Healthcare Storyteller-in-Residence



We are inviting applications for a Healthcare Storyteller-in-Residence to collect stories from South Asian American healthcare workers about their experiences providing care during the COVID-19 pandemic. Your work will ensure that these important narratives are preserved for future generations in SAADA, the largest archive of South Asian American stories.

SAADA is expanding the American story to include all of us. Our archive, storytelling projects, artistic partnerships, walking tours, lesson plans, films, and books help ensure that South Asian Americans are recognized as an essential part of the American story.

Supported by a grant from the National Endowment for the Humanities (NEH), this nine-month fellowship is an opportunity for a healthcare professional to serve their community in a new and unique way. With support from SAADA, the fellow will conduct oral history interviews with South Asian American healthcare providers—nurses, physicians, community health workers, pharmacists, midwives, and others—who worked on the front lines during the COVID-19 pandemic. Additionally, the fellow will curate an online exhibit that highlights stories and themes from the interviews, and facilitate a bi-weekly virtual broadcast, speaking with interviewees and other guests.

Eligibility
Listed below are the eligibility criteria for the fellowship:
  • This program is open to all U.S.-based individuals with valid work authorization.
  • Applicants should have direct experience working as a frontline healthcare provider during the COVID-19 pandemic.
  • Applicants should either currently live in an area that is within commuting distance to Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, or be willing to relocate for the fellowship term. This is defined as living in an area where the applicant can reasonably travel to Philadelphia within a few hours or less, by either train, bus, or personal vehicle.
  • Experience with storytelling or archives is not required (SAADA will provide training and support), but valuable qualities include a penchant for asking thoughtful questions and the desire to highlight the stories of community members in a clear, compelling, and conscientious manner.

Commitment
During the nine-month fellowship period, the fellow will be responsible for the following:
  • Working on the project full-time (approximately 40 hours per week), including at least one a day a week in SAADA’s office in Philadelphia.
  • Building relationships with members of the healthcare community and identifying possible interviewees.
  • Collecting fifty (50) oral history interviews, each approximately an hour long.
  • Facilitating ten (10) virtual bi-weekly conversations between their project's interviewees and other guests from the medical field.
  • Designing an online exhibit that will provide a curated experience of the project.
  • Writing blog posts about the process of collecting interviews.

Compensation and Support
Fellows will receive:
  • $75,000 stipend (payments tied to project deliverables during the nine-month fellowship period).
  • Training in oral history methodology and best practices from leading experts.
  • Healthcare Community Advisors that will provide guidance on selecting interviewees, along with facilitating introductions and connections.
  • A project budget that includes funds to travel to regional cities close to Philadelphia for in-person interviews, compensation for interviewees, and project materials (recording equipment, transcription software).

Application and Fellowship Timeline
  • February 29, 2024: Call for applications is made available online
  • April 14, 2024: Application deadline
  • May 3, 2024: Applicants notified of their status
  • Week of May 13, 2024: Finalist interviews (virtual)
  • Friday, May 31, 2024: Fellow selected
  • October 1, 2024 - June 30, 2025: Fellowship period

If you are eligible and are able to meet the requirements of the fellowship, please fill out the application form by Sunday, April 14, 2024 by 11:59pm (your local time zone). Please direct all questions and inquiries to fellowships@saada.org.

Please note: The application form will not automatically save your information while in progress, so we encourage you to enter application information into the Word version, and then when completed copy that over to the live application form below.