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The Rodel Institute is a nonpartisan center for leadership development and intellectual growth. Our past fellows include: two members of President Trump’s cabinet and three from President Biden’s cabinet, U.S. Senators from both parties, members of Congress from both parties, and Governors from both parties. Every seminar we hold has between 16 and 28 participants […]

The Rodel Institute is delighted to announce the selection of the 2025 Class of Rodel Fellows. The Rodel Fellowship is the nation’s premier leadership development program for elected leaders. Each year, the program selects 24 outstanding state and local leaders, divided between the political parties, to come together for a series of three multi-day seminars […]

The Rodel Institute is pleased to announce that Jonathan Eig’s biography King: A Life has won the 2024 Edwards Book Award. The prize will be conferred on September 26 at the University of Virginia’s Frank Batten School of Leadership and Public Policy, which is co-hosting this year’s award ceremony with the Rodel Institute. The Edwards Book Award is […]

The Rodel Institute is delighted to announce the shortlist finalists for its 2024 Edwards Book Award. The Edwards Book Award is an annual prize recognizing books that make an outstanding contribution to the understanding and practice of democracy and American politics. The prize carries an honorarium of $10,000. The Rodel Institute received a large volume of excellent […]

The inaugural cohort of the Rodel Federal Executive Fellowship met for the second time in April in Charlottesville, Virginia. Twenty-three senior civil servants in the federal government gathered to discuss technological innovation in the public sector, the changing geopolitical landscape, and the evolving relationship between civil servants and political leaders. Fellows engaged in deep and meaningful discussions throughout the weekend. Jennifer Pahlka, Founder and […]

The 2023 Rodel Judicial Fellowship held its second seminar this month in San Juan, Puerto Rico at the Hotel Condado Vanderbilt. Seventeen federal judges and supreme court justices from across the country gathered to discuss the role of judges in American democracy, constitutional interpretation, and leadership on and off of the bench. This weekend, like […]

The Rodel Institute is delighted to announce the longlist finalists for its 2024 Edwards Book Award. The Edwards Book Award is an annual prize recognizing books that make an outstanding contribution to the understanding and practice of democracy and American politics. The prize carries an honorarium of $10,000. The winning book is chosen by a committee that […]

More than 100 Rodel Fellows, representing 39 states plus Washington, D.C. and Puerto Rico, gathered in Washington, D.C. in October 2023 for a weekend of workshops, group discussions, plenary sessions, and informal networking. The weekend kicked off with the presentation of Rodel’s inaugural Edwards Book Award to Dr. Francis Fukuyama for his 2022 book Liberalism […]

The Rodel Institute is pleased to announce that Francis Fukuyama’s book Liberalism and Its Discontents has won the inaugural Edwards Book Award. The prize was conferred on October 13, 2023 at the Rodel Institute’s Fellowship Reunion in Washington, D.C., where Dr. Fukuyama gave the keynote address to 140 Rodel Fellows and guests. The Edwards Book Award is given annually to […]

The Rodel Institute is pleased to announce the shortlist finalists for its inaugural Edwards Book Award. The Edwards Book Award is an annual prize recognizing books that make an outstanding contribution to the understanding and practice of democracy and American politics. The prize carries an honorarium of $10,000. The winner will be announced in October 2023 […]

The Rodel Institute is pleased to announce that it has received a grant from the Rockefeller Brothers Fund (RBF) to support its new Federal Executive Fellowship. The Rodel Federal Executive Fellowship is an intellectual and leadership professional development fellowship for senior-level career civil servants across the federal government’s executive branch agencies. The program features a […]

The Rodel Institute is delighted to announce the longlist finalists for its inaugural Edwards Book Award. The Edwards Book Award is an annual prize recognizing books that make an outstanding contribution to the understanding and practice of democracy and American politics. The prize carries an honorarium of $10,000. The winning book is chosen by a committee that […]

The Rodel Institute selected an impressive inaugural cohort for the newly launched Rodel Federal Executive Fellowship. The cohort includes twenty-four senior federal executive officials from eighteen agencies including the U.S. Department of State, the National Security Council, and the U.S. Agency for International Development, among many others. Fellows were selected for their outstanding qualifications, intellectual […]

The Rodel Institute hosted the Rodel Fellowship Reunion in Washington, DC from April 8 to 10, 2022. A key aspect of this event was reconnecting with the Rodel community and sharing updates about new Rodel programs and initiatives. More than a quarter of all former Rodel Fellows joined us for the Reunion, and together these […]

Rodel welcomed 23 current and former Fellows to Chicago for the inaugural Rodel Women’s Retreat this past June. Attendees came from 17 different states and evenly represented the political parties. Half of participants were serving in elected positions and the other half worked in roles outside of elected office. The weekend kicked off with a […]

The Rodel Institute hosted a successful seminar on September 15 – 18, 2022 for its inaugural class of the Rodel Judicial Fellowship. Seventeen federal judges and state supreme court justices gathered in Sun Valley, Idaho for a long weekend examining judicial leadership and the important role of judges in strengthening American democracy. Discussion was vibrant […]