Lead For America's 2021 Fellowship Application is now open! Apply here
Schenectady, NY. Hosting Travis Ghirdharie, Hometown Fellow ’19
The problems facing our communities are immense.
The opioid crisis. Intergenerational poverty. Ecological devastation.
The problems facing our communities are immense.
Amerra Webster-Yaqui,
Hometown Fellow '19
Our Approach
Lead For America exists to ensure that our nation's most dynamic and diverse leaders are working on our communities' toughest challenges.
We ground our approach on three pillars to comprehensively support a community revitalization: education, pathways, and systems change.
Education
We are working to ensure that every young person leaves school understanding the power of local change-making, and has had the opportunity to effect change themselves.
Pathways
We are building pathways to public service for the next generation of representative leaders dedicated to serving community — at home and nationwide.
Systems Change
We are joining forces with federal policymakers and assembling local coalitions to ensure this work can thrive beyond and without Lead For America in every corner of our country.
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Joe Nail, CEO
Shandiin Herrera,
Hometown Fellow '19
Grant Kirkpatrick +
Lorenzo Johnson,
Hometown Fellows '19
Our Beliefs
Proximity
Our challenges are best addressed by those who are, and have been, closest to the problem.
Public Institutions
Effective government + public institutions are our primary tools to tackle these challenges at scale.
Representative Leadership
Institutions work best when they reflect the communities
they serve.
Resilient Togetherness
We choose to show that another way of living, rooted in
love and community, is possible.
Our Impact to Date
93 Fellows
in 81 different communities
45 Corps Members
selected and supported
GovChallenges + Summer Fellows in
8 states
What People Say
"Cities and communities are now the vanguard of problem solving. Lead For America marries the desire of recent graduates to make change in our communities and the need of local government for new ideas and capacity."
— Bruce Katz
Inaugural Centennial Scholar at The Brookings Institution,
Author of The New Localism
Our Stories
Suidi Hashi + Nafeesa Edges,
Hometown Fellow