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The Fund for American Studies
The Fund for American Studies

Home » Programs » Public Policy Fellowship

Public Policy Fellowship

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The TFAS Public Policy Fellowship is a year-long program designed to develop young leaders with a shared commitment to improving public policy.

The TFAS Public Policy Fellowship is a year-long networking and education program designed to develop young leaders with a shared commitment to improving public policy.

Fellows celebrate their completion of the 2018-19 TFAS Public Policy Fellowship during the graduation dinner.

The curriculum for the 2020-21 TFAS Public Policy Fellowship will focus on “The Experiment in Self-Government,” examining those challenges and questions a free society must address in order to flourish as well as the unique advantages it can enjoy. The program places particular emphasis on the ideas and seminal texts of the American Founding. It runs from September 2020 to May 2021 and includes monthly evening sessions and two weekend retreats. Potential discussion topics include: A Virtuous Citizenry, Constitutionalism, Security and Foreign Policy, Deliberation and Communication and Freedom of Religion.


2017-18 Public Policy Fellow Emily Adamec meets with Fellowship alumni Jory Heckman and Samantha Summers at the 2017 Welcome Reception.

The goal of the Fellowship is to provide events that allow young professionals to foster strong connections with peers working in public policy while building an understanding of the principles of government through deliberation and debate. Fellows will participate in academic discussion sessions while networking with key public policy leaders, academics and journalists.

The TFAS Public Policy Fellowship has brought me into the circle of the most important intellectuals of today and established friendships – not merely a professional network – with other thoughtful, bright, ambitious young people in Washington.” – Dylan Brandt, 2018-19 Public Policy Fellow

2020-21 FELLOWSHIP CURRICULUM

Fellows Kylee Zempel and Rachelle Engen tour Thomas Jefferson’s Monticello during the spring retreat in Charlottesville.

The TFAS Public Policy Fellowship combines networking, professional development and academic discussions. The 2020-21 curriculum will include:

  • Monthly discussions in Washington, D.C., with public policy experts, academics and political leaders on topics fundamental to republican government.
  • A fall weekend retreat in Gettysburg, Pennsylvania, to explore the principles espoused in the Lincoln-Douglas debates and how those ideas are still relevant for modern discourse and policy.
  • A spring weekend retreat in Charlottesville, Virginia, on American National Character which examines the speeches, creed and history of the American soul and asks what can be done to unite modern Americans and renew their commitment to preserving an American National Character.

The bond of community that comes from sharing our love of America, political philosophy and connecting those principles to public policy is what I have enjoyed most about the TFAS Public Policy Fellowship.”  – Christiana Reasor, 2019-20 Public Policy Fellow

APPLICATION DETAILS

To apply to the program, please complete this form by Sunday, June 1 at midnight. Please contact Brenda Hafera, TFAS director of international and continuing education programs, at bhafera@TFAS.org with any questions.

 

(l.-r.) 2016-17 TFAS Public Policy Fellows Chimene Okere, Krishana Davis and LeeAnna Matarazzo debate during their weekend fall retreat at TFAS Headquarters in Washington, D.C.

Applications for the 2020 TFAS Public Policy Fellowship are currently closed. Please check back in Spring 2021 for the 2021-22 application.

All applicants must:
2019-20 Public Policy Fellows meet at the welcome reception at TFAS headquarters.
  • Live and work in the field of public policy in the Washington, D.C. area
  • Be professionals committed to the principles of limited government
  • Commit to attending the monthly evening sessions (Tuesdays 6:30-8:30 p.m.) as well as the weekend fall and spring retreats

The Fellowship is designed for those with two to ten years’ professional experience, but all applicants with a strong resume will be considered. Graduate students may apply, but preference will be given to those currently working in the field of public policy.

2020-21 TENTATIVE SCHEDULE

2017-18 Public Policy Fellow Dylan Reed connects with Fellowship alumni Priyanka Surio and Johnathan McGee at the 2017 Welcome Reception.
Fellows participate in Socratic-style discussions on “The Experiment in Self-Government.”

Welcome Reception
Sept. 8, 2020
6-8:30 p.m.

Monthly Speaker Events
Tuesdays, 6:30-8:30 p.m.

Fellowship alumni reconnect at the 2019 welcome reception.

Oct. 14, 2020 (Wednesday meeting)
Dec. 8, 2020
Jan. 12, 2021
March 16, 2021
April 13, 2021
May 18, 2021

Fall Retreat
Nov. 13-15, 2020
Location: Gettysburg, Pennsylvania

Spring Retreat
Feb. 26-28, 2021
Location: Charlottesville, Virginia

 

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