EPIC: World Wildlife Fund (WWF) – Impact Investing (Washington, D.C. / Remote)

Job Title: Nature Finance Summer Fellow

Department/Team: World Wildlife Fund, Nature Finance Team

Location: Hybrid in Washington, DC – 2 days a week in the office (preferred), option for remote if/as needed (can be discussed)

Duration: 35 hours per week for ten weeks over the summer

Reports to: Isabelle Foster (Senior Impact Investing Specialist, based in DC)

Areas of Interest: Sustainable Finance, Biodiversity and Conservation, Food Systems Transformation (regenerative agriculture, circular food economies), Aquaculture (seaweed/kelp, bivalves, and sea farming), Forestry (sustainable forestry, biodiversity, nature-based solutions), Latin American Climate Innovations

Summer 2023 Fellows:

Summer 2024 Fellows:

Summer 2025 Fellows:

Angela Li

Office Description

For 60 years, WWF has worked to help people and nature thrive. As one of the world’s leading conservation organizations, WWF works in more than 100 countries, connecting cutting-edge conservation science with the collective power of our partners in the field – more than one million supporters in the United States and five million globally, as well as partnerships with communities, companies, and governments.

Our vision for diversity, equity, and inclusion at WWF is an organization as diverse as the world we protect; where the richness of all our unique views, experiences, and backgrounds combines to create the most sustainable and inclusive conservation outcomes possible — bringing the greatest benefit to the planet and every person who lives on it.

Across the many cultures and individuals that represent WWF, we are unified by one mission, one brand, and one common set of values: Courage, Respect, Integrity, and Collaboration.

About the Team:

WWF had just launched a new Nature Finance and Investment (NFI) strategy to mobilize innovative large-scale financing for nature, climate, and community. This unit is focused on leveraging different types of capital to accelerate conservation and is comprised of several teams, including: Impact Investing (WWF Impact), Debt, Public Finance, Nature Markets, and Private Sector Engagement (Financial Institutions). The summer fellow will have the opportunity to work closely with the WWF Impact team around early-stage investment, and will have the chance to work with other units across the Nature Finance team and get exposure to different financial instruments.

In particular, the WWF Impact team focuses on bringing catalytic investment capital to early-stage startups with the potential to offer significant environmental and social benefits for local ecosystems and communities. We make direct equity investments in early-stage companies operating in nascent sectors that, while overlooked by mainstream venture capital, can generate profound planetary benefits and align with WWF’s strategic priorities. We anticipate that as our portfolio companies grow, they will seek to demonstrate market viability and gain traction addressing global conservation challenges.

WWF Impact has three portfolios, or areas where we make investment. These include Aquaculture, Regenerative Agriculture, and Food Circularity. Leveraging our network and global reach, WWF Impact is geographically focused on making investments in Latin America and the Caribbean across our conservation areas of focus. We ensure alignment with WWF’s mission and programmatic work, alongside broader policy and global climate targets.

Description of the Work

This summer fellowship will be a unique opportunity to support WWF’s new Nature Finance Initiative and help shape the growth and development of the team and our priorities. The fellow will be integrated into the team, having the chance to engage across the pillars and with senior leadership. There are several different project opportunities, and we would like to ensure fellows have the chance to work on projects that align with their interests and goals for professional growth.

The fellow will take on a crucial role in assessing market opportunities to drive nature finance transactions across debt, impact investment, nature markets, and public finance instruments. The fellow will be a key member of the NFI team and contribute to NFI’s strategy by conducting landscape analysis, and identifying and prioritizing partners across corporate entities, institutional investors, development finance institutions, multilateral development banks, asset managers, and other relevant stakeholders in the nature finance space. The fellow will work closely with internal teams and external stakeholders to drive preparation and implementation of financial solutions and strategic partnerships to help accelerate conservation objectives, address complex environmental challenges, and transform commitments into actionable, investable solutions.

List of Potential Projects:

Below are a few examples of projects that interns might work on:

Climate & Food Policies in Latin America and the Caribbean
- The fellow could help WWF Impact understand and map policies in Latin America and the Caribbean as they relate to sustainability, climate, carbon and food/agriculture.
Agroforestry Models in Latin America and the Caribbean
- The fellow could help the team research new business models and policies for agroforestry, biodiversity, and carbon in the LAC region and map key legislation, actors, investors, and entrepreneurs.
Innovations in Agribusiness in the Americas
- The fellow could research leading early-stage startups in North, Central, and South America working in the agriculture and food production space (in verticals such as livestock, technology for smallholder farmers, reducing single-use plastic, food waste solutions, etc.). This could consist of market research, interviews with experts, direct conversations with early-stage companies, and analysis of legislation that supports these sustainability shifts
Food Circularity & Food Security Market Scan
- The fellow can help the WWF Impact team complete a market scan of policies and business models that support food circularity—i.e. companies that address food loss and waste, composting and reuse of organic materials, reduction of single-use plastics along the food consumption & production supply chain—as well as policies and companies supporting greater food security in the region.
Regenerative Agriculture Market Scan
- The fellow can help the WWF Impact team identify key policies and market trends around agricultural innovations in the Americas and develop a pipeline of the most exciting and promising investment opportunities. This could include interviews with policy experts and entrepreneurs/startups to learn more about their work, business models, and fit with WWF Impact’s impact goals.
Early-Stage Aquaculture Innovations
- The fellow can support WWF Impact’s Aquaculture Portfolio by conducting a market scan of promising seaweed and blue economy innovations and blue economy policy. This can include talking with sector experts, startups, and undertaking desktop research to create reports and analyses on new investment opportunities and trends in the blue investment space.
Sustainable Debt
- The fellow can help the team explore sustainable debt markets, support potential upcoming debt-for-nature swap work, and explore the opportunities around sustainable corporate bond issuance

Desired Skills

Ideal candidates will be proactive, eager, and excited about the intersection of the environment, finance, entrepreneurship, communities, and conservation. Attention to detail, the ability to work independently and on multiple projects at once, and robust communication skills will be important. A proclivity towards leading analytic research and engaging a variety of stakeholders will be valuable, as are strong written skills, the ability to synthesize complex findings, and capacity for presenting insights. Spanish language skills and a background in food systems and agriculture are a plus, but not required.

EPIC fellows are required to work full-time (35-40 hours per week) for 10 weeks over the summer, and will receive a stipend of $8,000 - $9,500, depending on financial need. This stipend is intended to help cover living and transportation expenses during the fellowship, which the student is expected to arrange and coordinate.
Preferred start date is in mid-June 2026 (exact date to be agreed upon by you and the supervisor).