Coro National Fellows Program

Coro National Fellows Program
Name	Coro National Fellows Program
Formation	1942
Type	Fellowship
Headquarters	San Francisco
Leader title	President

Coro National Fellows Program

The Coro National Fellows Program places recent graduates into intensive experiential leadership training rooted in civic practice, public affairs, and urban policy. Fellows engage with institutions across San Francisco, Los Angeles, New York, Washington, D.C., and Los Angeles County while connecting with organizations such as the Ford Foundation, Rockefeller Foundation, Hewlett Foundation, and MacArthur Foundation. The program’s network includes partnerships with municipal agencies like the San Francisco Mayor’s Office, Los Angeles County Board of Supervisors, New York City Mayor’s Office, and federal entities including the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development, the Department of Transportation, and the Environmental Protection Agency. Participants often move into roles at Bloomberg Philanthropies, the Brookings Institution, RAND Corporation, and the Urban Institute.

Overview

The program operates as a postbaccalaureate fellowship emphasizing hands-on placements with elected offices, nonprofit organizations, think tanks, and private firms. Typical host sites include the California State Legislature, Los Angeles City Council, New York State Assembly, U.S. Congress offices on Capitol Hill, and the San Francisco Board of Supervisors. Curriculum components draw upon case studies from policy debates like the Affordable Care Act, Clean Air Act amendments, and the Dodd–Frank Wall Street Reform. Fellows learn practical skills transferable to roles at institutions such as the Pew Charitable Trusts, Kaiser Family Foundation, Center for American Progress, and the Heritage Foundation.

History and Development

Founded during the mid-20th century amid civic reform movements and the New Deal legacy, the program expanded alongside organizations like the League of Women Voters, the National Civic League, and the American Bar Association’s public interest initiatives. Early development intersected with figures and institutions such as Eleanor Roosevelt, John Gardner, the Carnegie Corporation, and the Works Progress Administration’s civic projects. Across decades the fellowship adapted to policy eras connected to the Civil Rights Act, Voting Rights Act, Great Society programs, Reagan-era deregulation, Clinton-era welfare reform, and the post-9/11 homeland security realignments that involved the Department of Homeland Security and the Federal Emergency Management Agency. Collaborations have included academic partners like Stanford University, University of California, Berkeley, Columbia University, Harvard Kennedy School, and the University of Southern California.

Program Structure and Curriculum

A typical cohort undertakes rotations in legislative offices, community-based organizations, labor unions, and judicial clerkships, drawing comparative examples from municipal reforms in Chicago, Detroit, Boston, and Philadelphia. Seminars reference seminal works and cases such as Brown v. Board of Education, Miranda v. Arizona, the Clean Water Act litigation, and the Supreme Court’s rulings in Citizens United v. FEC. Training modules incorporate techniques used at McKinsey & Company, Boston Consulting Group, Deloitte, and Accenture for strategic planning, as well as communications strategies patterned after campaigns by the Democratic National Committee, Republican National Committee, and major media outlets including The New York Times, The Washington Post, Los Angeles Times, and CNN. Professional development connects fellows to networks at Goldman Sachs’ urban initiatives, JPMorgan Chase’s philanthropic programs, and local community development corporations modeled after the Local Initiatives Support Corporation.

Selection and Eligibility

Candidates are evaluated through a competitive process involving application review, panel interviews with representatives from municipal offices, nonprofit leaders, and academic partners. Typical selection criteria mirror standards used by Rhodes Scholarship selectors, Fulbright Program panels, Truman Scholarship committees, and Marshall Scholarship juries, emphasizing leadership experience with organizations like AmeriCorps, Teach For America, Peace Corps, Habitat for Humanity, and Planned Parenthood. Eligibility often favors applicants with internships in legislative committees such as Appropriations, Ways and Means, Judiciary, Energy and Commerce, or Transportation and Infrastructure, or experience with courts, campaign staffs, and civic tech incubators such as Code for America.

Alumni and Impact

Alumni have advanced into elected positions, agency leadership, nonprofit executive roles, and private sector leadership, joining cohorts at the Clinton Foundation, Obama White House staff, Bush administration offices, and state capitols across California, New York, Illinois, Texas, and Massachusetts. Notable career trajectories include roles at the Federal Reserve, Securities and Exchange Commission, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, National Institutes of Health, and international institutions like the United Nations, World Bank, and International Monetary Fund. The fellowship’s influence is visible in urban policy shifts, affordable housing initiatives modeled on inclusionary zoning in Seattle and San Francisco, transit projects linked to the Bay Area Rapid Transit expansion, and public health campaigns paralleling efforts by the CDC and WHO.

Funding and Partnerships

The program is supported through philanthropic grants, municipal contracts, and corporate sponsorships involving funders such as the Gates Foundation, Mellon Foundation, Walton Family Foundation, and Bloomberg Philanthropies. Strategic partnerships include collaborations with local governments like the City and County of San Francisco, Los Angeles County, New York City Department of Education, California State Senate, and academic centers such as the Urban Land Institute, Center for Effective Philanthropy, and the Aspen Institute. Corporate partners have included technology firms like Google, Facebook, Microsoft, and Salesforce through civic engagement initiatives and pro bono consulting arranged with firms like PwC and KPMG.

Notable Fellows and Recognition

Alumni recognition spans appointments and awards including mayors, state legislators, federal appointees, and leaders at nonprofits like the ACLU, NAACP, Human Rights Campaign, and Sierra Club. Fellows have been recipients of fellowships and honors such as the MacArthur Fellowship, Presidential Medal of Freedom nominees, and appointments in presidential administrations including the Obama Administration, Trump Administration, and Biden Administration. Many alumni have been profiled by outlets such as The Atlantic, Politico, The New Yorker, and NPR for contributions to public service, urban planning, civil rights litigation, and environmental advocacy.

Category:Fellowship programs