Acosta Institute 6-Month Fellowship Program
Next Cohort:
March 2026 to July 2026Â
Application Deadline: February 5th
ApplyMission
To build healing-centered lifelong learners at the intersection of education, business, and technology. Leveraging the power of healing-centered practices, slow work, and contemplative science, the Fellowship creates a catalytic container for fellows to tap into their deepest selves, enabling them to make the most profound impact.
Vision
To create a global community of transformative leaders who embody healing-centered values, fostering cultures of resilience, innovation, and social justice within the worlds of education, business, and beyond. The Fellowship aims to be a model for community-centered learning, setting a new standard for fellowships worldwide.
Values
Care: Prioritizing empathy, compassion, and connection in all endeavors.
Slow Work: Emphasizing thoughtful, deliberate action that honors process over productivity.
Restorative: Creating opportunities for healing, reflection, and renewal.
Innovation: Inspiring creativity and forward-thinking approaches to challenges.
Emergence: Allowing space for organic growth, adaptability, and collective wisdom.
 One-on-One CoachingÂ
Each fellow receives personalized guidance from seasoned practitioners with over ten years of experience holding space for transformation. These coaching sessions are designed to meet each fellow exactly where they are. Fellows have described these sessions as deeply affirming, often naming them as turning points for reconnecting with their voice, reframing limiting narratives, and catalyzing the next phase of their leadership. In a world that rarely makes space for pause and reflection, our coaching offers a container of care, clarity, and strategic support—rooted in the values of slow work, emergence, and embodied wisdom. Our coaches listen deeply, ask powerful questions, and support you as you become more of who you already are.
Benefits of Participating
Professional Development: Access to masterclasses, workshops, and certificate programs to enhance expertise in healing-centered education, leadership, business and technology.
Community Engagement: A supportive network of like-minded professionals fostering collaboration and shared learning.
Personal Transformation: Support with building a personal and professional roadmap for growth and legacy building.
Exclusive Resources: Access to the Acosta Institute’s digital archive, discounts to live events and special publications.
Recognition: Participation in a prestigious program that positions fellows as leaders in their respective careers by leveraging the Acosta Institute positioning in the field.
Who is this for?
Professional Development: Access to masterclasses
Education Consultants: Driven by the desire to integrate healing-centered approaches into educational systems, business environments and use of emerging technologies like artificial intelligence.
Academic Entrepreneurs: Building innovative programs or institutions with original research and intellectual property.Â
Nonprofit Managers & Leaders: Leading organizations with a desire to integrate healing-centered approaches.Â
K-12 Educators: Passionate about transforming classrooms into nurturing, restorative learning spaces.
Higher Education Researchers & Professionals: Exploring the theoretical and practical applications of healing-centered frameworks.
Structure of the Fellowship
The Acosta Institute Fellowship is designed to provide a transformative and flexible 6-month experience, combining monthly fellowship community gatherings, immersive workshops, and masterclasses on topics like artificial intelligence, capacity-building, and healing-centered education. Fellows gain exclusive access to our digital library, certificate programs, business and masterminds, all tailored to support personal and professional growth. The program also includes personalized coaching and community engagement through summits, conferences, and a vibrant online network, ensuring a comprehensive journey of reflection, learning, and leadership development. Fellows can choose their own journey through the suite of offerings at the institute.Â
Monthly Fellowship Calls:
- Regular virtual gatherings to foster connection, reflection, and shared learning among fellows. Fellows share and present on their work, explore core concepts on healing-centered leadership and education and collaborate with each other.
Access to Acosta Institute Digital Library Archive:
- Breaking Bread Video Series with Yolanda Sealey-Ruiz
- Healing-Centered Education Masterclass
- Exploring Leadership Frameworks
- Capacity Building Meditations
- Introduction to Artificial Intelligence Masterclass
- Trauma-Informed Teaching Masterclass
- Recordings of Past Healing-Centered Education Summits & Conferences
Coaching Sessions:
- Two 60-minute coaching sessions with asynchronous check-ins.
Online Fellowship Community:
- Continuous virtual engagement with an online network of fellows, mentors, and faculty.
In-Person Retreat at the Garrison Institute (April 1st to 3rd, 2026):
- A three-day immersive retreat with over 60 Acosta Institute Fellows in a 70,000 Sq ft Monastery. The Institute will cover your lodging and meals for this experience. You will join members of Cohort 1 and 2. Attendance is options, yet strongly recommended.Â
We're hosting an open house to answer any questions you have about the fellowship and application process for Cohort 3
Join Us on January 20th, 2026 at 5 PM ET
Access to All Acosta Institute Programming
(Below are highlights from the year ahead)
Codeless Immersion: Vibe Coding for Impact
Saturday, April 18, 2026 | 11:00 AM–4:30 PM ET | Live on Zoom
Facilitated by Vincent Hunt, this day-long creative technology immersion introduces participants to no-code building, automation, and AI-assisted workflows as a human-centered, values-driven practice.
Designed for educators, leaders, creatives, and change-makers, the experience emphasizes discernment, ethical design, and purposeful creation—empowering participants to build tools and systems that serve real human and community needs, without writing code.
Day-Long Healing-Centered Leadership & Education Intensive
Sunday, May 16 | 11:00 AM–4:00 PM ET
This immersive, day-long intensive offers a deep dive into healing-centered leadership and education with renowned scholars and practitioners.
Participants will engage in reflective practice, dialogue, and applied frameworks to explore how healing-centered approaches can support individual vitality, collective care, and transformational leadership in complex and changing contexts.
Collective Intelligence Lab: Making Sense of AI, Together
May 14th | 12:00–2:00 PM ET | Live on Zoom
This free, community-centered workshop invites participants to slow down and make sense of artificial intelligence beyond the hype—through dialogue, reflection, and guided tool use.
Together, we’ll explore community-centered AI literacy, ethics, power, and practical applications, grounding our learning in human dignity, collective wisdom, and shared responsibility for the futures we are shaping.
4-Week Archaeology of Self Certificate Program with Dr. Yolanda Sealey-Ruiz
May 31 – June 21 | Sundays, 11:00 AM–1:00 PM ET | Zoom
This four-week certificate program invites participants into a guided process of self-excavation, reflection, and collective learning rooted in justice, care, and healing-centered practice.
Drawing on contemplative inquiry, writing, and dialogue, participants will deepen self-awareness, racial literacy, and inner capacity to lead, teach, and engage in equity-focused work with integrity, courage, and compassion.
Healing-Centered Business Workshop
Friday, June 12 | 2:00–5:00 PM ET
This interactive workshop invites entrepreneurs, consultants, and organizational leaders to explore how healing-centered practices can be integrated into business strategy, leadership, and decision-making.Participants will engage in reflective exercises, practical frameworks, and peer dialogue to reimagine business as a vehicle for well-being, ethical impact, and sustainable growth in complex and changing environments.
