National Urban Fellows renews agreement with McCourt School for another 10 years

Five years ago, National Urban Fellows (NUF) celebrated its 50th anniversary. “We were thinking a lot about the policy issues affecting the most marginalized communities and what skills we needed for the next 50 years,” said Lisa Rawlings, NUF president and CEO.

The McCourt School of Public Policy emerged as the ideal new partner to help NUF address those concerns, both because of its Master of Policy Management (MPM) degree and Georgetown’s shared commitments to social justice, service to others and strengthening the pipeline of diverse public sector leaders. “It seemed like a really good fit,” said Rawlings of the partnership.

In August 2024, NUF renewed its agreement to make McCourt home for its flagship academic and leadership development program for the next 10 years.

Born of the Civil Rights Movement, NUF is a talent accelerator for early to mid-career professionals — particularly women and people of color — to become leaders in the public sector. There are nearly 2,000 NUF alumni nationwide, and most are the first in their families to earn a college or advanced degree. 

For decades, Fellows earned a Master of Public Administration degree. “It was a great degree, but we wanted to bring in the policy component,” said Rawlings. So, NUF worked with McCourt to create a customized MPM curriculum for NUF , which provides Fellows with the management tools to understand the nuances of policy, as well as the analytical tools and economic and sociological theories behind policy discussions.

“To be a changemaker, you need the right language to speak to the people who hold positions of power,” said Nuku Ofori, associate faculty director of the MPM and National Urban Fellows programs. “The addition of the Fellows to the McCourt community strengthens our shared mission to train leaders who use evidenced-based solutions to create inclusive communities, intellectual openness and common understanding.”

NUF and McCourt collaborate closely on the selection process. Candidates must meet the requirements for the MPM program , including a minimum of five years of substantive work experience, though most have 10. Selected Fellows receive a full-tuition scholarship from the McCourt School.

NUF and the McCourt School also work together to prepare the Fellows throughout the 14-month program. There are two summer semesters, during which Fellows take classes such as research methods and economic policy analysis at the McCourt School’s new building in downtown Washington, DC, with a nine-month mentorship placement at a partner organization in between. NUF staff provide ongoing training and coaching around racial equity and leadership. “The hybrid approach equips graduates with the tools they need to be more effective in making an impact, from whatever angle they come from,” said Rawlings.

In 2024, 18 Fellows graduated, and another group of 20 will graduate in 2025. Looking back on her decision to partner with McCourt, Rawlings said “it feels good to look around and know it was the right call.”

“The partnership developed into what we hoped for in 2019 —  a mutually respectful relationship where we share the same desires, goals and approaches, and where we work side by side to prepare the Fellows to become powerful change agents,” said Rawlings.