The Rodel Fellowship Class of 2025 has spent the past two years of their fellowship experience navigating tough elections, a challenging political climate, and the countless other pressures of public office. Their Rodel Fellowship experience came to a close this month in Denver, Colorado where the Class gathered for their third and final seminar on Democracies and Republics, a fitting theme in the United States’ 250th anniversary year.

Rodel Institute President and CEO John Kroger first guided Fellows through discussions of foundational texts on democracy including Aristotle, Machiavelli, and “Federalist No. 10,” among others. The University of Virginia’s Timothy Davis and Rodel Institute Board Member Ian Solomon then spent an afternoon sharing tools for resilient leadership. Their strategies for adaptation and antifragility resonated deeply with the Class of 2025.

Erica Frantz of Michigan State University kicked off the second day of seminar sessions with a lively discussion of the threats facing democracies globally. Rodel Fellowship alumni Bill Gates of Arizona State University and Jill Tolles of the Guinn Center for Policy Priorities then moderated conversations on public opinion and political representation and navigating polarization to build political cooperation with both offering perspectives informed by their own time in public office.

The group also took advantage of Colorado’s natural beauty with a hike at Red Rocks Park & Amphitheatre and a guided tour of the Denver Botanic Gardens, strengthening their relationships beyond the seminar room.

The Class of 2025 leaves the Fellowship equipped not just with a deeper understanding of democratic theory, but with a network of colleagues and a shared commitment to open-mindedness, respect, and ethical leadership. One Fellow described the experience as an opportunity for “stretching and growing and truly broadening my perspective of the job I do and how I should do it.”

Since its founding in 2005, the Rodel Fellowship has helped more than 450 state and local elected officials reach their full potential as public servants. These Fellows have gone on to serve as United States senators, governors, mayors, party leaders, Cabinet secretaries, members of Congress, and Vice President of the United States.

For more information, please visit www.rodelinstitute.org/programs/rodel-fellowship.