U.S. Leadership Accelerator FAQs
Considering applying to the U.S. Leadership Accelerator? Here are answers to the most commonly asked questions about joining our community of leaders.
Considering applying to the U.S. Leadership Accelerator? Here are answers to the most commonly asked questions about joining our community of leaders.
You must:
Yes! The leadership accelerator is designed to be done alongside your full time position. In fact, it is a eligibility requirement to be in a full-time non-clinical public health role when applying. Content is designed for real-world application, and workshops and learnings will take place during your work day. We encourage you to have a conversation with your supervisor to see if the fellowship is the right fit for you.
We hope that fellows stay with the same organization for the duration of the fellowship. If you are expecting to transition out of your current workplace (e.g. to pursue a full-time graduate program or a new job) within the next year, please apply to the U.S. Leadership Accelerator during a future cycle.
Our program is intended to enable fellows with resources and insights they can apply immediately, followed by opportunities for reflection and learning. We also expect to leverage fellows’ supervisors for insights and support during the duration of the program.
That said, we know that unexpected transitions happen and we’ll work closely with fellows who transition out of their current workplace to determine whether it makes sense for them to continue in the fellowship community or not. That will be determined on a case-by-case basis, considering fellows’ new opportunity, their capacity, and their ability to fully engage with the program.
Onboarding to a new organization is an intensive activity. We want to ensure that fellows have the capacity to fully engage with the fellowship. Furthermore, we want to ensure that fellows have had time to build strong relationships with their supervisor and peers, in order to gain useful feedback from them during the fellowship, and support to apply new tools and insights as a result of their participation in the program.
Being in the fellowship is a time commitment. Fellows are expected to commit to mandatory 3 hour virtual monthly workshops that may overlap with the working day, 1-2 hours of additional asynchronous learning a month, 1 hour small group sessions monthly, as well as two in-person retreats throughout the year. If you are unable to make this commitment at this time, we recommend applying to a future program cycle.
Non-clinical refers to public health work that does not involve providing direct medical care to patients.
Not Eligible: Clinical roles or work involving direct patient care, such as the work of physicians, nurses, PAs, midwives, or other positions responsible for diagnosis, treatment, or clinical services delivery.
Eligible: Roles focused on policy, program design and implementation, research, advocacy, management, data analysis, communications, systems strengthening, etc.
With the anticipated departure of a significant percentage of the public health workforce over the next five years, there is an urgent need to prepare existing leaders who will soon move into managerial and executive roles. These leaders will be critical in training and retaining new staff and building a fit-for-purpose public health workforce.
Public health is defined by The American Public Health Association as efforts to promote and protect the health of people and the communities where they live, learn, work and play. While public health typically refers to study or practice with a specific population focus, global health centers focus on collaborative efforts towards achieving health equity for all people. Health inequities are not isolated experiences, and our local public health efforts contribute to accomplishing health equity globally.
There is no direct cost to fellows! Travel to retreat locations, lodging costs, and most meals for the in-person retreats will be covered by GHC. We do encourage organizations to sponsor their fellows on a sliding scale – this allows for continued support of the fellowship.
Employers are invited to make a voluntary cost-share contribution to support the fellowship, guided by a suggested sliding scale based on organizational budget; contributions are encouraged but not required for fellows to be accepted into the fellowship. Program staff will follow up during the application process.
Employers and supervisors are also encouraged to support fellows by allowing time to participate in fellowship activities (monthly workshops, retreats, etc.) and apply learnings in their work and the fellows’ own professional goals.
Cohorts are designed to maximize individual learning and grow the networks of our fellows. The typical cohort size is 25-50 fellows.
The fellowship is designed to be a hybrid approach, with monthly virtual learnings and connection opportunities, and two in-person retreats throughout the program year.
No, you will receive online access to all necessary class materials to prepare for each class. You may print materials if you would like.
We understand that fellows occasionally have unavoidable conflicts with training sessions. However, attendance to all workshops and retreats is mandatory. A detailed program calendar is shared prior to fellowship start. We have seen time and again how integral attendance is to the learning experience of fellows and the cohort as a whole. That said, in some cases, we can work with you to make up select missed workshops given advance notice.
On average, 2-4 hours.You can expect to spend 1-2 hours preparing for the monthly training, primarily reading articles and completing prep work that will be incorporated into workshops, shared in advance of workshops. You will also have one 1-2 hours self- scheduled virtual gathering in a small group of co-fellows monthly.
We’re working on introducing more co-learning opportunities for U.S. and Africa fellows. Given the variance in time zones and many conflicting schedules, this can sometimes prove to be difficult. We do encourage fellows to proactively connect with Africa fellows on platforms like LinkedIn and GHC Connect. GHC staff are available to make introductions should there be a fellow doing work you’re interested in learning more about.
The co-fellow model was a fundamental aspect of the previous GHC fellowship experience.
Now, fellows will be in small pod groups (3-5 fellows each), across multiple lines of difference (e.g. gender, geography, race/ethnicity, sector). This design creates opportunities for learning through multiple lenses.
In order for your application to be considered complete, your supervisor must submit a letter of recommendation. From there, a panel of GHC staff, fellows, and alumni review applications and select finalists for interviews, which will take place in May 2026.
All applicants can expect to hear back about the status of their application by June 30, 2026.
No, unfortunately, we won’t be able to allow deferrals; however, you are welcome to apply to future cohorts as long as you continue to meet the eligibility requirements.
You can begin to prepare your application ahead of the opening of the application period! To view a sample of the U.S. Fellowship Application, click here.
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