The Fellowship aims to tap into the wealth of exemplary CUNY students to build a corps of civically engaged leaders who will embark on a two-year program, training them on voter engagement and education as well as community involvement.

“My goal is to ensure everything is moving—and if there are roadblocks, I spot it long before anybody else in the team, so that I can rearrange things and clear them. My role is to be strategic, a problem solver, and a project manager all at once..”

“Staff in legislative offices are there to give their constituents support, especially when the world seems on fire. These are the people that have a hose to help put out those fires—sometimes, they may be the smallest of fires, but they're putting out a fire.”

The fifth cohort of the Kriegel Fellowship welcomes 21 chiefs of staff from across all five boroughs and the Hudson Valley. For the next few months, they will engage in discussions with policy experts, network, and build the skills to support them in their current roles and their future journeys in public service. 

The Fellowship seeks to help chiefs of staff and other legislative office leaders excel in their current positions, network with other chiefs of staff, and grow confidently into the next generation of elected officials and public service leaders.

This spring, 22 chiefs of staff, deputy chiefs of staff, and other legislative office leaders within city and state legislative offices graduated from CUNY ISLG’s Kriegel Fellowship class of 2023.

The Kriegel Fellowship aims to support and empower legislative chiefs of staff and other staffers to excel in their current positions, network with their colleagues from other offices, and grow confidently into the next generation of elected officials and public service leaders.

Named for former New York City mayor John Lindsay, the Fellowship seeks to recognize his legacy by recruiting new, upcoming elected officials—especially from communities of color and other groups underrepresented in government leadership—and seek ways to advance their growth, learning, and careers.

Today, we announced the second cohort of the Kriegel Fellowship for Public Service Leaders. The Kriegel Fellowship is a leadership and professional development program for chiefs of staff of city and state legislators serving the New York City area.

The Lindsay Fellowship recognizes promising New York City leaders who have been elected to the city and state legislative bodies in the past four years and introduces these leaders to experts across a variety of policy areas and provides a space for ongoing dialogue and learning.

Named for Jay L. Kriegel, long-time chief of staff to New York City Mayor John Lindsay, the Kriegel Fellowship is a leadership and professional development program for chiefs of staff of city and state legislators serving the New York City area. The program aims to support and empower legislative chiefs of staff to excel in their current positions, and grow confidently into the next generation of elected officials and public service leaders. In this news release we announce the inaugural class of fellows.

Our leadership and staff have decades of on-the-ground public service experience and have led the Lindsay Fellowship in Government Leadership and Practice—for New York City and State elected officials—since 2017. Based on research and interviews with NYC and NYS legislators, we launched the Kriegel Fellowship for Public Service Leaders to support and empower legislative chiefs of staff 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. Here we provide more information on the mission and vision behind the initiative.