Rodel Fellowship

The nation’s premier leadership development program for state and local elected officials. 

Rodel Fellowship

The Institute’s signature program is the Rodel Fellowship. Created in 2005, the Fellowship is the nation’s premier leadership development program for elected leaders. Each year, the program selects 24 outstanding state and local-level leaders, divided equally between the two political parties, to come together for a series of three multi-day seminars held over a two-year period. Working with leading scholars as moderators, the Fellows read and discuss classic texts dealing with ethical values, democratic principles, and wise and effective leadership. Those texts include the Declaration of Independence, the preamble to the United States Constitution, and writings by Frederick Douglass, Abraham Lincoln, and Martin Luther King, Jr., among many others.

Following completion of the Rodel Fellowship seminars, Fellows have an opportunity to gather periodically with alumni of the program to discuss critical questions of public policy and public leadership in a nonpartisan setting. Over 380 elected leaders have completed the program. These Fellows have gone on to serve as United States senators, governors, mayors, party leaders, Cabinet secretaries, members of Congress, and Vice President of the United States.

What Our People Say About Us

OUR FELLOWS

Class of 2024

Cindy Abrams

State Representative
Ohio

Dawn Buckingham

Land Commissioner
Texas

Vincent Candelora

State Representative
Connecticut

David Chiu

City Attorney of San Francisco
California

Julia Coleman

State Senator
Minnesota

Zach Conine

State Treasurer
Nevada

Sarah Godlewski

Secretary of State Wisconsin

Rene Gonzalez

Portland City Commissioner of Public Safety
Oregon

Deidre Henderson

Lieutenant Governor
Utah

Mike Hilgers

Attorney General
Nebraska

Michelle Hinchey

State Senator
New York

Michael Howe

Secretary of State
North Dakota

Richard Irvin

Mayor of Aurora
Illinois

John F. King

Insurance & Safety Fire Commissioner
Georgia

Javier Martínez

State Representative
New Mexico

Joanna McClinton

State Representative
Pennsylvania

Mallory McMorrow

State Senator
Michigan

Natalie Murdock

State Senator
North Carolina

Daniel Perez

State Representative Florida

Kristi Racines

State Auditor
Wyoming

Steven Reed

Mayor of Montgomery
Alabama

Scott Schwab

Secretary of State
Kansas

Corey Woods

Mayor of Tempe
Arizona

Title and affiliation reflect position at time of selection to the Rodel Fellowship.

All-Class Reunion

Every other year, Rodel’s All-Class Reunion brings together Rodel Fellows from all fellowship classes for substantive briefings, group discussions, and informal networking. The purpose of the All-Class Reunion is to provide a forum for discussion of major public policy challenges, offer leadership development training, decrease political polarization, and strengthen relationships among American political leaders.

Latest News

Liberalism and Its Discontents by Francis Fukuyama Wins Inaugural Edwards Book Award

The Rodel Institute is pleased to announce that Francis Fukuyama’s book Liberalism and Its Discontents has won the inaugural Edwards Book A...

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Edwards Book Award Shortlist Announced

The Rodel Institute is pleased to announce the shortlist finalists for its inaugural Edwards Book Award. The Edwards Book Award is an annual prize re...

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Rodel Receives Rockefeller Brothers Fund Grant

The Rodel Institute is pleased to announce that it has received a grant from the Rockefeller Brothers Fund (RBF) to support its new Federal Executive ...

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