Applications are now being accepted for the 2025 – 2026 NLF cohort!

The Next Leaders Fellowship (NLF) is excited to invite applications for the 2025 – 2026 cohort of NLF Fellows! Sponsored by Bowdoin College, in partnership with EDUCAUSE, NERCOMP, and a group of supporting institutions and organizations, NLF is designed to identify talented information and technology professionals in higher education and work to advocate for and support their pursuit of senior leadership roles.

Competitively selected into cohorts of 12 Fellows each year, NLF is thrilled to celebrate the accomplishments of the first three cohorts. 14 NLF Fellows have succeeded in pursuing new roles, including six to C-suite positions. NLF Fellows have presented at the EDUCAUSE and NERCOMP annual conferences, received institutional and national awards, and are building national profiles for their efforts.

We encourage you to learn more about the program and consider applying for or sharing it with others. NLF Fellows spend a year as part of a cohort of peers who:

• Benefit from the mentorship of a community of accomplished senior information and technology leaders
• Participate in professional learning and development experiences
• Develop extended relationships with search consulting firms
• Engage with institutional leaders, human resources professionals, and other NLF partners
• Explore how their backgrounds, experiences, and identities may influence and shape how they navigate their careers
• Participate in the 2025 NERCOMP and EDUCAUSE annual conferences, with registration, travel, and lodging covered by NLF

NLF is not intended to compete with or replace other leadership development programs; instead, NLF serves as an interconnecting resource-explicitly recruiting a cohort of diverse Fellows, creating a community among and around them, and providing mentorship and coaching throughout the program year.

Following their NLF program year, each Fellow is sponsored to participate in one existing professional development experience of their choice (e.g., EDUCAUSE Institutes, MOR Leaders Program, Leading Change Institute). NLF sponsorship includes advocacy in support of their application to those programs, covering the costs of registration, and providing $1,000 towards travel, lodging, and other participation costs.

Applications are now being accepted through January 6, 2025 for the program year that starts in March 2025 and completes in February 2026. To learn more and to apply please visit https://nextleadersfellowship.org/apply/.

NLF hosted a webinar on Friday, December 13th from 3:30-5:00pm with Fellows from the current cohort, NLF alumni, and NLF Mentors to share from their experiences and answer questions about the program, the application process, or other areas that might be helpful. The recording of the session can be found here:

https://nextleadersfellowship.org/apply/

NLF Mentors, Sponsors, and Partners are committed to developing and supporting a new generation of diverse IT leadership in higher education, and we believe that the Fellowship will be an important part of that work. We hope as you learn more about NLF, you will join our effort by applying or sharing this information with the emerging leaders of diverse backgrounds that you know.

Sincerely, Next Leaders Fellowship Mentors

• Sherri Braxton, Senior Director for Digital Innovation, Bowdoin College
• Steven Burrell, Vice President for IT and Chief Information Officer (CIO), Northern Arizona University
• Michael Cato, Senior Vice President and Chief Information Officer (CIO), Bowdoin College
• Raechelle Clemmons, Leader, Partner Business Development, Amazon Web Services (AWS)
• Aisha Jackson, Vice Chancellor for Information Technology, University of California, Santa Cruz
• Keith ‘Mac’ MacIntosh, Vice President for Information Services and Chief Information Officer (CIO), University of Richmond
• Kimberley Marshall, Vice President for Information Technology and Chief Information Officer (CIO), Morehouse College
• Tony Moore, Chief Information Officer (CIO), Prairie View A&M University
• José Rodriguez, Vice President and Chief Information Officer (CIO), Pomona College
• Jenn Stringer, Vice President and Chief Digital Officer, J. Paul Getty Trust
• Stan Waddell, Vice President for Information Technology and CIO, Carnegie Mellon University
• Cheryl Washington, Chief Information Security Officer (CISO), University of California, Davis