Wilson Selected for Prestigious CSG Henry Toll Fellowship
Forty-nine outstanding state leaders selected to join national leadership development program for government officials
LEXINGTON, Ky. (Aug. 12, 2024) — The Council of State Governments has announced that Sen. Claire Wilson (D-Auburn) has been selected to participate in the 2024 CSG Henry Toll Fellowship. Bringing together 49 individuals representing 34 states and U.S. territories and all three branches of state government, the Henry Toll Fellowship is the nation’s premier leadership development program for state government officials.
“This comes as an incredibly pleasant surprise,” said Wilson. “I am humbled to have been selected as a 2024 Henry Toll Fellow and excited to embark on this journey joining the ranks of enigmatic leaders who have come before me. As community members I think lawmakers are always looking for ways to give back. The Henry Toll Fellows I have worked alongside have always had a sharpened sense of how to do that.”
Since 1986, CSG has annually convened a new class of CSG Henry Toll Fellows at its national headquarters in Lexington, Kentucky, for an intensive leadership boot camp. The program’s sessions are designed to stimulate personal assessment and growth, empower leaders to collaborate and communicate more effectively, and provide nonpartisan networking and relationship-building opportunities.
“While the CSG Henry Toll Fellows come from every region of our nation, from both political parties and all three branches of state government, they share one thing in common — they are all committed to improving the lives of the people they serve,” said CSG Executive Director/CEO David Adkins, a former Kansas state senator and 1993 CSG Henry Toll Fellow alumnus. “Toll Fellows are selected based on their demonstrated commitment to solve problems, to work collaboratively to get things done, and their belief that state government can and must be a force for good.”
Toll Fellows are nominated by their peers and selected by alumni of the program.
“The selection committee looks for leaders who have already demonstrated excellence in public service but who also show promise for continuing to make a difference in the future,” Adkins said.
The Toll Fellowship honors the founder of CSG, Henry Toll, who, as a former state senator from Colorado, was the driving force behind the creation of CSG in 1933.
“The Toll Fellows program brings together leading voices from across the country for conversation and shared experiences. While each cohort begins their journey with us in Lexington, the relationships and connections are forged for life,” said Lorna Patches, CSG director of leadership development. “We’re looking forward to growing the Toll Fellowship community.”
There are over 1,400 graduates of the Toll Fellowship, including four sitting state/territorial house speakers, eight sitting state supreme court justices, 10 sitting members of Congress, three sitting governors and more than 200 Toll alumni currently serving as state/territorial legislators. For more information on the CSG Henry Toll Fellowship, visit: csgovts.info/tolls24 or email toll@csg.org.
About The Council of State Governments
The Council of State Governments is our nation’s only organization serving all three branches of state government. CSG is a region-based forum that fosters the exchange of insights and ideas to help state officials shape public policy. This offers unparalleled regional, national and international opportunities to network, develop leaders, collaborate and create problem-solving partnerships. For more information about The Council of State Governments, visit csg.org.
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