TFAS Alumni Network Reaches New Heights

This year, our alumni network grew to more than 15,000 members representing six continents and more than 130 countries. Armed with their TFAS education and professional training, TFAS alumni are forging careers in business, journalism, academia, philanthropy, public service and international affairs.

We’re thankful for our 150+ alumni volunteers who gave their time and expertise as guest speakers, mentors, internship supervisors, board members and more this year. In 2015, three outstanding alumni were elected to the TFAS Board of Trustees.

Alumni giving this year provided more than $70,000 for student scholarships. On #GivingTuesday alone, more than $20,000 was raised in a 24 hour period, making this our largest single-day giving campaign to date!

TFAS Launches New Program on Leadership and the American Presidency

In 2015, TFAS began accepting applications for it’s newest program: Leadership and The American Presidency (LTAP). Developed in partnership with the Ronald Reagan Presidential Foundation and Institute, LTAP will bring college students with strong leadership potential to Washington, D.C. where they will study lessons from the American presidency, while developing the skills necessary to become civic-minded leaders ready to change the world.

Tomorrow’s Leaders LIVE. LEARN. INTERN. in D.C.

Enrollment in U.S. programs was up 20 percent this summer, bringing nearly 400 college students to LIVE. LEARN. INTERN. in the nation’s capital. This year’s students hailed from 43 states and D.C. and included 60 international students from 31 countries. Students attended more than 115 events, and spent more than 150 hours in guest lectures, academic discussions, site briefings and special events. Learning continued into the Spring and Fall with 31 outstanding young leaders spending their semester in D.C. with the Capital Semester program.

From Latin America to Asia and Europe, TFAS International Programs Reach Future Leaders All Over the world

TFAS international programs got off to a fantastic start in 2015, with the Institute for Leadership in the Americas (ILA) in Santiago, Chile. Eighty percent of the 2015 Class of 50 students reported that ILA would have a large or life-changing effect on their lives, and a full 100 percent said that ILA exposed them to new ideas, concepts and cultures.

In Hong Kong, the Asia Institute for Political Economy (AIPE) hosted 65 students from 19 countries with Mongolia and Brunei represented for first time. And the American Institute on Political and Economic Systems (AIPES) in Prague celebrated its most diverse program to date with 124 students representing 46 different countries.

High School Students Gain Early Access to TFAS Lessons Through the Foundation for Teaching Economics (FTE)

In 2015, TFAS affiliate, the Foundation for Teaching Economics (FTE), hosted 37 conferences online and across the United States, training high school students and teachers in economic thinking and leadership. FTE’s weeklong Economics for Leaders conferences were held on major college campuses, including Yale, Duke, UT-Austin, Berkeley, the University of Chicago, William & Mary and UCLA.

TFAS Awards a total of $140,000 to Seven Young Journalists

In 2015, TFAS announced seven winners of its 22nd annual Robert Novak Journalism Fellowships during a gala evening at the National Press Club in Washington, D.C. The seven young journalists were awarded a total of $140,000 to undertake yearlong writing projects on topics of American culture, democratic society and free enterprise. More than 250 prominent journalists and guests attended the event to celebrate the best in American journalism.

The Novak program has awarded 130 fellowships over the past two decades to promising young journalists who are climbing the ranks as groundbreaking reporters, editors, editorial page writers, columnists and authors. Novak Fellows include Steve Hayes (AIPES 94, Novak 00) of The Weekly Standard and Fox News, Mollie Hemingway (Novak 04) of The Federalist, and Tim Carney (Novak 03) of the Washington Examiner.

TFAS Alumni, Supporters & Friends Come Together in Record Numbers for Annual Conferences and Alumni Weekend

More than 300 guests attended TFAS’s flagship conferences: the 48th Anniversary Annual Conference in D.C. and Gettysburg, Pennsylvania; the Leadership Conference in Colorado Springs; and the 2015 Alumni Weekend celebration in D.C. Guests enjoyed more than 45 hours of lectures and workshops and TFAS presented eight awards to leaders in journalism, public policy, leadership, economics and more.

Alumni Continue their TFAS Education with Fellowships and Weekend Seminars

In September, 15 outstanding TFAS alumni began a year of professional and academic development as the 2015-16 TFAS Public Policy Fellows. The yearlong networking and education program hosts academic discussions, networking events and skills-based workshops to develop young leaders with a shared commitment to improving public policy.

Throughout the year, TFAS also invited alumni to participate in Curriculum of Liberty seminars, held in partnership with the Liberty Fund, Inc. In April, 14 of our brightest young alumni from Eastern and Mediterranean Europe participated in a three-day Curriculum of Liberty seminar on “Liberty From Locke to Hayek” in Athens, Greece.

Thank you for making 2015 a success!

To view more highlights from the year visit TFAS.org/news and TFAS.org/photos.