"Coro profoundly altered the way I think about how to lead an organization and how to do good in the world. Coro also provided me with a range of useful connections - including financial, legal and political expertise - that I can call upon whenever I get stuck. Coro has given me the tools to not only manage a large and complicated organization, but to keep it cutting edge nationally."
Greg Berman, Fellows 1993
Director, Center for Court Innovation
Support
The Fellows Program in New York is generously supported by The Moody's Foundation, Edison Properties and The Family of Deborah Scott.
The Coro Fellows Program is a nine-month, full-time, graduate-level leadership training program that prepares diverse, talented, and committed individuals for effective and ethical leadership in the public arena. Fellows participate at each of Coro's five regional centers: Los Angeles, New York, Pittsburgh, St. Louis, and San Francisco.
The Coro New York Leadership Center selects 12 Fellows annually from a highly competitive pool of applicants, who are committed to bringing about change in New York City.
The Fellows Program is founded on Coro's unique curriculum of core leadership skills-building, paired with real-world experiences that rely on the city as the classroom. Unconventional by traditional academic standards, the Coro Fellows Program in Public Affairs is rigorous and demanding. Since 1947, the Fellows Program has combined experiential learning, interactions with private, public, and non-profit decision-makers, and development in analytical, group governance, and communication skills.
Coro recruiters and alumni are hosting webinars for potential applicants to learn more about the program and the application process. Go HERE to register and learn more!
The program runs from September through May. 12 New York Coro Fellows are chosen who have demonstrated leadership within their school, professional, or local communities and have an interest in public affairs.
The Fellows Program has four major components: field placements, seminars, leadership breakfasts, and focus weeks.
Field Placements - Each Fellow works in a series of month-long, individually tailored assignments with a business, labor union, government agency, non-profit/philanthropic organization, political campaign, and an independent placement. These placements provide the opportunity for Fellows to see how organizations are structured, how they function, and how they fit into the social, political, economic, and cultural fabric of a city.
Seminars - Weekly seminars allow Fellows to reflect on their field placements and develop leadership and management skills. Facilitated by the Fellows trainer, skills-based seminars may delve into negotiation, facilitation, consensus-building, public speaking, or project management. Fellows are introduced to a variety of tools that will help them think more clearly and effectively, free of assumption and prejudgment. Seminars provide a forum for critical issues facing individual participants, the collective group or the public affairs arena at-large. In addition, Fellows use the time to examine and discuss their sector placements and issues affecting the city, such as education, health care, or the budget.
Leadership Breakfasts - Interviews with prominent leaders in the public affairs arena add yet another vital dimension to the Fellows Program. From members of Congress to CEO's of Fortune 500 companies to grassroots community members, these interviews provide Fellows with the rare opportunity to explore the motivation, method and logic of leaders. Interviews also facilitate their development of disciplined inquiry and observation skills, along with a host of other valuable skills to apply in their future public, private and non-profit sector careers. These interviews take place behind closed doors allowing the interviewee to speak more freely and give the Fellows a more accurate portrait of what is really going on.
Leadership Breakfast Hosts
Through these closed-door sessions with prominent NYC leaders, the Coro Fellows learn about the challenges and opportunities within each sector and gain important insight into how key decisions are made in the public affairs arena. For more information on Leadership Breakfasts, please contact Lensay Abadula at labadula@coronewyork.org.
Previous Leadership Breakfasts
Cheryl Dorsey, President, Echoing Green
Christine Quinn, Speaker of the New York City Council
Danny Meyer, President, Union Square Hospitality Group
Ed Koch, Former Mayor of New York City
Geoffrey Canada, President & CEO, Harlem Children's Zone
John Liu, New York City Comptroller
Jon Tisch, Chairman and CEO, Loews Hotels
Kathryn Wylde, President & CEO, Partnership for NYC
Rupert Murdoch, Chairman and CEO of News Corporation Focus Weeks - Interspersed between placements are Focus Weeks, where Fellows engage in concentrated examinations of a particular sector or issue that is relevant to the public affairs arena. During these weeks, Fellows explore such issues as public finance, communication, social entrepreneurship, state government, and media, through experiential learning, interviews, discussions, and projects.
Time Commitment - The Fellows Program in Public Affairs is a full-time program with nine months of rigorous training and activity. The average weekly time commitment is estimated at 60 hours, although this can vary greatly depending on specific projects in which the Fellows are involved. As such, Fellows are not permitted to obtain employment outside of Coro while participating in the program.
University Partnerships - Coro has partnered with a number of graduate institutions across the country to offer special credit, scholarships, and admissions consideration to Coro Fellows upon their completion of the program, including the Milano School of Management and Urban Policy at The New School, the Heinz School of Public Policy at Carnegie Mellon University, and the Brown School of Social Work at Washington University in St. Louis.
Life After the Fellows Program - Fellows Program graduates make innumerable contributions to their communities, working with private, public, and non-profit agencies and institutions throughout New York City. Participation in the Fellows Program is only the beginning of a Fellow's trajectory. The Fellows Program develops the skills and relationships young leaders need to make a difference in New York City, preparing tomorrow's leaders for a lifetime of civic engagement and community empowerment.
Nationally, there is tuition of $3,500, of which a partial deposit is due upon acceptance into the program. See the Financial Fact Sheet for information on tuition scholarships and financial aid packages. Certain Coro centers waive the $3,500 tuition in part or in full, excluding a $500 deposit. Fellows are awarded stipends based on documented financial need. Other forms of assistance may include tuition and student loan deferment, and health coverage options, depending on the center. Candidates do not need to apply for financial aid with their full applications. Those who are invited to participate in the daylong assessment in March at one of the five Coro centers will be asked to submit a financial aid form to qualify for stipends and other benefits on that day.
Coro also has partnerships with a number of graduate programs, including the Milano Graduate School of Management and Urban Policy at the New School University, the Heinz School of Public Policy and Management at Carnegie Mellon University, and the George Warren Brown School of Social Work at Washington University, offering graduates of the Fellows Program benefits ranging from automatic admission to credits toward a degree and scholarships.
For more information about program costs, please contact Erin Tarica, Recruitment Manager at etarica@coronewyork.org or (212) 248 2935 ext. 303.
Application Information
