CPNL Launches New Graduate Leadership Fellowship

The Center for Public & Nonprofit Leadership (CPNL) at Georgetown University’s McCourt School of Public Policy recently hosted a reception to celebrate its latest achievements and showcase the school’s new building on the Capitol Campus. Faculty, staff, alumni, friends and family had the chance to expand their networks and learn about new opportunities for professional growth and collaboration.

Event speakers—including Georgetown University Chief of Staff Joe Ferrara, CPNL faculty member Valeria Lassiter, and former CPNL graduate fellow Sade Cole—highlighted the impact of the Center in advancing nonprofit and philanthropic leadership nationally and internationally. The speakers also noted their close relationships with CPNL leadership, Dr. Kathy Kretman and Dr. Luisa Boyarski.

Executive Director, Dr. Kathy Kretman, shared her reflections from her tenure leading CPNL and her excitement for the upcoming leadership transition. Dr. Luisa Boyarski, who will become Center Director in January 2025, outlined the Center’s next steps, including an increase in global engagement, alumni convenings, and the creation of a new CPNL Graduate Leadership Fellowship to honor Kathy’s decades of work inspiring and cultivating current and emerging leaders.

We are in the final stages of fundraising for the $200,000 fellowship endowment – we only need $13,000 to meet our goal. We hope you will consider helping us honor Kathy’s legacy by contributing. You can donate via this online form: https://bit.ly/CPNLfellowship. In the “Other” section, please designate that your gift supports the CPNL Graduate Leadership Fellowship.

We in higher education have a responsibility to our students to promote a notion of leadership that is not about position, but about people—people as problem solvers, social innovators and community builders. A vibrant democracy requires many citizens willing to do the hard work of leading change. There are students sitting in our classrooms who have the untapped potential to unite us and remind us that public service is a noble and worthy calling. We educators have an unparalleled opportunity to unleash their energy and talents and to prepare them for a new kind of leadership.

– Kathy Postel Kretman