News and Insights - Presidential Leadership Scholars

Making community out of strangers: The impact of the Presidential Leadership Scholars Program

February 13, 2025

Presidential Leadership Scholars Module One recap

Presidential Leadership Scholar spotlight: Bayeté Ross Smith

February 10, 2025 | Bayete Ross Smith (‘19)

Bayeté Ross Smith, 2019 Presidential Leadership Scholar, artist, and adjunct instructor at New York University’s Tisch School of the Arts, discusses his passion for creating impactful art and the lessons he learned in the Presidential Leadership Scholars Program. Please tell us a little bit about yourself and your personal leadership project. I am a multidisciplinary […]

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Presidential Leadership Scholar spotlight: Wade Lairsen

February 1, 2025

Wade Lairsen, 2022 Presidential Leadership Scholar and CEO of The Birthday Party Project, discusses his passion for creating joy that changes people’s lives and the lessons he learned in the Presidential Leadership Scholars program. Please tell us a little bit about yourself and your personal leadership project. I’m Wade Lairsen – currently CEO of an […]

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News

2025 class of Presidential Leadership Scholars announced as program celebrates 10th anniversary

January 15, 2025

Tenth annual class comprised of 57 accomplished leaders including educators, physicians, public servants, and corporate professionals; program begins on Jan. 29 in Philadelphia Jan. 15, 2025 – Today, the Presidential Leadership Scholars (PLS) program announced the 57 Scholars who will form the program’s 10th annual class. For the past decade, PLS has brought together more […]

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Demonstrating leadership when it’s a matter of life and limb

December 9, 2024

By Margot Habiby As her uncle lay painfully dying in a hospice care facility in the heart of Philadelphia, Nubia Peña gathered with other rising American leaders a few blocks away to work on solving our nation’s most pressing issues while building community and bridging divides. What happened next couldn’t have been more apt, particularly […]

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Insights

Leading from within: How authenticity and values shape leadership

December 6, 2024

By Casey Rodriguez The holiday season is a time for all of us to come together and celebrate with family and friends. We share in traditions, gather around, tell stories, and reflect on what the year has brought us. During this time, we are also reminded of what makes us unique individuals and how those […]

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Presidential Leadership Scholar spotlight: An-Me Chung

December 6, 2024

America, discusses her passion for education and the lessons she learned in the Presidential Leadership Scholar program.

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Political winds may blow, but values-based leadership remains

October 25, 2024

Kelley Jiou is the Co-Director of the Presidential Leadership Scholars.

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Presidential Leadership Scholar spotlight: Nubia Peña

October 25, 2024

This spotlight features Nubia Peña, 2023 Presidential Leadership Scholar, Utah Governor Spencer J. Cox’s Senior Advisor of Access and Opportunity and the Director for the Utah Division of Multicultural Affairs. She discusses her background and career trajectory in advocating for historically underserved communities as well as the lessons learned in the Presidential Leadership Scholars program.

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How one Presidential Leadership Scholar is using language to bridge divides

September 18, 2024

Through the program, Rugoff is working to bridge divides in language with her new initiative, Purple Lexicon. It’s designed to flag words that may carry political weight for certain groups so that communicators can be more intentional and effective when they speak or write.

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