The Class of 2015 Toll Fellows represents 33 states and Puerto Rico, with 35 serving in the legislative branch, four serving in the judiciary and nine hailing from the executive. A nine-member committee of state leaders, many who are Toll Fellows themselves, reviewed a record number of applications to select the class.
Named for CSG founder Henry Wolcott Toll, the Toll Fellowship program is one of the nation’s premier leadership development programs for state government officials. Each year, the program brings 48 of the nation’s top officials from all three branches of state government to Lexington, Ky., for an intensive six-day, five-night intellectual boot camp.
“I applied to expand my personal knowledge in leadership and team-building skills,” Phillips said. “Governing in today’s political environment requires leaders willing to find solutions by interacting with competing interest groups. These politically charged situations, where common ground appears elusive and consensus building is difficult due to controversial public policy, require capable and competent leadership.”
The program’s agenda includes a lineup of dynamic speakers and sessions designed to stimulate personal assessment and growth, while providing priceless networking and relationship-building opportunities. While each year’s program is unique, previous programs have included sessions on leadership personality assessment, media training, crisis management, appreciative inquiry, adaptive leadership and much more.
“The Toll Fellowship remains the oldest and most prestigious of all leadership development programs for elected officials,” said David Adkins, CSG’s executive director/CEO. “Its impact is profound and its quality is renowned. As a Toll Fellow from 1993, I know first hand the impact the program has on elected officials.”
Adkins was a 1993 Toll Fellow when he served as a Kansas state representative.
Toll Fellows alumni include U.S. Rep. John Carney, a former Delaware lieutenant governor; former U.S. Rep. Colleen Hanabusa, a former Hawaii state Senate president; U.S. Rep. Todd Rokita, a former Indiana secretary of state; former North Carolina Gov. Beverly Perdue and former U.S. Labor Secretary Hilda Solis.
Phillips said the program will help him collaborate with others and tackle the issues facing Kansas.
“New leaders need to be trained on how to best help guide our government in new critical thinking,” he said. “The advancements in technology, medicine, agriculture, transportation and energy are creating a new future for our society. Yet our government is relying on inflexible institutions or more layers of government regulations to adapt to these innovations and marketplace changes. In my view, we need leaders who understand these macro-shifts and are capable of guiding government to better serve our citizens.”
