Job Title

The “Dayen” position was created by SWS to bring individuals experienced in natural resources to federal agencies. The job title itself is derived from the German word “doyen” meaning an expert in a particular field. There are other linguistic examples that relate to this job title. In Islam, the name Dayan (sometimes spelled Dayyan) means great judge or arbiter. The surname Dayan in Hebrew is a type of religious judge and a position with social prestige. In the Urdu language, the word dayan translates to “correct.” These semantic nuances all feed back to the essence of the job title- someone who is expert and authority in their work.

The position of a Fellow is similar to a Dayen but employees with this role likely have less experience than those at the Dayen level. Fellow positions tend to be more field-based while the Dayen positions are more office-based. The fellow positions are targeted at current students who are looking for shorter term work to take on in the summer months, while the Dayen role is reserved for projects lasting at least a year. Many Fellows move into Dayen positions when their projects end.

Fellows and Dayens work on all manner of wilderness stewardship and management issues, from wilderness character, to outfitter and guide permitting, to minimum requirements analysis, and everything in between. Fellows and Dayens are hired to match agency needs, and are trained extensively in the subject matter they will be working with. To host a Fellow or Dayen, contact Heather MacSlarrow at h.macslarrow@wildernessstewardship.org