Fellowship has advanced careers of state legislators, mayors and members of Congress
June 1, 2017, Washington, DC – Today Victory Institute announced it selected 10 outstanding LGBTQ public officials from across the U.S. for the prestigious Bohnett Leaders Fellowship, a program that includes an intensive, three-week leadership development program at the Harvard Kennedy School of Government.
The fellowship, generously supported by the David Bohnett Foundation, has provided local and state-level LGBTQ officials the opportunity to hone their skills and network with hundreds of other LGBTQ leaders through the Bohnett alumni network. Past Bohnett Fellows include U.S. Rep. Kyrsten Sinema, former Houston mayor Annise Parker, and California State Senators Toni Atkins and Ricardo Lara.
“The leadership skills gained at the Harvard Kennedy School have helped our Bohnett Fellows advance to elected positions in city government, state legislatures and the U.S. Congress,” said Victory Institute President & CEO Aisha C. Moodie-Mills. “These 10 LGBTQ leaders were chosen for the Bohnett Fellowship because of their admirable public service work, and their passion for developing policies and legislation that improve people’s lives. These already accomplished individuals are certainly leaders who have impactful careers ahead of them.”
The 2017 Victory Institute Bohnett Leaders Fellows are:
Dennis Chiu, El Camino Health Care District Trustee (CA)
Julian Cyr, Massachusetts State Senator
Leslie Herod, Colorado State Representative
Steven Kornell, St. Petersburg City Councilmember (FL)
Benjamin Marentette, City Clerk of Traverse City (MI)
Dominick Moreno, Colorado State Senator
Brian Pendleton, Los Angeles Police and Fire Pension Commissioner (CA)
Ty Stober, Vancouver City Councilmember (WA)
Rosemary Veniegas, Senior Program Officer for Health at California Community Foundation
JoCasta Zamarripa, Wisconsin State Assembly
More information and bios for the 2017 Bohnett Fellows are available on the Victory Institute website.
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Victory Institute
Victory Institute works to increase the number of lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender people in public office and to provide programming, service, and other support to ensure their success.
