Lead For America Affiliates
Strong communities and states are the foundation of our country, and being deeply connected to place is an essential prerequisite for healthy communities. Lead For America affiliates support our mission by adopting and strengthening our model at the state and local level.
​
Affiliates bring together local governments, community and business leaders, and dedicated Fellows to ensure that the local community or state has the full leadership force it requires to address its most critical challenges.
Fellows who are members of an affiliate enjoy the same experience as non-affiliate Fellows. They take part in the national training programs, including the LFA Summer Institute, 1:1 mentorship, retreats, AmeriCorps benefits, and the Community Venture (see Fellow Roadmap here). Affiliate Fellows join and become members of a growing community of local and national leaders, as well as the community of Fellows in their state. They also take part in additional programming opportunities like regional trainings and cohort meetups. ​
Candidates in an affiliate state or region will apply to the LFA Hometown Fellowship (view here) application. If accepted into the Fellowship, these candidates will join the national cohort and their state/regional cohort, if residing within one.
Lead For Hawai'i Fellows & Hosts, 2021
Lead For Kansas Members, 2021
.png)
Challenge-Based Tracks
Communities across the United States are facing significant challenges: from COVID-19 and healthcare access, to broadband access and digital inclusion. The talent and leadership this moment requires is born into every community in the nation. In 2020, LFA Fellows had the opportunity to help address these nationwide challenges within their community by joining one of our challenge-based Fellowships. As part of the national network, challenge-based Fellows received access to premier national training on community and economic development and field-related skills, alongside developing a network of homecomers from across the country.
​
Based on the success of our challenge tracks that started in 2021, LFA is currently working with our partners to incubate these tracks as their own independent organizations. While we work to further establish these tracks, all new Fellows will join the overall LFA Hometown Fellowship cohort.
_p.png)