The Young Leaders of the Americas Initiative is seeking organizations as Cohort Ambassadors to serve as local partners for facilitating a cohesive cohort and fostering cross-cultural understanding through local cultural and professional engagements during the 2025 YLAI Fellowship Program. 

Purpose 

The Young Leaders of the Americas Initiative (YLAI) is the U.S. Department of State’s flagship entrepreneurship program for emerging business leaders and entrepreneurs from Latin America, the Caribbean, and Canada. YLAI is a competitive fellowship program structured as an international exchange funded by the U.S. Department of State’s Bureau of Educational and Cultural Affairs and implemented by IREX, a non-profit based in Washington D.C. As such, IREX is requesting applications from those interested in serving as a YLAI Cohort Ambassador for the 2025 YLAI Fellowship cohort. Cohort Ambassadors will be a selection of organizations based in 20 target cities across the United States who serve as local partners for facilitating a cohesive cohort and fostering cross-cultural understanding through local cultural and professional engagements. The 2025 YLAI Fellowship will be a hybrid program, consisting of virtual and in-person programming. Fellows will engage with the online curriculum before traveling to the U.S. to complete in-person fellowship components from May 13th – June 17th, 2025.    

Eligibility requirements 

We welcome applications from a wide range of organizations that demonstrate a strong network across different business sectors in their city, as well as the ability to foster meaningful experiences of local U.S. culture and entrepreneurship. The Cohort Ambassador role has been successfully held by centers for citizen diplomacy, centers for innovation, university departments, and accelerators.  

Deadline 

Issue Date: April 30th, 2024 
Proposal Due Date: May 31st, 2024, at 11:59 PM EDT 
Anticipated Award Date: July 19th, 2024 
Award Ceiling: up to $28,000 

How to apply 

Download the YLAI FY23 Cohort Ambassador Request for Applications (DOCX, 244 KB) document for more information on Cohort Ambassador roles and responsibilities, fellowship timeline, application submission requirements (with links to application materials), application evaluation, and other subaward-related details. 

If you are interested in furnishing this service, please send an email with your application materials attached to Derrick Lewis at dlewis@irex.org. Applications must be received no later than 11:59 p.m. Eastern Standard Time on the extended closing date indicated above with the subject line “YLAI Fellowship Cohort Ambassador Application” 

Questions? 

Contact Derrick Lewis at dlewis@irex.org. On May 23rd, 2024, at 3:30 PM EDT, IREX will host a virtual Q&A session on the RFA application process. This Zoom meeting will be recorded and shared with interested applicants.