National Academy of Public Administration National Academy of Public Administration

2026 Fellow Elections

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As the Academy serves to strengthen and improve government at all levels, nationally and internationally, each year we ask each Fellow to identify and recommend candidates of distinction with the willingness and ability to contribute work and wisdom to this important mission. The annual nomination and election of new Fellows to the Academy is one of our most vital membership activities, strengthening the Academy for future generations of governance.
 

We further ask that Fellows recognize the fundamental importance of diversity in the pool of distinguished Fellows to achieve the objectives and purposes for which the Academy was created.

The Nomination Process

How do Fellow Elections work at the Academy?

The Nomination Timeline:

  1. Nominations opened mid-February
  2. Nominations close April 30, 2025
  3. The Fellows Nominating Committee will meet in May to finalize a slate of nominees. They will send that slate to the Academy's President and CEO and the Board of Directors.
  4. In June the final slate of nominees will be announced and candidates will be notified of whether they made the slate.
  5. Voting will open in August and nominees will be notified of their eligibility status in September.

Nominations

Fellows may submit up to five proposed candidates and you must seek up to two Fellows who can second your nomination. We ask that you take care to explain how your candidate meets the criteria for election and why the person should be elected. For example, previous participation in the Academy’s work or other efforts to strengthen the quality of government delivery affecting more than one government entity would be highly relevant. An election must be based on the willingness and capacity of the candidate to contribute effort and expertise to the accomplishment of our important mission.

Please give special care to the Recommender’s statement, which may be written in the form of a paragraph or using bulleted statements. This statement is particularly important because traditionally it has been used to prepare the paragraph describing the nominee in the electronic ballot to all Fellows. Merely summarizing the previous information gives neither the Committee nor the Fellows additional insight into why the candidate would become a valuable Fellow.

Nominating Committee Assessment

Each candidate will be interviewed by telephone by a Committee member before the Committee meets to recommend its nominees to the Fellowship for election. Election ballots will be provided to all Fellows electronically in early August.

The Nominator's Checklist

What you'll need to submit a nomination!

  1. Tell your candidate that you plan to nominate them and include information about:
    1. The nomination process, including a telephone interview in May from a member of the Nominating Committee
    2. The rights and privileges of Fellows, including participation guidelines
    3. The requirements of Fellows, including annual dues of $500
  2. Start your online nomination (Start Here), you'll need:
    1. Your candidate's first name, last name, and personal email.
    2. The names of two seconding Fellows
    3. To be prepared to outline how your candidate contributes to a more diverse and robust Academy
    4. To be prepared to outline how your candidate will be involved in the Academy
  3. After submitting Nomination Step 1 online, check-in with your candidate to ensure they've received their account creation email from the Academy
  4. After submitting Nomination Step 1 online, check-in with your seconding Fellow(s) to make sure they received the notification email from the Academy
  5. Once you’ve been notified by email that your candidate has submitted their information, you have the opportunity to login and review the full nomination but it is not required.
  6. Celebrate the future of public service!
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Criteria for Election

What are the Academy's criteria for nominees?

The Academy Bylaws list several foundational qualifications that are essential for membership:

  • Substantial scholarly contribution to public administration and/or significant administrative experience with evidence of sufficiently broad interests and reflective nature;
  • Other significant experience (contributions) in public affairs with a special interest in public administration;
  • Demonstrated contributions to the advancement of public administration;
  • Adherence to the highest ethical standards;
  • Willingness and ability to contribute to the work of the Academy.

The Academy’s Board of Directors encourages all Fellows to exercise their right and privilege to nominate candidates for Fellowship in the Academy. The Board particularly encourages Fellows to expand their outreach and utilize their professional networks to find candidates that meet the characteristics outlined below as well as detailed in the by-sector characteristics of successful nominees.

Based on the Academy’s strategic plan, the Board prioritizes:
 

  • Individuals with knowledge, skills, abilities, experiences, and accomplishments that relate to one or more Grand Challenges in Public Administration especially those who have expertise in the roles artificial intelligence integration and governance in the public sector, the future of civil service, climate adaptation and environmental issues, intergovernmental partnerships or agile government.

All nominees should have a significant combination of the following skills and attributes:

  • Individuals who are extraordinary current or former federal, state, local, and international government practitioners at a leadership and/or executive level (e.g., members of the Federal Senior Executive Service or equivalent senior leadership level from state and local government such as, governor, legislator, mayor, city or county manager, department or agency head or senior level program administrator);
  • Individuals who are nonprofit, non-governmental or private sector leaders actively engaged in improving public policy and administration and who have served with demonstrated distinction;
  • Individuals aforementioned can demonstrate their expertise by:
    • Holding a high-level position in the organization; or
    • Demonstrating active participation or leadership roles in professional societies; or
    • Leading a policy accomplishment, for example: legislation, a program, or a study that was innovative and significant; or
    • Addressing a complex problem that involved bringing multiple parties, sectors, governments together; or
    • Significant professional recognition.
  • Prominent scholars in the U.S. and those who reside in countries other than the United States who have a record of distinguished contributions to research and theory of public administration.
  • Individuals with substantial and demonstrable experience putting together (as co director or co organizer) AND working on comparative governance activities (for example, research/ publication/ university program development/applied development projects), with counterparts in the U.S. and around the world.
  • Individuals with substantial comparative experience with the Grand Challenges for example climate adaptation with a focus on water with counterparts in the U.S. and around the world.

All candidates must be:

  • Individuals who will become actively involved in Academy activities including project panels, standing panels, committees, fundraising and special projects.

Frequently Asked Questions

April 30th for all information including your nominee’s part. Ideally, you complete your nomination a week before that deadline to allow your nominee to meet the April 30th deadline.

You must have two. You are the principal nominator and will need two additional Fellows as seconders

You cannot second your own nomination. You will not show up in the dropdown list when you go to nominate but you do show up in the dropdown for all other Fellows.

No. While we understand there may be numerous Fellows who wish to support a nomination, we need to limit the seconders to two.

They are not required but it is highly encouraged as it will only strengthen the nomination package.

Refer to the descriptions by sector and the Board focus areas in the call for nominations.

A member of the nominating committee will want to know about your nominee’s significant professional accomplishments, how much they know about the Academy and how they envision they will engage with the Academy. It would be helpful if your nominee reviewed the Academy’s website to understand more about the study process and ongoing strategic initiatives like the Grand Challenges.

The nominee will not be on the ballot to be voted upon. Likely the committee is looking for additional professional achievements and/or more willingness to engage with the Academy. We recommend getting your nominee more involved in the Academy’s initiatives.

While you can certainly reach to your colleagues to encourage them to vote, the Academy will not provide any lists of Fellows and does not endorse a mass mailing to Fellows to advocate for certain nominees.