The Fellows Program in Public Affairs is a full-time, 9-month immersive leadership development training using Coro’s proprietary curriculum. The Fellowship runs annually from September to May.

Leadership Forums: Sessions led by Coro’s expert facilitators, focusing on effective and ethical leadership practices. Learn and apply proven leadership strategies:

• navigating change and adaptive leadership

• systems thinking

• effective communication

• critical thinking, evaluation, and inquiry skills

• objective analysis, stakeholder analysis, and more.

Focus Weeks: In-depth explorations of pressing issues affecting the Greater Los Angeles region. Through site visits, expert interviews, and independent research, Fellows take ownership of the learning process and deepen their understanding of critical issues facing the region. 

Leadership Interviews: Closed-door sessions with influential cross-sector leaders offer Fellows a rare, candid glimpse into how leaders navigate challenges and and opportunities over the course of their careers.

Professional Placements: Fellows gain direct exposure to institutions, laying the groundwork for professional networks to serve them throughout their careers. Fellows work closely with top leaders, tackle critical assignments, and create tangible organizational impact through these high-caliber, hands-on opportunities.

Spring Projects: Individually-curated projects for partner organizations are a culmination of the Fellowship. Fellows bring all they’ve learned to the table to engage with a meaningful real-world project — applying valuable leadership tools and strategies to a high-impact, high-value deliverable. 

Logic Study: Fellows are challenged to delve into the inner workings of a complex system in Southern California, engaging in site tours, expert interviews, and independent research. This project hones the cohort’s leadership and collaboration capacities, sharpening analysis skills and self-awareness.

The Fellows Program has an esteemed national reputation for its track record of high-impact, high-value civic leadership and professional development training. Fellows gain a lifelong professional network and connect with influential Coro alumni — including United States Senators, elected officials in city halls and state legislatures, and noteworthy leaders in corporate boardrooms, union halls, and beyond.

Coro Fellows directly engage with industry leaders and tackle real-world civic and organizational issues, expanding social capital and accelerating career advancement.

Fellows deepen their knowledge of the political landscape and develop a nuanced understanding of key institutions, sectors, opportunities, and challenges. The Fellowship is a unique, transformative opportunity to learn and practice vital leadership skills.

At Coro, the learning doesn’t stop when your program ends. Coro alumni gain access to:

• Alumni-only continuing education sessions.

• Networking events with decision-makers working to shape the spirit and integrity of our region.

• Coro Classifieds, an alumni-only job board.

• A Credly by Pearson™ digital badge, showcasing your Coro credentials.

• Alumni-only digital networking platforms to exchange resources and collaborate with other alumni.

Explore the Program Benefits Guide to learn more.

Leaders who are motivated to contribute to a better functioning democracy and society need the skills, the network, and the practice required to activate meaningful change. That’s why you’ll find alumni of the Fellows Program in Public Affairs serving in influential positions across the country. Coro values diverse perspectives, identities, experiences, and worldviews in our prestigious Fellowship — and in all of our programs.

Ideal candidates…

• are recent college graduates or early-career professionals.

• will have a conferred bachelor’s degree before the Fellowship begins.

• are committed to becoming ethical leaders and positive change makers.

• welcome learning from multiple perspectives.

• are authorized to work in the United States.

There’s nothing like the Coro approach. Coro helps people deepen their innate leadership skills, giving them the tools and a lifelong network to activate tangible change. 

It’s not just about finding the right solutions; Coro training is uniquely focused on helping leaders ask the right questions. It’s about equipping leaders to relate across differences rather than simply reacting to them. Coro leaders intentionally engage and collaborate with others across identities, ideologies, sectors, and generations. Participants should be ready to engage productively with different perspectives and in personal reflection.

Coro views leadership as an active practice that requires hands-on experiential learning. Participants are expected to be engaged, mindful, and fully present, minimizing external distractions to maximize their growth and contribution to the cohort.

Coro leaders learn to move from judgment to curiosity, navigate ambiguity, sit in discomfort, and embrace empathy and vulnerability as essential leadership practices, critical for unleashing learning, and building authentic connections. Participants must be willing to embrace vulnerability to foster a psychologically safe environment — a necessary precursor to adaptive, innovative collaboration.

Program Cost

The Fellows Program in Public Affairs is tuition-free, (subsidized from $50,000 by our generous sponsors).

Stipends

We encourage you to connect with our team so we can answer questions, get to know you, and walk you through the application process. 

Step 1: Online Application

The online application includes biographic and demographic questions, a resume/CV, two letters of recommendation, two essays, and a video testimonial.

Applicants are responsible for ensuring that all application requirements are met, including the submission of your recommendation letters.

Step 2: Application Review

Coro alumni, staff, and partners review and score applications. The average of these scores determines which applicants will be invited to attend Selection Day as Finalists.

Step 3: Notification

Coro notifies applicants of their application status. Finalists are offered the financial aid application, invited to Selection Day, and informed of next steps.

Step 4: Selection Day 

A full-day, immersive experience to determine which applicants will be invited to join the Fellows Program in Public Affairs. Each Coro center operates its own Selection Day. In most cases, selected Finalists will be invited to attend Selection Day at the location indicated as their first preference on the application.