Bringing about effective change requires dedicated leadership, the flagship Environmental Fellows Program was established in 1999 order to develop a new generation of environmental leaders for Israel. It has already created a network of over a hundred agents of change promoting sustainability in fields such as architecture and planning, agriculture, politics, health, business, media, government and education.

The Fellows Program reflects the multicultural character of Israeli society, including Jews and Arabs; Russians, Americans and other olim (new immigrants); ultra-religious, religious and secular.The huge success of the Fellows Program can be seen in its popularity and prestige, the eagerness of the graduates to participate in alumni activities and in the cumulative effects of its graduates' work in the field. This success is proof of our conviction that the most effective strategy for achieving social change is through investing in people, who can productively combine reflection and action.

The Fellows Program creates a once-a-week haven away from the daily grind, in which to delve into interdisciplinary learning, contemplation and discussion. Approximately 20 Fellows are trained every year as activists, and emerge at the end of the program informed, enriched and committed, with heightened awareness and dedication to sustainability issues in general and to implementing their personal projects in particular. The program persistently enlarges the growing circle of Friends of Heschel - potential agents for change.