The SJA Fellowship
Young creators working at the intersection of technology and the liberal arts
Steve believed that if you give great tools to talented people, they will use them to make wonderful things. But tools are more than the devices in our hands: they’re the skills we develop, the lessons we learn, and the connections we cultivate.
That’s the mission of the SJA Fellowship: to support promising young people in their creative, professional, and personal development. Through this yearlong, nonresidential program, SJA Fellows receive a stipend to pursue their ideas, a nationwide community of peers, individualized mentorship, and exposure to bold creative practitioners working across disciplines.
2025 Fellows
Alexander Cachine
Atlanta, GAAlexander is a physicist and craft technologist solving modern medical challenges using ancient textile techniques.
Anna Matsumoto
Berkeley, CAAnna is a computer scientist and interaction designer integrating haptic touch into audio-visual technology to unlock richer sensory experiences.
Isaak Freeman
San Francisco, CAIsaak is a neurobiologist creating experimental brain simulations to help human intelligence keep pace with AI.
Kelly Yu
Los Angeles, CAKelly is a director creating films that find humanity in the absurd and expose hidden truths about our shared reality.
Matthew Caren
Stanford, CAMatthew is a computational cognitive scientist and musician building tools that enhance how we express our humanity through sound.
Qianyi (Rose) Sun
San Diego, CARose is a musicologist and AI researcher exploring how machines are changing what it means to listen—and to be understood.
Rodrigo Gallardo
Cambridge, MARodrigo is a computational designer combining mixed reality and AI to create responsive, human-centered urban spaces.
Sam Lawton
New York, NYSam is a creative technologist and speculative designer using 3D cameras to blur the line between observing and experiencing nature.
“This experience has deeply inspired and challenged me. My view of myself has changed radically, in ways that I'm very happy to see.”
— 2023 SJA Fellow
The SJA Fellowship is a one-year, nonresidential program for young creators who are working at the intersection of technology and the liberal arts. Each fellow receives a stipend, an individualized mentor, and additional resources that support their creative trajectory.
The fellowship provides participants with a unique year of learning, connection, and growth. Fellows develop their ideas independently and attend regular events, both virtual and in-person, in order to contribute to our emerging fellowship community.
Our fellowship supports U.S. residents between the ages of 21 and 26. Select candidates are invited to apply after being nominated by a network of institutions, community organizations, and individuals. We choose fellows who demonstrate wide-ranging curiosity, a sense of possibility, and the determination to leave the world better than they found it.