Lead For America

Lead for America works to ensure that our country’s most dynamic and diverse young leaders are working on our toughest challenges. We believe that with the right leadership in the right places, we can reimagine the American Dream in a way that is: 1) Shared. Where we all have strong communal ties and a common aspiration of equity and justice for all. 2) Accessible. Where everyone has a chance at economic and civic mobility, no matter their zip code; and 3) Sustainable. Where our education system and public institutions are well positioned to grow and sustain the next generation of leadership that will be responsible for solving problems that we cannot yet see. Through our programs, LFA community members will gain a new perspective and appreciation for local government, understand the most pressing issues facing our communities, be equipped with tools to enact communal and systemic change, establish relationships with partner universities and organizations, and gain opportunities to engage with a growing alumni network of passionate leaders, who together will continue to serve as transformational public service leaders in communities across the nation. Through its flagship fellowship program, by 2040 Lead for America aims to recruit, train, and place 50,000 of our nation’s most dynamic, diverse, and high-integrity selfless leaders in high-impact local government, local non-profit, and civic-oriented local business roles to reinvigorate our civic institutions and serve as democracy entrepreneurs in the communities they call home. We identify dynamic and diverse leaders ages 21-30 who already have shown a commitment to a life of service for a specific community or cause, and then give them the training, mentorship, and support they need before, during, and after a two-year paid Fellowship.