Professional Development

The Millennium Fellowship “is a year-long, high-impact leadership accelerator for rising leaders from around the world and across sectors. Through our program, accomplished global professionals with both demonstrated achievement and reserves of potential sharpen their leadership abilities, increase their capacity for meaningful impact, and build community. Fellows complete a curriculum comprised of world-class leadership development resources and have access to the Atlantic Council’s geopolitical expertise, global networks, and international reach.”

Building LGBTQ+ Communities in Germany and the United States: “LGBTQ+ individuals and their communities have been organizing to assert their rights for over a century, especially in Germany and the United States—two countries that were early pioneers and that have currently achieved more equality than many other places. But many challenges still persist, especially as a backlash to greater LGBTQ+ rights has been visible in both countries.

A comparative examination of the history, present, and future of LGBTQ+ rights will generate new understandings, leadership skills, and policy lessons for both countries and many others around the world. This AGI project fosters cross-cultural exchange with participants from diverse backgrounds by sharing personal testimonies, successes and failures, and best practices through week-long study tours in the United States and Germany.”

The Center for Ethics and the Rule of Law, “affiliated with the Annenberg Public Policy Center at Penn, is a non-partisan interdisciplinary institute dedicated to preserving and promoting ethics and the rule of law in national security, warfare, and democratic governance. CERL draws from the study of law, philosophy, and ethics to answer the difficult questions that arise in domestic and transnational crises and conflicts.”

The ASG Rising Leaders Program is a year-long program in which “participants have the unique opportunity to learn from key decision-makers—and each other—under the aegis of the Aspen Strategy Group. The curriculum includes attending the Aspen Security Forum, participating in a tailored Aspen leadership seminar, joining discussions with preeminent foreign policy experts, co-authoring policy papers with their peers for digital publication, and much more. At the culmination of the program, the Rising Leaders will join a lifetime network of alumni to further connect with other bold thinkers in national security.”

Fellowships at Auschwitz for the Study of Professional Ethics “provides a unique historical lens to study contemporary ethics in the professions. FASPE offers fellowships to students pursuing professional degrees in business, journalism, law, medicine, seminary, and design & technology, as well as to early-career professionals in these fields. Fellows in each of FASPE’s six programs spend two intensive weeks in Germany and Poland, visiting Auschwitz and key historical sites in Berlin and Krakow, and participating in rigorous seminars led by experts in their respective fields. Fellows begin their studies by examining the roles their professional counterparts played in Germany and elsewhere from 1933-1945, and then draw on historical, cultural, philosophical, literary and discipline-specific sources to explore the ethical issues facing their fields today.”

The Shawn Brimley Next Generation National Security Leaders Fellowship is a “year-long, part-time professional development fellowship aims to bring together young professionals across sectors within the national security field to learn best practices and lessons in leadership. Next Gen fellows will have the opportunity to engage with thought leaders on leadership principles and national security through various engagements, including a monthly dinner series. Past speakers include Secretary Madeleine Albright, General Stanley McChrystal, Secretary Jeh Johnson, Congressman Mike Gallagher, and Ambassador Bonnie Jenkins. The program culminates in a week-long international study tour to delve deeper into national security issues and leadership.”

The Abshire-Inamori Leadership Academy (AILA) “offers its flagship leadership program, the AILA International Fellowship, to equip aspiring global leaders to be effective and ethical changemakers. This transformational experience gives participants the tools and agile mindset to enact innovative solutions to the challenges of today’s volatile world. Through an intensive and interactive week of seminars and experiential learning, AILA International Fellows gain a deeper understanding of the complex global dynamics and moral constraints they face as leaders.”

The Nuclear Scholars Initiative “aims to provide top graduate students and young professionals from around the country with a unique venue to interact and dialogue with senior experts on nuclear weapons issues. Those accepted into the program are hosted once per month over the course of six months at CSIS in Washington, DC where they participate in daylong workshops.”

The Strategy and Statecraft Fellowship “will comprise monthly dinners on key topics in foreign policy, national security, and strategic thought. Dinners will feature participation from current and former senior government officials as well as experts representing diverse perspectives and backgrounds. The program will conclude with the Strategy and Statecraft Summit in January 2023 at a venue outside of Washington, D.C. The summit will be an intensive multi-day experience, combining an extended war game or simulation, scenario-based discussions, and lectures to tie together the program’s themes and provide Fellows an opportunity to apply the program’s lessons in a professionally relevant manner.”

The International Affairs Fellowship (IAF) aims to bridge the gap between the study and making of U.S. foreign policy by creating the next generation of scholar-practitioners. The program offers fellows the chance to experience a new environment and gain a different perspective at a pivotal moment in their careers. Academics are placed in policy-oriented public service settings, and government officials in scholarly settings.

The Young Leaders Program is a “program [that] builds lasting ties between leaders on both sides of the Atlantic — during the program, and also by engaging with the broader Young Leaders alumni community. The Foundation organizes events, panels and get-togethers throughout the year, both online and in person. Even though Young Leaders live in various cities, we ask that Young Leaders remain engaged in the community and contribute to the activities of the Foundation during the two-year program (and beyond!). For more information, please see the Young Leaders Responsibilities Charter. The Foundation reserves the right to withdraw a Young Leader from the program if they do not abide by the charter.”

National Security Institute Fellowship: For “national security practitioners and industry leaders that draw on diverse experiences from the intelligence community, government, private sector, and academia. Through policy papers, panel discussions, and other scholarship, our Fellows will contribute to a crucial discussion of the legal and practical challenges facing the U.S. intelligence, defense, law enforcement, homeland security, and cybersecurity communities. These experts and scholars will support NSI’s educational mission and will help ensure that NSI leads the debate on critical issues facing our nation in the upcoming year.”

The Young Strategists Forum “seeks to develop a new generation of strategic thinkers and equip them with the skills to successfully navigate a world in flux. Since the inaugural Young Strategists Forum in March 2012, GMF has built a vibrant program centered on the theme of the US-Japan alliance and security dynamics in the Indo-Pacific region. Held in Tokyo, the program emphasizes the importance of pursuing purposeful grand strategic objectives through an innovative combination of lectures, a 36-hour simulation exercise, meetings with policy makers, diplomats, senior journalists and leading academics, and a study tour that includes a visit to a military facility.”

Manfred Wörner Seminar/Euro-Atlantik Seminar “Started in 1982 as the Multiplikatoren Seminar (Multiplier Seminar) and co-sponsored by the German Marshall Fund of the United States (GMF) and the Armed Forces Office of the German Defense Ministry, the annual Manfred Wörner/Euro-Atlantik Seminar brings together 30 young Americans and Europeans from a diverse range of professional backgrounds to examine German and European security policy and discuss US-German and US-European security interests.

Emerging as a Global Leader Experience (EaGLE) Program “accelerates the careers of emerging leaders working in national security and public service. The program provides participants with intensive leadership development based on theories of innovation, technology and entrepreneurship. Over the course of several virtual immersive workshop sessions, participants gain experience with design thinking, lean startup methods, strengths-based leadership, and professional networking strategies to help them maximize impact. EaGLE alumni gain a diverse community and support system that encourages continued growth beyond the program.”

The HillVets LEAD Program “is to assist in the professional development and growth of Military Veterans, spouses, and survivors; active-duty Service Members, Guardsmen and Reservists; Capitol Hill or Executive Branch staffers; and VSO employees into the greater policy and politics ecosystem by tools, networking, mentorship, and experience necessary to take on leadership positions in policy on Capitol Hill or in the Greater DC Area.”

The Military Fellows Program “pairs PIPS research fellows with active-duty military officers associated with the Defense Entrepreneurs Forum. These highly experienced officers mentor and lend strategic expertise to the PIPS students during their academic year of research. During the fall semester, military fellows—through campus visits and the online PIPS Jefferson Forum—help students to identify emerging international challenges, comment on white paper proposals, and introduce students to area experts in the national security community. In the spring, the fellows provide analytical feedback on students’ policy recommendations and edits to white papers.”

Young Professionals Program “a seasonal lecture series that meets monthly and provides young working professionals aspiring for a career in US foreign policy, or in the early stages of their career, the opportunity to engage and interact with current and former senior-ranking US policymakers, diplomats and military officials. The 2022-2023 lecture series will focus on policymaking and statecraft.”

Research Fellows: Preparing the Army to succeed in future conflict requires drawing on a diverse team of critical and creative thinkers with a variety of viewpoints. With this in mind, the Modern War Institute at West Point invites applications for its research fellows program. We seek fellows committed to pushing the boundaries of policy-relevant research in our themes of human resources, allies and partners, and combined arms warfare.

Research fellows are junior or mid-career professionals who seek an active but temporary relationship with MWI. We seek a diverse pool of talented applicants from a variety of backgrounds: military and national security professionals, analysts, and academics, from the United States as well as its allies and partners. This program is open to individuals of any age and citizenship who are committed to the ideals of the institute and the US Army.

National Security and Counterterrorism Fellowship “brings together the most promising rising leaders engaged in national security and counterterrorism work in the Five Eyes partner nations. The McCain Institute will select a group of character-driven leaders as fellows — young women and men of extraordinary achievement and promise who have demonstrated their commitment to national security and public service. The program prepares these individuals for future leadership opportunities and builds a professional network that connects them in a meaningful and enduring way.”

The McCain Global Leaders Program supports character-driven leaders from around the world who embody Senator John McCain’s legacy of serving a cause greater than oneself.  Structured as a 10-month fellowship and experiential learning experience, each cohort will include 25 diverse leaders from around the world who are working “in the arena” to advance democracy, human rights and freedom. The program is designed to advance each Leader’s personal and professional leadership journey and impact by providing training, resources, and access to highly relevant regional and global networks with goal of preparing today’s leaders to meet tomorrow’s challenges.

The Emissary Program, “a play on the spelling of ‘emissary’, eMMissaries (the double M is used to denote MilitaryMentors) are industry leaders who are screened, selected, and trained through a six-month cohort style leader(ship) developmental curriculum to become our ‘virtuous insurgency’ for mentorship. eMMissaries represent us in positive ways, increase organizational awareness, and seek opportunities to influence and develop others.”

Penn Kemble Forum Fellowship

​New America’s Fellows Program “invests in thinkers—journalists, scholars, filmmakers, and public policy analysts—who generate big, bold ideas that have an impact and spark new conversations about the most pressing issues of our day. New America fellows are selected on a highly competitive basis and serve—most on an adjunct basis, some full-time—for a one-year term. During that period, we aim to give them an intellectual home where they have the time, space, and resources to pursue their projects; a community where they can learn from one another; and opportunities to engage with others at New America and help shape the longer-term agenda and focus of our organization.”

Next Generation Leaders “builds upon its existing networks across the country to recruit a diverse, bipartisan group of up-and-comers for an exciting year-long leadership training, cultivation and engagement program. Each year, the USGLC’s network of next generation leaders multiplies with a new class, deepening the bench of prominent young voices across the country who support strategic investments in America’s development and diplomacy programs.Participants interact directly with policymakers and opinion leaders, launching their advocacy education with a seat on a USGLC State Advisory Committee at the culmination of the program.”

The Successful Presidential Leadership Scholar “challenges Scholars to develop their leadership skills in an environment in which individuals’ experiences are seen as strengths and are respected, supported, and valued. Within this welcoming and inclusive climate, Scholars are expected to do the following both in and out of the program: Engage in deep reflection about their personal leadership development, including acknowledging habits of exclusion and creating new habits of inclusion. Commit to meaningful interactions with others whose life experiences and perspectives are different than their own, even if those interactions are uncomfortable. Include diverse perspectives in the framing of challenges and consideration of responses. Work to ensure the full participation of others in influencing change. Seek understanding with others, especially when they disagree.”

The Great Leaders & Great Biographies Fellowship “will use the rigorous study of great biography to investigate a wider set of questions about geopolitics, leadership, and human character. Guest speakers will participate in the seminar, as well, including both scholars and national security leaders. Fellows will have the opportunity to reflect on the role of individual personality in history and what makes for great leadership—and also great biography.”

The CXO Fellows Program “is a VIRTUAL professional development program that engages the next generation of federal leaders in acquisition/procurement, financial management/budget, human capital, information technology, and data. Throughout the year-long program, CXO Fellows have the opportunity to grow professionally and build a diverse network of rising leaders from across the Federal Government.”

Founded in 1964 by Lyndon B. Johnson, the White House Fellows program is one of America’s most prestigious programs for leadership and public service. White House Fellowships offer exceptional emerging leaders first-hand experience working at the highest levels of the Federal government.

Selected individuals typically spend a year working as a full-time, paid Fellow to senior White House Staff, Cabinet Secretaries, and other top-ranking government officials. Fellows also participate in an education program consisting of roundtable discussions with leaders from the private and public sectors, and potential trips to study U.S. policy in action both domestically and internationally. Fellowships are awarded on a strictly non-partisan basis.

The Artificial Intelligence Lab “is a six-week seminar series that introduces participants to foundational topics in AI: what is machine learning; how do neural networks work; what are the current and future applications of autonomous intelligent systems; who are currently the main players in AI; and what will AI mean for the nation’s national security. Each seminar is led by top technologists and scholars drawn from the private, public, and non-profit sectors and a critical component of the Lab is an interactive exercise, in which participants are given an opportunity to take a hands-on role on computers to work through some of the major questions surrounding artificial intelligence.  Due to COVID-19, these sessions are offered virtually.  When health guidance permits, these sessions will return in-person at the Wilson Center.”

Foreign Policy Fellowship Program “is a six-week seminar series that encourages Fellows to debate key global issues with some of the nation’s leading foreign policy thinkers and practitioners. FPFP also encourages staffers from across the aisle to network and work together through our interactive session of the program involving a foreign policy roleplay scenario.”

The James H. Billington Fellowship seeks applications from scholars who have received their Ph.D. within the past 10 years to conduct research on Russian history and culture. The Billington Fellowship was established in 2016 in tribute to the co-founder of the Kennan Institute, former Director of the Wilson Center, and former Librarian of Congress, James H. Billington. Dr. Billington made enduring contributions to the field of Russian Studies, and in our nation’s ability to understand and maintain bridges of dialogue with the Russian people. He was not only the author of The Icon and the Axe (1966), Fire in the Minds of Men (1980), and Russia in Search of Itself (2004), among other seminal works; he was the visionary behind the Open World Leadership Center, which has facilitated the travel of over 24,000 individuals from Eurasia to the United States to meet with members of Congress and visit across the United States.

The Rising Experts Program is a roughly year-long writing initiative designed to help young professionals enhance their writing skills, publish articles, and build a portfolio of work. By working collaboratively with a team of editors, this initiative provides young professionals with the editorial support needed to craft compelling analysis and op-ed writing. Through YPFP’s network, Rising Experts have the opportunity to publish with several different outlets.

The Technology and National Security Fellowship “is an opportunity for technologists and entrepreneurs to serve their country by embedding with key decision-makers at the top levels of the U.S. Government. Recent advanced-degree graduates serve their country through this one-year Department of Defense fellowship in the Pentagon or Capitol Hill to address technology and national security policy issues. Fellows embed with host offices within U.S. Government to provide advice and emerging expertise for matters at the critical intersection of national security and technology.”

The National Security & Sino-American Technology Competition Fellowship “is a new fellowship “that seeks to educate the next generation of East Asia strategists and national security generalists about how technology will shape U.S.-China strategic rivalry. Just as America’s greatest strategists of the Cold War – from Henry Kissinger to Paul Nitze – were highly knowledgeable about the nuclear revolution and space and missile breakthroughs, so, too, do our young strategists need to understand the technologies that matter most in Sino-American competition.”

The National Defense Fellowship (NDF) “is an intensive joint program run in partnership between the Alexander Hamilton Society and the Ronald Reagan Institute. The program aims to educate ~20 advanced undergraduate and graduate students, and has two primary components, the Peace Through Strength Boot Camp and the Reagan National Defense Forum.” 

Defense Ventures “is an 8-week fellowship that identifies emerging innovators from the Department of Defense and facilitates industry immersions at venture capital firms, incubators, and startups across the United States. Shift runs this program in partnership with AFWERX, the innovation arm of the Air Force, who created this opportunity for members of the Air Force, Army, Navy, Marines, Space Force, Coast Guard, Reserve, National Guard and DoD civilians.”

The annual German-American Young Leaders Conference “offers participants the opportunity to engage in an intensive and interdisciplinary exchange on current transatlantic issues and to build both professional and personal bridges across the Atlantic. Leading public figures are invited to join the group as guest speakers. Pressing domestic, bilateral, and global issues are discussed at the conference. Most recently, the focus has been on the rise of populism, for example, or on the socio-economic implications of the digital transformation.”

The Carnegie Ethics Fellowship “is a space for talented professionals to develop their capabilities and be examples of values-driven responsible leadership. Fellows will collaborate on projects curated by Carnegie Council for Ethics in International Affairs, where they will have the opportunity to contribute to work that has deep connections to both New York and the broader world. The two-year Fellowship is structured to develop the next generation of ethical leaders from business, government, academia, and non-governmental organizations. The Fellowship is part of Carnegie Council’s significant commitment to developing ethics in leadership and to the communities of experts that work toward this end, aligning the power of decision-making with reflective right action.”

Harold W. Rosenthal Fellowship in International Relations “is a prestigious program that offers our country’s most outstanding and civic-minded graduate students in international affairs the opportunity to spend a summer working to solve some of our biggest national and global challenges.”

The Herbert Scoville Jr. Peace Fellowship Program “invites recent college and graduate school alumni to apply for full-time, six-to-nine month fellowships in Washington, DC. Outstanding individuals will be selected to work with nonprofit, public-interest organizations addressing peace and security issues. Applications are especially encouraged from candidates with a strong interest in these issues who have prior experience with public-interest activism or advocacy.”

The Belfer Center National Security Fellowship “is a 10-month research fellowship for U.S. military officers at the Lt Col/Colonel rank and their civilian counterparts who show promise of rising to the most challenging leadership positions within their organizations.”

The Executive Leaders Program (ELP) provides a unique educational opportunity for senior-level homeland security and public safety leaders at the forefront of the nation’s homeland security mission. This non-degree, graduate-level educational program develops leaders responsible for homeland security and public safety by enhancing critical thinking skills in a collaborative and cross-functional environment. Participants in this program represent a diverse group of federal, state, local, territorial, tribal, and private sector leaders who become enhanced decision-makers and innovative collaborators

The International Strategy Forum (ISF) is an initiative of Schmidt Futures that bets early on the next generation of problem solvers with extraordinary potential in geopolitics, innovation, and public leadership. Chaired by Fareed Zakaria and Jared Cohen, ISF seeks out non-traditional talent across boardrooms, newsrooms, laboratories, policy-making councils, foundations, and beyond. Through convenings, mentorship, and more, ISF equips rising leaders in technology and international affairs with knowledge, network, and resources to tackle hard global problems

The Irregular Warfare Initiative Nonresident Fellows Program is a mutually supportive network of professionals – a triad of academics, practitioners, and policy makers – interested in advancing discussions and research on irregular warfare. Based on availability and funding, there will be opportunities to present research and travel, all in the name of advocating for better understanding of irregular warfare.

The Robert and Marion Oster National Security Affairs Fellows (NSAF) Program is designed to provide a high-ranking member of his or her military service or government agency with extensive experience in U.S. foreign policy implementation, an opportunity to spend an academic year at Hoover to conduct independent research. Unofficially, the NSAF program is much more: it is an opportunity for them to lead, learn, stretch, and recharge. NSAFs play an essential role at Hoover and across the Stanford community, inspiring the next generation to public service and mentoring undergraduate and graduate students – most of whom have never interacted with members of the U.S. military or State Department before.

The Bochnowski Family Veteran Fellowship Program (VFP) is a nonresidential, year-long project-based program for 10 military veterans to accelerate solution-finding at a local, state, or national level. The program seeks participants who want to address challenges in the public sector with actionable outcomes. Focus areas should align with Hoover’s research priorities and seek to inform the formation and implementation of policy. The VFP is building an effective and enduring network of successful veteran practitioners, motivated to confront real-world challenges with support from networks at the Hoover Institution and Stanford University.