The fourth PLS class will begin in February 2018. Online applications will be accepted through August 31, 2017. To apply or to learn more about the PLS program, please visit www.presidentialleadershipscholars.org (Photo by Grant Miller for the Presidential Leadership Scholars Program)

Presidential Leadership Scholars: Alums on What You Need to Know

Program participants share their perspectives on the unique program and growing network of diverse, civically-engaged, and motivated leaders

PLS Program
Jul 20, 2017 · 4 min read

The PLS program is a one-of-a-kind leadership development initiative that draws upon the resources of the presidential centers of Lyndon B. Johnson, George H.W. Bush, William J. Clinton and George W. Bush. Since its inception in 2015, 181 Scholars have gained greater inspiration and a stronger sense of purpose as leaders through their participation in the program.

Hear about the program in their own words:

The program seeks participants who have a diversity of perspectives, backgrounds, and experiences and who will most benefit from a dynamic learning experience that stresses the importance of cooperation and collaboration.

Life-saving HIV treatments remain scarce across much of Africa. To improve these efforts, Jay Bhatt (’16) trains, supports, and empowers community-based lay health workers.

“PLS has made a huge difference in continuing to challenge my perspective on how I see problems and solutions. It is like going to the optometrist and having an eye exam. Because of the perspectives brought by my fellow PLSers, I can now see problems and solutions through a number of different lenses. PLS has given me an opportunity to think about leadership more broadly. I have really appreciated the exercises and the debriefs which I have brought into my own teams work.”
Jay Bhatt, 2016 Presidential Leadership Scholar and Chief Medical Officer of the American Hospital Association.

An-Me Chung has developed a project to convene stakeholders to design research, policies, and practices, including digital credentials that make cognitive and non-cognitive skills learned in out-of-school time count towards college and career-readiness.

“PLS restored my faith in people, and inspired me to do more. The great insights I’ve learned from the Presidents and the men and women who have served the presidencies and country are not only eye-opening, but confirmed my belief in this country and why my family immigrated here. PLS has inspired me to return and focus on the things I care about the most, build on the things I’m good at, and use the leadership skills I’ve gained and honed through the program.”
An-Me Chung, 2015 Presidential Leadership Scholar and Director of Partnerships, Mozilla Foundation.

The program engages Scholars in difficult conversations to understand different perspectives and seek common ground.

“We were challenged to disagree with each other. To rank our values. We were asked to defend our positions. We discussed criminal justice reform and mass incarceration, welfare reform and economic policy, abortion and human rights. Issues that divide our country. Throughout the week, we held conversations that we otherwise try to avoid. We were warned not to waste our time, but to act as if we had known each other for 10 years. And ultimately it was our differences that joined us and attracted us to each other while building a stronger bond as each day passed.”
Gerardo Interiano, 2017 Presidential Leadership Scholar and Head of External Affairs of Southwest United States, Google in a piece for the Austin Business Journal.

Gerardo Interiano (’17) partnered with the Austin Community Foundation to create a Hispanic Impact Fund that will invest in nonprofit and social enterprises.

This executive-style education series creates a life-long network for Scholars from the business, public service, nonprofit, and military sectors and fosters opportunities for leaders to emerge ready to offer solutions to pressing national problems.

“PLS provided me a support network. It’s sometimes very lonely as a social entrepreneur, consistently showing strength when in reality you might be having difficulty meeting your fundraising targets. Being able to share those concerns freely, to be vulnerable really, is the basis for trust and strong interpersonal relationships. I have found that in my PLS colleagues.”
Will McNulty, 2015 Presidential Leadership Scholar and Co-Founder and CEO, Team Rubicon Global.

Team Rubicon Global, a non-profit founded by Marine veteran William McNulty, gives skilled veterans around the world the opportunity to continue to serve through disaster response.

“As I looked around the classroom, there are a rainbow of different beliefs. Democrat, Republican, Liberal, Conservative, and Independent. Catholic, Protestant, Jew, Hindu, Muslim, and Sikh. We may come from different fields and different backgrounds, but we came together with a common purpose. To serve our country through public service.”
SreyRam Kuy, 2017 Presidential Leadership Scholar and Associate Chief of Staff, Michael E. DeBakey Veterans Affairs Medical Center of Houston, Texas

The fourth PLS class will begin in February 2018. Online applications will be accepted through August 31, 2017. To apply or to learn more about the PLS program, please visit www.presidentialleadershipscholars.org.


To read firsthand experiences on what the program has meant to them, visit the PLS Medium, and for the latest updates, follow PLS on Twitter @PLSProgram.

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PLS Program

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The official Medium page of the Presidential Leadership Scholars Program.

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