2025-2026 Fellows Review

This year, as the United States commemorated its 250th anniversary, the mission of the Presidential Fellows Program felt more relevant than ever. Founded in 1970, the program emerged from a belief that firsthand exposure to the leaders and institutions that shape American public life could help strengthen long-term civic engagement. More than five decades later, that mission continues to guide our work. I continue to be inspired by our Fellows and their sincere commitment to understanding and addressing the complex issues facing our nation. The Presidential Fellows Program remains one of the most meaningful ways we can connect talented students with the leaders, institutions, and ideas shaping the future of America.

Over the course of the Fellowship, students participate in virtual discussions with leaders across sectors, conduct independent research, and deepen their understanding of American governance and public policy. The experience culminates in a week-long Leadership Conference in Washington, D.C., which this year centered on the nation's 250th anniversary. Highlights included a constitutional amendment simulation on Supreme Court term limits, as well as discussions on bipartisan leadership and fiscal responsibility with Senator Joe Manchin and presidential leadership in times of crisis with Ambassador John Negroponte and Thomas F. "Mack" McLarty. Fellows explored what the next 250 years may hold for communication, innovation, and foreign policy through conversations with experts from Brookings, Johns Hopkins, Johnson & Johnson, Reuters, and CNAS. Fellows also reflected on the nation's founding during a visit to Mount Vernon, heard remarks from Presidential Fellow alumnus and former Canadian MP Randy Boissonnault at the Alumni & Friends Reception, and concluded the week by honoring Representatives Don Bacon and Salud Carbajal at CSPC's Annual Awards Dinner.

The cornerstone of the program remains an independent research project on a topic of importance to the presidency or Congress. This year, in keeping with the 250th anniversary, each Fellow was also asked to frame their paper within that context, considering how their topic connects to the nation’s founding principles. In the pages that follow, we are proud to showcase the most outstanding papers produced by the 2025-2026 Fellows class. Of that group, I am pleased to recognize five Fellows who were honored earlier this year for their exemplary work:

William Wang (University of Toronto) was awarded the David M. Abshire Award for Most Outstanding Paper by an International Fellow for his paper titled, “The Effect of Executive Orders on Presidential Legislative Success from Clinton to Trump.”

Josephine Balistreri (Georgetown University) was awarded the Donald B. Marron Award for Best Historical Analysis for her paper entitled, “Founding Fevers: Executive Authority in Early Public Health Crises.”

Ryan McGoff (Princeton University SPIA) was awarded the Richard H. Solomon Award for the Most Original Paper on Foreign Policy or Diplomacy for his paper, “Constitutional Equilibrium in Foreign Affairs: Executive Power and Congressional Delegation Under Bush and Obama (2001–2017).”

Evelyn Heath (Northwestern University) was awarded the James R. Moffett Award for Most Original Paper on the Modern Presidency or Congress for her paper titled, “What Is the Second Step: A Reflection of the First Step Act and Assessing What Should Follow.”

Daria Synelnykova (University of Toronto) was awarded the Robert A. Kilmarx Award for Best Military, Intelligence, or Advanced Technology Analysis for her paper titled, “Leveraging Ukraine’s Wartime Defense-Technology Ecosystem to Strengthen U.S. Strategic Superiority in Drones, Electronic Warfare, and Digital Military Systems.”

These five papers, along with the others in this collection, reflect the quality of research the Presidential Fellows Program continues to produce. Congratulations to the entire 2025-2026 class on completing the program. We are grateful to our Fellowship sponsors and partner colleges and universities for their generous and continued support of the program. Finally, I would like to thank the Center’s interns, Isabelle Deng, Lily McAfee, Kaiana Kotero, and Carolina Viera for their hard work on this year’s Fellows Review. Their contributions to this publication have been invaluable.

Glenn C. Nye III

President & CEO

Center for the Study of the Presidency and Congress