Lead New Jersey

What Lead New Jersey does

Lead New Jersey (LNJ) is a Princeton-headquartered nonprofit leadership development organization that runs a selective, tuition-based year-long fellowship for senior leaders from New Jersey's corporate, government, and nonprofit sectors. The fellowship consists of 10 in-person seminars held across the state from January through November, covering New Jersey-specific public policy issues, six certified leadership modules (using MBTI, LIFO, and related assessment frameworks), and cross-sector networking, culminating in a December graduation and Celebration of Leaders. Since its founding in 1985, LNJ has built an alumni network of nearly 2,000 leaders who occupy senior roles at organizations such as PSEG, NJM Insurance, Rutgers, the New Jersey General Assembly, and various New Jersey nonprofits.

The organization's technology footprint is modest and member-oriented: a website (leadnj.org), a member portal (members.leadnj.org), the LNJ Live! video platform offering seminar content to paying alumni, and the Talent Exchange job/volunteer board. Core intellectual property is the seminar curriculum and the certified facilitation of evidence-based assessment tools, rather than software.

LNJ's revenue model combines four streams: (1) Fellowship tuition of $7,500 per Fellow for the 2027 seminar year (with $1,000–$5,500 tuition assistance available for nonprofit/government employees); (2) a $100 non-refundable application fee; (3) three tiers of recurring alumni membership dues ($100 Plus+, $200 Laureate, $500 President's Circle) granting access to the alumni directory, Talent Exchange, networking events, and an eblast to nearly 3,000 contacts at the top tier; and (4) event registration fees ($50 for the Summer Networking Event for non-members). GTM is community-led and event-driven, relying on alumni referrals, virtual information sessions, and an annual networking event to fill a single cohort per year. The organization is led by Interim President Michele Tuck-Ponder and Vice President Jennifer M. Bredehoft, with governance from an alumni-majority Board of Trustees.

Name

Lead New Jersey

Legal name

Lead New Jersey

Website

https://leadnj.org

Company type

Private

Founded year

1987

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

1–10 employees

Short description

Lead New Jersey is a Princeton-based nonprofit that runs a selective year-long fellowship, comprising 10 seminars, to develop cross-sector leaders from New Jersey's corporate, government, and nonprofit sectors, monetizing tuition ($7,500), alumni membership tiers ($100–$500), and events.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Leadership Development Training

NAICS

Professional and Management Development Training (611430), Educational Support Services (61171), Religious, Grantmaking, Civic, Professional, and Similar Organizations (813), Business, Professional, Labor, Political, and Similar Organizations (8139)

SIC

Services-Membership Organizations (8600), Services-Educational Services (8200), Services-Management Services (8741)

akta.pro primary industry

Executive Leadership & C-Suite Development (EDABAAAA)

akta.pro secondary industries

Inclusive Leadership & Leading Diverse Teams (EDABAAAM), Executive Leadership Summits (C-Suite, Board, Strategy Offsites) (THAHAMAA)

Keywords

• Leadership development program
• Executive fellowship
• Public policy education
• Nonprofit training
• Alumni networking

Headquarters

HQ city

Princeton

HQ country

United States

HQ region

North America

Offices1 record

Markets served

GTM type

B2B

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Personnel, Operations, Marketing or Sales, Technology or R&D, Others

Revenue model

1. Fellowship Tuition: Tuition-based program with tuition set at $7,500 for the 2027 seminar year. A deposit of $1,500 is required upon acceptance with full payment due by December 31st. Tuition assistance available for eligible nonprofit and government employees ranging from $1,000 to $5,500.
2. Application Fees: One-time $100 application fee required for all applicants to complete the application process.
3. Alumni Membership Dues: Three-tier membership structure: Plus+ at $100/year providing InfoHub access and Talent Exchange; Laureate at $200/year adding one Celebration of Leaders registration and one networking event; President's Circle at $500/year (or $41.67/month) providing all networking events, one seminar attendance, and one eblast to LNJ directory.
4. Event Registration Fees: Summer Networking Event priced at $50 for non-members while current class members, Laureate and President's Circle members, and potential 2026 class applicants attend free.

Pricing tiers

Go-to-market motion2 records

Distribution channels3 records

Marketing channels8 records

Core offering

Lead New Jersey operates a selective, tuition-based year-long Fellowship Program (January through November) comprising 10 in-person and virtual seminars that educate leaders on New Jersey public policy issues across all regions of the state. The program integrates six certified Leadership Advancement Modules (MBTI, LIFO, Learning Styles Inventory, Privilege Walk, Resilience, and Boundary Spanning Leadership) and connects Fellows to a nearly 2,000-member cross-sector alumni network, with ongoing engagement through a tiered alumni membership program, the LNJ Live! video platform, and the Talent Exchange job/volunteer board.

Product overview

Lead New Jersey operates as a unified fellowship program combining three core value pillars: education in New Jersey public policy issues, Leadership Advancement through certified modules (MBTI, LIFO), and the LNJ Network of nearly 2000 alumni. The primary offering is the year-long Fellowship Program with 10 seminars (January-November) examining NJ policy issues, supplemented by alumni membership tiers (Plus+, Laureate, President's Circle) providing access to LNJ Live! video content, Talent Exchange job board, Info Hub profiles, and networking events. Additional modules cover leadership skills including learning styles, personality assessment, communication, privilege awareness, resilience, and boundary-spanning leadership.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Brands

• Talent Exchange: A talent exchange platform for LNJ alumni to share job and volunteer opportunities.
• LNJ Live!

Products and services

• Lead New Jersey Fellowship Program A competitive, tuition-based year-long leadership development program running January through November with 10 in-person and virtual seminars that examine New Jersey public policy issues, integrate certified Leadership Advancement Modules, and connect Fellows to a cross-sector alumni network. The program concludes each December with graduation and the annual Celebration of Leaders, and is targeted at leaders from corporations, nonprofits, and government agencies throughout New Jersey.
• LNJ Alumni Membership (Plus+, Laureate, President's Circle tiers) Recurring annual alumni membership at three tiers providing former LNJ Fellows with access to a searchable alumni database (InfoHub), Talent Exchange posting rights, LNJ Live! content, networking event registration, the annual Celebration of Leaders, and (at the President's Circle tier) one seminar attendance and one eblast to the LNJ directory of nearly 3,000 contacts.
• LNJ Live! A video content platform providing seminar highlights and full-length recordings of recent in-person and Zoom seminars, available to LNJ Laureate and President's Circle alumni members to extend learning and engagement beyond the fellowship year.
• Talent Exchange An online job and volunteer opportunity board accessible to Laureate and President's Circle LNJ alumni members, enabling alumni to post and discover open positions across the LNJ network.

Quantifiable outcome

• Nearly 2000 Fellows have completed the program since inception
• +2 more outcomes

Named customers19 records

Segments5 records

Ideal customer profiles4 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Feature3 records

Scale indicators4 records

Recent moves6 records

Direct peers

• Leadership Philadelphia: A regional cross-sector leadership development program serving Greater Philadelphia's corporate, civic, and nonprofit leaders — directly comparable in structure, tuition-based cohort model, and regional convening approach to Lead New Jersey.
• Eisenhower Fellowship: A selective international leadership fellowship bringing together emerging leaders globally, with a comparable cohort-based, network-driven design and similar emphasis on cross-sector learning and lifelong alumni engagement.
• Aspen Institute (Henry Crown Fellowship): Operates the Henry Crown Fellowship, an elite cross-sector leadership program for senior executives and civic leaders emphasizing values-based leadership and convening — comparable in prestige, selectivity, and target audience to LNJ's fellowship.
• Leadership Greater Chicago: A similar regional cross-sector leadership program operating in the Chicago metro area, with comparable cohort structure, tuition-driven model, and alumni network focus to Lead New Jersey's NJ-specific offering.
• Coro Foundation: A nonpartisan civic leadership program running cohort-based fellowships across multiple U.S. cities, closely mirroring LNJ's model of convening emerging leaders across public, private, and nonprofit sectors with a comparable tuition-driven structure and alumni network focus.

Emerging players

• Young Presidents' Organization (YPO): A global peer network for chief executives offering leadership development, peer learning forums, and structured networking — comparable to LNJ's networking and leadership advancement pillars but serving CEOs at a different career stage.
• Chief Executives for Corporate Purpose (CECP): A CEO-led cross-sector convening organization addressing societal issues through corporate commitment, comparable to LNJ's cross-sector convening approach but operating at a different scale and focused on corporate-NGO partnerships.
• National Association of Corporate Directors (NACD): Provides director education, certification, and peer networks for corporate board members — adjacent to LNJ's executive leadership advancement offerings, with similar premium membership tiering and continuing education focus.

Broad incumbents

• Harvard Business School Executive Education: A global leader in executive education offering premium leadership programs that compete for the same high-achieving executives LNJ targets, but at significantly larger scale, broader geographic reach, and higher price points.
• Rutgers Executive Education: A New Jersey-based executive education provider offering leadership, management, and professional development programs that overlap with LNJ's content focus but serve a broader executive market across multiple formats and durations.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat4 records

Key risks6 records

Key highlights6 records

Customer concentration

• Facebookfacebook.com/leadnj
• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/lead-new-jersey
• Instagraminstagram.com/leadnj_/?hl=en

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles2 records

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 Lead New Jersey