Becoming a Leadership Ohio Fellow for 2027
Ohio is the Classroom. Fellows do not study Ohio. They experience it.
For nine months, Fellows travel the state together. They go from boardrooms and the Statehouse to Appalachian main streets and small-town council chambers. Each site is a lesson in how Ohio actually works: where trust holds a community together, where it has worn thin, and what it takes to rebuild it.
Founded in 1992, Leadership Ohio is the state’s first and only statewide leadership program. It is also the only one built intentionally where leadership development and community engagement meet. We exist to strengthen Ohio’s civic capacity by developing leaders who build trust, bridge sectors, and steward institutions, for the good of their own communities and to engage at each fellow's local level.
To become a Fellow is to join a nonpartisan class of accomplished leaders from every region and sector. Over the year you grow in three ways:
- Personally, in self-awareness and integrity.
- Relationally, in trust and collaboration with people who see the world differently.
- Contextually, in an understanding of the systems and institutions that shape Ohio’s future.
Above all, it means committing to leave everyone and everything better than you found them.
That’s the work. Ohio is where we learn it.
Fellowship at a glance
Our Approach
The Leadership Ohio experience is typically comprised of nine 1.5 day sessions over nine months, Full Fridays, half-day Saturdays (exception, opening retreat). We traverse the state—engaging with some of the most influential business, community, and elected officials in Ohio.
Our experiences are in-depth and often unexpected interactions and explorations of critical questions, challenges and opportunities facing Ohio and its people. We uniquely blend experiences and dialogue with influential leaders, dreamers, movers and shakers, often with an eye toward disrupting outdated mindsets and challenging the status quo. Our approach produces a class of leaders with statewide knowledge, perspective and connections, who are inspired to a higher level of service. Leadership Ohio graduates are a highly select body of leaders with a very unique state-wide grounding.
In any given year, our Fellows may spend the day behind the walls of a women’s reformatory exploring the issue of restored citizenship with inmates, Warden, and staff. Next, our Fellows may grapple with our nation’s fractured civic discourse - with the Ohio Secretary of State - exploring “How might we regain our ability to engage in respectful and civil conversations as a bedrock of democracy?” Later, Fellows may be immersed in a homeless drop-in center, unpacking issues of affordable housing and humanity alongside city residents who were experiencing homelessness. From artificial intelligence to human trafficking to business innovations in the Appalachian foothills, the list of touchpoints and experiences is unique and powerful. No other journey would put you at the same table as an Ohio Supreme Court Justice and a seven-time mission commander/U.S. Air Force Colonel in the same way it brings you face-to-face, for instance, with a formerly incarcerated citizen now helping to restore the citizenship of others, or a survivor of human trafficking.
What are the benefits of participation?
Leadership Ohio provides the knowledge and awareness you need to begin to create positive solutions in Ohio where there is need. You won’t find a more rewarding opportunity to explore your leadership in our fast-changing world—and contribute to a more promising future for Ohio, our democracy, your organization and your community.
- Meet and interact with some of the most influential business, community and elected officials in the state;
- Explore challenges and opportunities facing Ohio and its people;
- Learn about various issues with a recognized group of experts, officials, educators and insiders;
- Meet, network and create with other leaders who are dedicated to public service and are interested in making Ohio the best place to live and work, and,
- Discover new inspiration: begin to shape how you will impact your world in the future.
Do you fit our profile?
Leadership Ohio is not a traditional leadership program.
The mission of Leadership Ohio is to create transformative statewide civic leadership development experiences that influence leaders to best serve their workplace, community, and the Great State of Ohio.
Our leaders represent all regions in Ohio. They are a diverse body of top talent that are a part of various professions, backgrounds, experiences, and generations. We’re looking for:
- Senior level leaders with significant achievements in career, community or civic spheres, and, high-potential individuals seeking to chart a new civic path;
- Individuals with an authentic concern about the future of Ohio and a personal commitment to help shape that future, and,
- Individuals with a willingness to commit the time and energy necessary to complete the program and achieve their own idea of program success.
Let’s Connect
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