Institute for Educational Leadership Announces Fellows for First-Ever Education Policy Fellowship Program (EPFP)TM: Community Schools Cohort
August 20, 2025 (Washington, DC) – The Institute for Educational Leadership (IEL) is proud to announce the Fellows of its inaugural Education Policy Fellowship Program (EPFP) TM: Community Schools Cohort, designed to build the capacity of Community Schools leaders to drive change in their local context through policy and advocacy.
EPFP is IEL’s longest-running program, founded in 1964 as an opportunity to build education policy and leadership capacity for strategic leaders. Over its 61-year history, EPFP has graduated over 12,000 alumni across the country, and this summer has welcomed a cohort focused on Community Schools.
“The Fellows selected for this year’s EPFP: Community Schools cohort hail from states in every corner of the country, and are representing school districts and individual schools, local education associations, and community organizations,” said IEL President Eddie Koen. “We’re so honored to provide this opportunity for these leaders who are eager to bring home a new set of skills to support the Community School strategy where they work and live.”
The program’s curriculum will focus on grassroots advocacy planning and outreach, root-cause and policy analyses, policy strategy, including politics and asset mapping, how to build and expand cohorts, and how to make an impactful ask during policymaker meetings. It will also include skill-building and awareness around national partner collaborations, the federal branches’ intersectionality, the federal education policy outlook, and assessing the federal landscape.
“We are excited to extend the long-standing Fellowship to IEL’s Community Schools networks to build policy capacity of community leaders to shape advocacy and policy in their local contexts and drive transformational change,” said Dr. Helen Janc Malone, Chief Strategy and Innovation Officer and a former National EPFP Director.
Launching this month, this seven-week program will support Community Schools advocates working at the local, state, and federal levels. Utilizing both on-demand and synchronous instruction, followed by collaborative policy strategy meetings and peer work, the program culminates in a Washington Policy Seminar TM (WPS – the long-running capstone event for EPFP Fellows) and D.C. Hill Day during the Community Schools Coordinators Appreciation Week!
WPS is Fellows’ opportunity to go deeper on federal policy, understand the federal role in education, and build capacity around how to effectively communicate with policymakers. For those who attend in person, the Hill Day is a chance to meet with Fellows’ representatives and directly advocate for Full-Service Community Schools and other initiatives that matter to their community.
“We can’t wait to meet this cohort of passionate leaders,” said Senior Policy Manager Dr. Michelle Lessly Blackburn. “These Fellows will come away with a toolbox of critical skills, a network of peers, and hands-on experience around advocating for and advancing the policies that matter to their communities.”
We are pleased to share the Fellows of our inaugural EPFP CS cohort below:
