News and Insights - Presidential Leadership Scholars

A conversation with Jean Becker, journalist turned Chief of Staff to President George H.W. Bush

May 17, 2023

Jean Becker’s career journey took her places she never would have imagined. The New York Times bestselling author grew up in rural Missouri, then became a reporter on USA Today’s election team in 1988. She then moved to the White House, serving as Deputy Press Secretary to former first lady Mrs. Barbara Bush before eventually […]

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Application opens for ninth class of Presidential Leadership Scholars

May 3, 2023

A one-of-a-kind opportunity to join a network of leaders making a difference in the world and learn from the presidential experiences of George W. Bush, Bill Clinton, George H.W. Bush, and Lyndon B. Johnson The Presidential Leadership Scholars (PLS) program opened the application process today for its 2024 program cycle. PLS brings together a diverse group […]

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What will it take to deliver a historic deal for nature?

April 21, 2023

By Brian O’Donnell, 2015 Presidential Leadership Scholar and Director of the Campaign for Nature

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Presidential Leadership Scholar leads first known all-women heart transplant team

March 24, 2023

Dr. Amy Fiedler is a cardiothoracic surgeon, an assistant professor at the University of California San Francisco, and a 2020 Presidential Leadership Scholar. As Fiedler was finishing up a standard heart transplant last December, she noticed something she had never previously experienced: Everyone in the operating room, including the patient, was a woman. After documenting […]

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NASA astronaut Captain Victor Glover on leadership, breaking barriers, and what’s next in space exploration

February 10, 2023

What many people don’t see are the countless lessons, tireless hard work, and little enlightening moments along the way in Captain Glover’s story. He recently joined a conversation with the 2023 Presidential Leadership Scholars to explore these lessons.

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In the news｜How videos of police brutality can traumatize many Americans

February 1, 2023

2022 Presidential Leadership Scholar Riana Elyse Anderson, Assistant Professor at the University of Michigan School of Public Health and Stanford University Fellow, joined PBS NewsHour to discuss how videos of police brutality traumatize many communities and individuals, raising real questions for a person’s mental health. She shares ideas on how those who watch can cope […]

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In the news｜Let’s be with each other even if we don’t agree with each other

January 23, 2023

Presidential Leadership Scholar Sarah Cotton Nelson, Consultant and Founder of High Flying Strategy, writes that active participation in faith communities might be an answer to our Nation’s division in a recent op-ed for the Dallas Morning News. “In our current siloed world of news-you-choose and social media algorithms that serve us up what we most […]

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2023 class of Presidential Leadership Scholars announced

January 12, 2023

Eighth annual class comprised of 60 accomplished leaders including service members, educators, physicians, public servants, and corporate professionals; program begins on Jan. 24 in Washington, D.C.

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Achieving success in rural schools

December 5, 2022

This interview with 2022 Presidential Leadership Program Scholar Elisabeth Luevanos was originally published in The Catalyst: A Journal of Ideas from the Bush Institute. Urban and suburban school districts garner most of America’s attention. Still, nearly 10 million students are enrolled in the nation’s rural schools. Their districts are building partnerships with colleges, developing curricula […]

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Presidential Leadership Scholar discusses ongoing protests amidst atrocities in Iran

September 30, 2022

As a seven-year-old, Mariam Memarsadeghi saw the life her parents built shatter around her during the Iranian Revolution of 1979. While her family had no intention of leaving their home country, it was clear to Memarsadeghi’s parents that their daughter could no longer have the life they had hoped for her in Iran’s new state of […]

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