Presidential Leadership Scholars

What Presidential Leadership Scholars does

Presidential Leadership Scholars (PLS) is a nonprofit leadership development program founded in 2014 and administered by the George W. Bush Presidential Center in Dallas, Texas. It operates through a multi-foundation partnership with the Clinton Presidential Center, the George and Barbara Bush Foundation, and the LBJ Foundation, drawing curriculum from the presidential experiences of George W. Bush, Bill Clinton, George H.W. Bush, and Lyndon B. Johnson. The program annually selects 57-60 mid-career professionals from nonprofit, military, public, and private sectors through a competitive application process and delivers a six-month curriculum consisting of six modules held at the four partner presidential centers.

The core product is a six-month intensive leadership program structured around six in-person modules, capped by a Personal Leadership Project in which scholars apply lessons to a real-world initiative in their community or organization. Graduates join a lifelong alumni network that has grown to nearly 600 changemakers across 11 cohorts since 2015. The program is offered entirely free to participants, with all costs including tuition, housing, meals, and travel covered by contributions from program supporters. Notable alumni include a cardiothoracic surgeon who led the first known all-woman heart transplant team, the CEO of The Birthday Party Project, and a NASA Space Center engineer working on the Artemis program.

PLS has no technology stack of note — it operates through a standard online application portal and conventional digital marketing channels (website, LinkedIn, Instagram, X/Twitter, email newsletter) — and generates no product or licensing revenue. Its go-to-market relies on an event-driven annual application cycle supplemented by alumni referrals and outreach through the four presidential center networks. The program is celebrating its 10-year anniversary with the Class of 2027 application cycle currently open.

Name

Presidential Leadership Scholars

Legal name

Presidential Leadership Scholars

Website

https://presidentialleadershipscholars.org

Company type

Private

Founded year

2014

Operating status

Operating

Short description

Presidential Leadership Scholars is a nonprofit six-month leadership development program, administered by four U.S. presidential foundations, that annually selects 57-60 mid-career professionals across nonprofit, military, public, and private sectors at no cost to participants.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Executive Leadership Development

NAICS

Professional and Management Development Training (611430), Religious, Grantmaking, Civic, Professional, and Similar Organizations (813)

SIC

Services-Educational Services (8200)

akta.pro primary industry

Public Policy, Public Administration & Nonprofit Management Schools (within Business Schools) (EDAHAHAK)

Keywords

• Leadership development program
• Executive leadership training
• Nonprofit fellowship program
• Civic leadership education
• Cross-sector leadership

Headquarters

HQ city

Menlo Park

HQ country

United States

HQ region

North America

Offices4 records

Markets served

GTM type

B2C

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Personnel, Operations, Others, Marketing or Sales

Revenue model

1. Donations and Contributions: The program is fully funded through contributions from program supporters. All costs including tuition, housing, meals, and travel are covered for participants at no cost.

Pricing tiers

Go-to-market motion2 records

Distribution channels1 record

Marketing channels7 records

Core offering

Presidential Leadership Scholars is a six-month, cohort-based leadership development program that brings together approximately 57-60 mid-career professionals each year to develop leadership abilities through six in-person modules hosted at four presidential centers (George W. Bush, Clinton, George H.W. Bush, and LBJ). Scholars engage with former presidents, administration officials, academics, and business leaders, and complete a Personal Leadership Project applying lessons to a real-world initiative in their community, organization, or field. The program is provided at no cost to participants, with tuition, housing, meals, and travel fully funded.

Product overview

Presidential Leadership Scholars is a single, unified leadership development program that operates as a six-month intensive course bringing together mid-career professionals from across nonprofit, military, public, and private sectors. The program centers on four presidential administrations (George W. Bush, William J. Clinton, George H.W. Bush, and Lyndon B. Johnson) and is administered through six in-person modules at presidential centers. The program includes a Personal Leadership Project component where scholars apply lessons to real-world initiatives, and all graduates join a growing alumni network of nearly 600 changemakers. The program is provided at no cost to participants, with tuition, housing, meals, and travel fully funded.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Products and services

• Presidential Leadership Scholars Program A six-month, cohort-based leadership development program that gathers approximately 57-60 mid-career professionals each year to develop leadership abilities through six in-person modules hosted at four presidential centers. Scholars interact with former presidents, key administration officials, leading academics, and business and civic leaders. Tuition, housing, meals, and travel are fully funded.

Quantifiable outcome

• 88% of Scholars indicate they engage with others whose life experiences and perspectives are different from their own
• +6 more outcomes

Named customers6 records

Segments3 records

Ideal customer profiles2 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Partnerships

Six partnerships are on record, tiered flagship, core and minor.

• George W. Bush Presidential CenterflagshipStrategic or Co-development Partner · 9 September 2014The George W. Bush Presidential Center in Dallas, Texas serves as the primary administrative hub for the Presidential Leadership Scholars program. It houses the Bush Institute which manages day-to-day operations of the program and coordinates with partner presidential centers.
• Clinton Presidential CentercoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerThe Clinton Presidential Center in Little Rock, Arkansas is one of four partner presidential centers. Hosts program modules and contributes presidential leadership curriculum.
• George and Barbara Bush FoundationcoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerThe George and Barbara Bush Foundation supports the George H.W. Bush Presidential Library and Museum and partners in the PLS initiative.
• LBJ FoundationcoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerThe LBJ Foundation supports the Lyndon B. Johnson Presidential Library and contributes to the PLS program curriculum and module delivery.
• GitLab FoundationminorStrategic or Co-development PartnerProvided support for Making Space's Ascend program - a workforce development initiative created by PLS Class of 2024 scholar Keely Cat-Wells.
• Pew Charitable TrustsminorGTM or Marketing PartnerPresident and CEO Sue Urahn served as speaker, sharing insights on power of storytelling in policymaking with PLS scholars.

Scale indicators7 records

Recent moves5 records

Expansion highlights3 records

Emerging players

• New America: Public-purpose policy and leadership network that convenes mid-career leaders across sectors and ideologies. Comparable focus on civic-minded leadership and bridging political divides.
• Points of Light Foundation: Service-leadership programs and fellowships developing civic leaders across nonprofit and public sectors. Comparable mid-career civic leadership focus and alumni-network model, narrower sectoral overlap.
• Congressional Black Caucus Foundation – Leadership Programs: Runs fellowships and leadership institutes for emerging leaders from diverse sectors. Comparable mission of developing cross-sector leadership capacity, narrower demographic focus.

Broad incumbents

• Aspen Institute: Runs Aspen Fellows and leadership seminars targeting values-based, cross-sector leaders. Comparable mission of developing principled leaders across ideological divides, with a broader portfolio of programs.
• Young Presidents' Organization (YPO): Peer network and leadership-learning experiences for chief executives globally. Comparable selective peer-network model and leadership development focus, oriented to C-suite members.
• Stanford Graduate School of Business Executive Education: Premium executive-education programs for senior leaders across nonprofit, public, and private sectors. Comparable focus on leadership capabilities and cross-sector cohorts, with much stronger scale and tuition-funded economics.
• Harvard Kennedy School Center for Public Leadership: Exec-ed and fellowship programs for senior public, nonprofit, and private-sector leaders. Comparable focus on values-based leadership development, with stronger brand, scale, and donor base.
• World Economic Forum – Young Global Leaders: Select cohort of mid-career leaders under 40 from all sectors worldwide. Comparable selectivity and cross-sector peer network, with global scale and a broader leadership-development mandate.

Direct peers

• Coro Foundation: Coro Fellows Program trains mid-career professionals in civic leadership and cross-sector collaboration. Directly comparable cohort structure, civic-leadership pedagogy, and alumni-network outcomes.
• Eisenhower Fellowship: Mid-career leadership fellowship for established professionals across sectors with a global network and presidential/historical legacy tie-ins. Highly comparable selection-based fellowship model and cross-sector cohort composition.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat3 records

Key risks6 records

Key highlights7 records

Customer concentration

• Xx.com/plsprogram
• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/presidential-leadership-scholars
• Instagraminstagram.com/plsprogram

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles1 record

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

M&A

Investments

M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

Frequently asked questions about Presidential Leadership Scholars