategic business opportunities.
- Analyze corporate sustainability trends and how businesses are using tree-based solutions to meet ESG goals.
- Refine your data storytelling skills by translating research insights into actionable recommendations.
- Work cross-functionally with our customer experience, marketing, sales, and product teams to see how research informs strategy.
- Sharpen your ability to present findings and make a strong business case to senior leadership.
- Practice formulating and pitching strategic recommendations based on your research.
What we offer:
- Structured 9-week summer program at 40 hours per week
- $20 per hour pay
- Opportunities for mentorship, feedback, and networking
- Access to industry expertise in the environmental and corporate sustainability market
- Housing provided in downtown Lincoln, NE, walkable distance to Arbor Day Foundation
Selection Process;
- Applications close: February 28th, 2025
- Initial phone interviews: Week of February 24, 2025
- Final interviews: Week of March 3rd, 2025
- Offer extended: By March 10th, 2025
- Start date: Monday, June 2nd, 2025