The fifth cohort of fellows, drawn from five Harvard graduate schools, will spend two years inside city hall teams, working across departments and sectors to advance mayoral priorities and improve daily life for residents 

September 17, 2026, Cambridge, Massachusetts—The Bloomberg Harvard City Leadership Initiative, a program of the Bloomberg Center for Cities at Harvard University, has named twenty recent graduates of Harvard graduate schools to its fifth class of Bloomberg Harvard City Hall Fellows. The fully funded fellowship places early-career leaders in city halls in the US and internationally to build capabilities city governments need and to accelerate progress on the problems residents feel most.

The 2026–2028 fellows arrive with training in public policy, education, urban planning, design, law, and public administration. Fellows’ assignments are designed to be highly collaborative across departments, sectors, or jurisdictional lines—reflecting that many of cities’ most challenging problems must be addressed by multiple agencies and actors.

Each Bloomberg Harvard City Hall Fellowship is anchored by a priority identified by the host city, which has participated in the Initiative’s flagship leadership development program for mayors and senior city officials. Over two years, fellows work in full-time roles inside city government to advance priorities such as opening a regional homeless shelter, preserving affordable housing, streamlining permitting, connecting workers to jobs, using data to reduce violence, and tying budgets more transparently to outcomes for residents. Along the way, they help strengthen the systems, tools, and relationships city halls can continue using long after the fellowship ends.

This year’s group includes Renca, Chile, the first post-graduate fellowship placement outside the United States.

“As the fifth cohort takes up their posts, I’m struck by the caliber of this group and the commitment, expertise, and drive they are bringing. They are poised to help their cities innovate and bring people together to solve problems — across departments, with outside partners, and alongside residents,” said Snapper Poche, Program Director of City Support for the Bloomberg Harvard City Leadership Initiative.

“Fellows help cities deliver significant results, and nearly 60% of fellowship program alumni are currently continuing to serve in local government or public sector-adjacent roles. The challenges waiting for this fifth cohort are among the hardest cities face, yet I am confident they will build on existing work and leave their city halls with tangible solutions and better approaches long after their fellowship terms end.”

Fellows also participate in cohort-based learning with Harvard faculty, engaging with elements of the same leadership curriculum studied by the mayors they serve and applying those lessons directly to their work in city hall. The combination of hands-on experience, structured learning, and peer support is designed to prepare fellows not only to contribute during their two-year placements, but to build the skills and relationships for longer-term careers in local government.

Fellows in prior cohorts have worked with cities to reduce gun violence, create novel financing tools for building affordable housing, put climate resilience measures in place, heal pain points in government service delivery, strengthen local economic development, and revitalize underserved neighborhoods. This cohort continues that work, bringing expertise from five Harvard schools: Harvard Kennedy School, Harvard Graduate School of Education, Harvard Graduate School of Design, Harvard Law School, and Harvard Divinity School.

Fellows receive a competitive salary and benefits throughout the two-year fellowship. Applications for the next cohort open each spring semester to students in Harvard master’s and professional degree programs. Visit the Bloomberg Harvard City Hall Fellowships page for more information.