Pulitzer Prize-winning columnist David Broder has called the Flemming Fellows "political spirit-lifters." They are state legislators from throughout the country who share a deep commitment to public service and who believe that government can and should play an active role in resolving some of the critical issues facing America today. The Flemming Fellows are:

• Citizen Legislators. They are community leaders and teachers, farmers and health care professionals. They run small businesses and nonprofit organizations. In most states their service in the legislature is part-time. They are connected to their communities and remain integrally involved in the neighborhoods they represent. They possess a wide range of real-world perspectives on how to solve the problems we face today.
• Practical Idealists. They are determined to make value-driven public policy decisions; they are committed to enact ideas that work. They see state policies and state budgets as statements of values, and they work to build support for solutions by focusing all stakeholders on the values they hold in common.
• As Diverse as America. Each Flemming class is a bipartisan group that reflects the demographics of America in the 21st century. This enables Fellows to develop relationships and explore techniques for crafting a new governing consensus across the divides of race, class, gender and political party.
• Emerging Leaders. They are leaders on the rise in their state chambers and in their communities, capable of laying out a progressive vision for governing and building consensus for change. Instead of relying on partisan rhetoric for political advantage, these bridge builders look for allies in unlikely places and they get things done.

Values-Based Training for State Leaders...

A new kind of leadership is needed to guide the states and America in the 21st century--leaders who see the values behind the policy; leaders who build consensus and forge strategic alliances; leaders who can move ideas to action.

The Flemming Leadership Institute honors the legacy of Arthur Flemming, a man who embodied this dynamic style of leadership throughout his long career in public service.

• Arthur Flemming: Crusader at Large. The Flemming Leadership Institute was established in 1994 thanks to a generous grant from the W.K. Kellogg Foundation. The Institute is named for the late Dr. Arthur S. Flemming, a long-time member of CPA's Board of Directors. A recipient at age 91 of the Presidential Medal of Freedom, Dr. Flemming was an exemplary public servant who held high positions under presidents from Franklin Roosevelt to Ronald Reagan, including Secretary of Health, Education and Welfare and Chairman of the U.S. Civil Rights Commission.
• Moving Ideas to Action. The Flemming Fellows Institute represents the cornerstone of the CPA's efforts to identify and nurture leaders who can move ideas to action. It is founded on CPA's belief that government must be a dynamic, active partner with the private and nonprofit sectors to achieve real progress.
• A Focus on Values. The Institute helps state legislators sharpen their understanding of their own values and how those values drive their decisions as elected leaders. Fellows engage in exercises to define the role of government, examine policies and budgets as value statements and identify the core values that they share with others and can use as the basis for solving problems.
• Promoting Teambuilding and Consensus. Learning to understand divergent perspectives and build broad consensus for innovative approaches is vital to effective public leadership. The fellowships provide a rare opportunity for legislators to step back from their daily challenges and gain new perspective into how they and their state governments can better serve the people. While other leadership programs generally concentrate on "nuts and bolts" skills training, the Institute is experiential learning focused on the fundamentals of governing-leadership styles, decision making processes and consensus building techniques. The Flemming experience helps emerging leaders reach across the aisles and across the divides of race, class and gender.