Dear Presidential Leadership Scholars alumni,

Another program year has flown by, and we are happy to officially welcome the Class of 2024 into the PLS alumni network! Many of you have already had an opportunity to meet some of the incredible members of this cohort. We hope you can take a moment to connect with a 2024 Scholar in your region.

We’ve been reflecting on how important your humble, pluralistic, and optimistic leadership is to our communities and nation this election year. We recently heard from the Class of 2020’s Michael Cooper and the Class of 2016’s Melva K. Wallace, who both shared stories of how their classes broke boundaries to come together during election years. Thank you all for your commitment to working across divides and doubling down on civility, especially now.

Finally, we also want to thank you for your support in the recruitment of our 10th class of Presidential Leadership Scholars. We’re grateful to you for posting the application on social media, having conversations about your PLS experience with folks in your network, and helping us brainstorm different communities we should connect with. Applications to join the Class of 2025 will remain open through July 14.

Continue reading below for several PLS updates, and don’t hesitate to reach out if we can assist you in any way. Thank you for all you do!

Sincerely,

Mike Hemphill, Ph.D
Director, Presidential Leadership Scholars
Clinton Foundation

Kelley Jiou
Director, Presidential Leadership Scholars
George W. Bush Institute

We are pleased to announce the launch of the PLS collection of merchandise at the Bush Museum Store! Alumni can place orders for various branded items for a limited time only. Please see details below.

1. Items may be purchased by preorder only.
2. Preorders are open now through July 12, with no exceptions.
3. For us to fill orders for each of the items, we must hit the minimum order quantity set by our vendors.
4. If we don’t reach the minimum for a particular item, we reserve the right to cancel your order for that item. You will be refunded for any canceled items.
5. Orders will ship within four to six weeks, on average.

We will provide reminders along the way to submit your orders. We’re excited to see you sporting your PLS gear! If you have any questions, please reach out to Lindsay Davis at ldavis@bushcenter.org.

Workplace + LinkedIn

Make sure your Workplace account is up to date, as this is the main way we will share information with you about upcoming events. It’s also a great place to follow along with the work of your colleagues, join interest groups, and collaborate with one another.

We have created a Presidential Leadership Scholars Alumni group on LinkedIn to complement Workplace. Please take a moment to join if you haven’t already, and be sure to tag us whenever posting about PLS! Think of this as your quick reference list of alumni – not intended to replace Workplace but to supplement the directory features.

Upcoming webinars

• Aug. 28, 4 p.m. CT: Healing Cities: Addressing Homelessness Through Innovative Healthcare Solutions, Direct Cash, and Community

  Kevin Adler (2019) and Joli Robinson (2023) will lead a conversation on their collaborative work, focused on the intersection of homelessness, city government, and public health. We hope you will join them to learn more and see another great example of PLS alumni collaboration in action! RSVP on Workplace.

• Sept. 16, 11 a.m. CT: Captured State: An Update on Afghanistan

  Join us for a webinar discussion of the Bush Institute's work examining how the Taliban have relied on mafia-like behavior to consolidate power in Afghanistan. The conversation will be led by the Bush Institute's Natalie Gonnella-Platts, Director of Global Policy; Jason Galui, Director of Veterans and Military Families; and Laura Collins, Director of the Bush Institute-SMU Economic Growth Initiative. In preparation for the webinar, read the recently completed series of reports from the Bush Institute on this topic, and RSVP on Workplace.

Alumni gatherings

We are pleased to announce that alumni gatherings will be held in six cities across the country this year, organized under our new alumni-gathering funding model. More details will be available on Workplace as they are finalized. Below are the remaining gatherings for the year scheduled at this time.

• Washington, D.C.: Saturday, Sept. 14, at Army Navy Country Club
• Miami, Florida: September (more details to come)
• Little Rock, Arkansas: Fall (more details to come)
• New Orleans, Louisiana: October (more details to come)

Please remember that we love to see pictures any time you’re gathering with other PLS alumni. Share on Workplace whether it’s a casual lunch or a cohort reunion!

Interested in hosting a gathering?

In addition to the gatherings listed above and those that have already occurred this year, we have a small amount of funding available to support a few additional alumni-led gatherings. If you’re interested in applying for funding to host an event, please submit this online form no later than Friday, July 19.

The PLS team will meet and make decisions by Friday, Aug. 9. Please remember to take a look at the full list of alumni gathering guidelines in the Workplace Knowledge Library when thinking about your gathering, which must be open to all alumni and advertised on Workplace. Lindsay Davis is here to help if you have any questions about the guidelines or the form.

Supporting PLS

PLS is a program that is long-lasting and impactful – and our goal is to continue that! We aim to run a fiscally-sound program that is of no cost to its participants. And as we celebrate 10 years of the program, we know that you, as alumni, want to be helpful to ensure the program is sustainable for years to come. Though the program has a specific way we approach fundraising, we welcome your ideas and support. Please reach out to Kelley Jiou or visit www.presidentialleadershipscholars.org/support if you or someone in your network wants to get more involved.

Alumni committee members

Stay up to date with the most recent information on alumni committee members. Your designated representatives are eager to help; reach out to them to learn about the many ways to engage with the community.

Update your contact information

Please send any email and mailing address updates to Lindsay Davis, so we can continue to keep in touch and update you on the latest from PLS.

The Scholars rounded out their program year earlier this month in Philadelphia, where they heard from familiar speakers like PLS faculty Nicole Bibbins Sedaca and Michael O’Leary as well as PLS alum Todd Connor. Valerie Jarrett, CEO of the Obama Foundation, also joined the Scholars for the Moody Foundation Conversation. We’re so excited to officially have this group of leaders in the alumni community.

• Amy Kroll (2020) published an op-ed in the Austin American-Statesman about a lack of policies in Texas to support working mothers and young families.

• Gabriel Albornoz (2017) was named Legislator of the Year by the Montgomery County Chamber of Commerce in Montgomery County, Maryland.

• Lourdes Zuniga (2022) was named chair of the LBJ Women’s Campaign School Alumni Board and was inducted into the City of Austin Women’s Hall of Fame.

• William McNulty (2015) wrote an op-ed in The Boston Globe about the need for the United States to support Ukraine.

• Victor Jones (2022) was named the Louisiana State Bar Association’s Outstanding Young Lawyer of the Year.

• Christina Grant (2018) was named the University of Pennsylvania Graduate School of Education’s Educator of the Year.

• Neil Vora (2023) wrote an op-ed for MedPage Today about the need for education around climate change in medical school classrooms.

• Jamila Thomas (2019) began a new position as Chief Development Officer at VolunteerNow.

• Andy Riise (2022) began a new position as Mental Performance and Leadership Coordinator for the Chicago Bears.

• Scott Schlegel (2019) was inducted into the Louisiana Justice Hall of Fame.

• Gerardo Interiano (2017) began a new role as Senior Vice President of Government Relations and Public Affairs at Aurora.

• Nicole Isaac (2016) was appointed to the Commission on White House Fellowships.

• Brian O’Donnell (2015) assisted in the launch of a global campaign to close the biodiversity gap by achieving the $20 billion Nature Finance target by 2025.

• Scott Hadland (2023) was recently quoted in The Washington Post about fentanyl fueling a record number of youth deaths.

Presidential Leadership Spring Scholar Spotlights

Read the most recent scholar interviews with Maya Enista Smith (2022), President of Thoughtful Human, and Steve Smith (2023), President and CEO of Airlink.

Bush Center President and CEO Ken Hersh writes in the Dallas Morning News that despite turmoil in the world and our nation, there is a reason to remain optimistic: American democracy was built to withstand storms. We have "mechanisms for progress, and a history of using them... it has often been Americans who witnessed our darkest failures that have brought us our most shining successes."

Mrs. Laura Bush’s 2024 Summer Reading List for Kids

Mrs. Bush recently revealed her 2024 summer reading list, which includes recommendations for the youngest readers through middle schoolers. The list contains classics like The Little Engine That Could as well as new releases like Love Comes First, written by Jenna Bush Hager and Barbara Pierce Bush, and is a great resource to ensure the kids in your life enjoy reading all summer long.

Read the new Catalyst issue, ‘Why U.S. Leadership Still Matters’

In the spring edition of The Catalyst: A Journal of Ideas from the Bush Institute, contributors discuss the need for continued U.S. leadership around the world amid growing isolationist sentiment at home. The Catalyst issue features an essay by former U.S. Senator Kay Bailey Hutchison of Texas, also a former U.S. Representative to NATO, and an exclusive interview with former President of Estonia Toomas Hendrik Ilves.

Taliban corruption must end

Captured State is a recently completed series of reports from the Bush Institute that explores how the Taliban have relied on corrupt and kleptocratic behavior to consolidate power in Afghanistan. The authors identify new and underutilized policy options to advance peace, stability, and freedom in Afghanistan while examining the Taliban’s corruption, the disproportionate impact on women and children, and the role of foreign enablers.

Celebrate the summer season at the Bush Center

Learn what’s going on at the Bush Center this summer – from Storytime at the Bush Museum to a memorable photo op in the replica Oval Office or the Laura W. Bush Native Texas Park.

The Clinton Presidential Center hosts a variety of educational and cultural programs each month. On Wednesday, June 26, the Clinton Presidential Center will host “Lost Stories of Desegregation: The North Little Rock Six and the New Orleans Four.” The program is part of a Civil Rights conference commemorating the 70th anniversary of the U.S. Supreme Court’s Brown v. Board of Education decision. Register to join in person or online and view upcoming programs here.

Check out the Clinton Center's YouTube page to watch recent programs on demand, like Remember the First Ladies: The Legacies of America’s History Making Women, with authors Diana B. Carlin, Anita B. McBride, and Nancy Kegan Smith; The Future American City … Now, featuring an engaging discussion with national leaders in design and policy shaping our urban futures; and many more.

Clinton Global Initiative convenes leaders for action on women’s economic advancement

Former Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton brought together public and private sector leaders last month for a special meeting of the Clinton Global Initiative (CGI) to tackle barriers to women’s advancement. At the meeting in Sofia, Bulgaria, leaders including President Vjosa Osmani of Kosovo and Cherie Blair, the English barrister and wife of former U.K. Prime Minister Tony Blair, convened to discuss the critical need to support women in leadership and create more equitable access to capital, employment, and advancement.

25 years of advancing equity, justice, and opportunity for AANHPI communities

In May, the White House celebrated the 25th anniversary of its Initiative on Asian Americans, Native Hawaiians, and Pacific Islanders, which was established by President Clinton in 1999. The initiative aims to improve the quality of life and advance equity, justice, and opportunity for AANHPI communities. Watch President Clinton’s message marking the occasion.

Highlighting the impact of PLS

Throughout 2024, the Clinton Center is celebrating 20 years of milestones and memories and highlighting the impact of its programs and initiatives like PLS. Join us Thursday, July 25, for Clinton Presidential Center Presents “Discover, Collaborate, Take Action: The Impact of Presidential Leadership Scholars.” A dynamic panel of PLS alumni including Katherine Pickus (2023), Jamie Scott (2017), and Alison Williams (2020) will share how the PLS program expanded their abilities to make a difference in the world.