The Kriegel Fellowship Graduation: Class of 2024-2025
By Alisa Orlowsky, Communications Associate
The 2024-2025 cohort of the Kriegel Fellowship celebrated their graduation at ISLG’s midtown office. Over the last several months, they engaged in discussions with policy experts, network, and built the skills to support them in their current roles and their future journeys in public service.
This April, 21 chiefs of staff and legislative office leaders from across all five boroughs and the Hudson Valley graduated as the 2024-2025 Cohort of Kriegel Fellows. Over the course of five months, these Fellows met bi-weekly to establish community with peer-leaders and engage in professional development opportunities tailored to the unique experiences of chiefs of staff.
These Fellows—who are responsible for implementing their elected official’s strategic vision— are the project managers, legislative experts, supervisors, and so much more of their offices. As the next generation of public service leaders, they are now equipped with insights and knowledge from CUNY ISLG’s network of experts in leadership, management, strategic communications, negotiation, and community engagement.
“It’s been inspiring to witness the dedication this cohort has to making NYC a better place for their constituents—a great reminder of the significant value of the contributions of chiefs of staff.”
-Siobhán Carney, Policy Director at CUNY ISLG.
One of this year’s graduating Fellows, Deputy Chief of Staff Brandon Jordan, knows the significance of being part of a peer-to-peer learning community as a legislative and public service leader, especially across levels of government.
“It’s so important to have a community of staffers from across legislative bodies, not just the Council, because you don't have many opportunities to see folks from the State bodies,” he said. “The only thing that really connects State and City officials is when your districts overlap or you see them at a local event, but that's it. Here, there's really an opportunity here to get to know each other.”
Learn more about Brandon’s journey to public service and current experience as Deputy Chief of Staff for Council Member Julie Menin in a recent blog.
“It’s so important to have a community of staffers from across legislative bodies, not just the Council, because you don't have many opportunities to see folks from the State bodies,” he said. “The only thing that really connects State and City officials is when your districts overlap or you see them at a local event, but that's it. Here, there's really an opportunity here to get to know each other.”
Siobhán Carney, Brandon Jones, and Michael Jacobson at the Kriegel Fellows graduation (left to right).
Anna Meyers came to public service by way of the tech sector and venture capital.
As a newcomer to public service, she was “really excited about the opportunity to learn about how things work within the public space.”
“As a New York State Assembly chief of staff, I represent a Manhattan district, so I need to understand how New York City Council works. Kriegel allows me the opportunity to learn about and build relationships across City Council in parallel. I really appreciated the space to dive into the details that, as a chief of staff to a NYS legislator, we don't always get to be in,” Anna said.
Read more about the parallels Anna has found between tech and the public sector, and how that’s shaped her experience as a Kriegel Fellow in a recent blog.
Siobhán Carney, Anna Meyers, and Michael Jacobson at the Kriegel Fellows graduation (left to right).
“As a New York State Assembly chief of staff, I represent a Manhattan district, so I need to understand how New York City Council works. Kriegel allows me the opportunity to learn about and build relationships across City Council in parallel. I really appreciated the space to dive into the details that, as a chief of staff to a NYS legislator, we don't always get to be in,” Anna said.
This year’s fellowship class participated in the Pathway Forward Project, ISLG’s robust micro-credentialing program. Launched in 2022, the program awards digital badges to Kriegel Fellows who demonstrate excellence and achievement in their roles.
Get to know the full cohort in our previous blog.
Congratulations to the Class of 2024-2025 Kriegel Fellows!
ABOUT THE KRIEGEL FELLOWSHIP FOR PUBLIC SERVICE LEADERS
The Kriegel Fellowship for Public Service Leaders is a leadership and professional development program, designed for chiefs of staff of city and state legislators serving the New York City area. Since the Fellowship launched in 2020, its membership has expanded to include legislative staffers with role-adjacent positions to chiefs of staff, such as deputy chiefs of staff, district directors, and budget directors. Now, the Fellowship aims to support these leaders to excel in their current positions, network with other chiefs of staff and experts, and grow confidently into the next generation of elected officials and public service leaders.
The Kriegel Fellowship honors the legacy of Jay L. Kriegel, who served as chief of staff to New York City’s Mayor John Lindsay and was dedicated to mentoring chiefs of staff, legislators, and other public service leaders. The program was developed based on research and interviews with New York City and State legislators and chiefs of staff to understand the demands of the chief of staff position and corresponding needs for leadership development, learning community, and other support. The program builds on CUNY ISLG's experience running the Lindsay Fellowship in Government Leadership and Practice for city and state legislators.