Business Leads Fellowship Program

Training the Business Community

The Business Leads Fellowship Program is developing business leaders to be education and workforce champions in their community and better connect education systems and students to opportunity. It equips chambers of commerce and associations with the resources necessary to implement change in the education and workforce pipeline.

Hosted by the U.S. Chamber of Commerce Foundation’s Center for Education and Workforce, the program consists of virtual and in-person workshops. Topics include early education, K-12, college and career readiness, postsecondary education, and workforce development. Each workshop is taught by leaders who have put these policies into practice to bring opportunity to their communities.

To be considered for the Business Leads Fellowship Program, applicants should be:

Currently employed by a state or local chamber, statewide trade association, or economic development agency.
Currently engage in or desire to engage in education and/or workforce issues in your community.

Join the Network

Business Leads Fellows come from communities all across the country.

What You'll Learn

Through specialized training, Business Leads Fellows gain the required skills to launch successful education and workforce programs in their communities.

Historical and Policy Context

We get it – education and workforce issues are complex. With so many stakeholders, inputs, and external implications, it can be difficult to figure out where to engage. As a Fellow, you will learn the history of early childhood, K-12 education, and workforce development issues, including current policy context. You will hear from experts in each field, and most importantly, you will learn how to think about the education and workforce pipeline in your community.

Best Practices and Trusted Resources

Fellows gain access to a library of presentations, reports, and other resources on a variety of issues across education and workforce development. We consistently add new resources for each cohort of the Business Leads Fellowship Program, so this library of best practices and examples is constantly growing. Additionally, if there is a resource Fellows need that doesn’t yet exist, we work to create one, like our how-to guide on business engagement with local school boards.

Developing Ability to Implement

You’ve been armed with knowledge and best practices, but actually getting your own program off the ground can be daunting. A Business Leads Fellowship will also teach you how to get involved in education and workforce development so that you can launch your own intervention to help your community’s need.

Join a Thriving Network of Business Leaders

One of the greatest advantages of the Business Leads Fellowship Program is joining the network. You’ll meet 34 other Fellows in your cohort and join a total of 164 Fellows from 43 states. This growing group of talented, trained business leaders ready to engage in education and workforce issues is available for brainstorming, collaboration, and has even created regional programmatic partnerships.

“I’ve already started to put my action plan into use. There is no doubt in my mind that The Main Line Chamber of Commerce will be more successful in 2020 because of my participation in Business Leads.”

“I enjoyed the Fellowship program and would like to stay engaged with the work being done! I believe that my experiences in the Fellowship helped me launch two different workforce programs at the KC Chamber.”

“The Business Leads Fellowship Program was one of the most impactful things I’ve done. The BLFP training helped me to launch two career readiness programs for high school students in our area.”

Meet the Faculty

Our faculty are leaders in business, government, academia, and nonprofit management. These experts teach Business Leads Fellows about specific issues in education and workforce development and how to improve outcomes for students and workers in their local communities

Become a Fellow

Interested in opportunities to become a Fellow? If you meet the criteria, complete our sign-up form to stay informed of future opportunities.