Nomination and applications for the 2025 Minnesota and National Young American Leaders Program (MYALP and YALP) are officially open! Nominations are due October 15th, and applications are due on November 7th.
Since 2015, the Itasca Project has sent cohorts of ten rising leaders to Harvard Business School (HBS) for the Young American Leaders Program. In 2019, the Itasca Project partnered with the University of Minnesota’s Center for Integrative Leadership to create the Minnesota Young American Leaders Program, which is inspired by the national Young American Leaders Program. The two Programs share themes, as well as selected faculty and content. There is no cost to attend either Program. Both focus on the US and regional competitiveness, shared prosperity, and cross-sector collaborations; both Programs seek to create relationships among civically focused rising leaders in our region and state.
Minnesota YALP – Launched in 2019 out of a partnership between the Itasca Project, University of Minnesota’s Center for Integrative Leadership, and Harvard Business School, MYALP convenes every May and brings together leaders from six regions across the state of Minnesota, specifically from Greater Fargo-Moorhead, Greater Mankato, Greater Minneapolis-St. Paul, Greater Rochester, Greater St. Cloud, and Northeast MN. MYALP 2025 will take place Sunday, May 18 to Wednesday, May 21, 2025 at the University of Minnesota, Twin Cities campus.
Each region has its own local lead selection organization who distributes the call for nominations and coordinates the selection process. Our regional selection partners are:
- Greater Fargo-Moorhead: Downtown Moorhead, Inc.
- Greater Mankato: Greater Mankato Growth
- Greater Minneapolis-St. Paul: The Itasca Project
- Greater Rochester: Destination Medical Center
- Greater St. Cloud: Greater St. Cloud Development Corporation
- Northeast MN: Northland Foundation
National YALP – Launched in 2015 out of Harvard’s US Competitiveness Project and convening every June, YALP brings together 10 leaders from each of 14 cities across the country, throwing them into a full-on, nonstop HBS experience, from case discussions to speaker presentations to whiteboard sessions that ask participants to collaborate on solutions to a target issue their city is facing. Cohorts gain insight into where America and American cities stand today, understand models for cross-sector collaborations, learn personal lessons about collaborative leadership, and City Sessions that envision future collaborations in one’s hometowns. YALP 2025 will take place Tuesday, June 24 to Friday, June 27, 2025 at HBS in Boston. Only nominees from the Minneapolis-St. Paul region are able to apply to the national Young American Leaders Program due to the nature and requirements of the Program.
Participating Cities
Participating cities include:
Birmingham
Boston
Chattanooga
Columbus
Detroit
Miami
Milwaukee
Minneapolis – St. Paul
Nashville
Pittsburgh
Salt Lake City
San Antonio
San Jose
Seattle
Selection Partners
Selections is led by the Itasca Project.
Nomination & Application Information
We welcome nominees who live or work in the Minneapolis-St. Paul area to fill out the joint application form for the Minnesota and national Programs. There is a unified selection process for the MSP cohorts for these locations. The application asks nominees whether (and why) they are more interested in connections with other rising leaders across Minnesota or across the U.S. and whether they have a program location preference. We create balance cohorts for each Program and cannot guarantee that applicants will be offered their first-choice program.
As you think about nominations or encourage others to apply, keep in mind that we are seeking high potential individuals who:
- Have a minimum of 7 years full-time professional work experience, including one or more of the following:
- Experience leading five or more other people comprising a function, working group, committee, task force, department, division, or organization
- Experience leading a cross-organizational, cross-divisional, or cross-departmental process
- Experience representing an organization, constituency, geography or community in a multi-stakeholder initiative, process, or body
- Designation by their organization as a “high potential” employee (or similar designation reflecting assessment as someone who has the ability, commitment, and motivation to succeed in more senior positions in the organization)
- Have an interest and/or demonstrated experience in all of the following activities:
- Collaborating across the for-profit cross the for-profit, government, and non-profit sectors for the good of their city, state, or region
- Working across differences such as race, profession, political perspective, and sector
- Making time available on an ongoing basis to collaborate with other leaders for public good
Once nominated, Itasca Project staff will reach out to the nominees to confirm their interest, provide them with more information about the Program(s), and the application to apply. Nominees will be notified who nominated them for the Program, as well as what you feel the person would contribute or gain from the Program. Those interested in applying must be willing to commit to attending the entirety of the Program. Nominees will then complete a short application. The selection committee for each region will work to select a balanced cohort that represents the rich and particular diversity of our region and state. We plan to have cohorts identified by mid-February 2025.
Upcoming Info-session
We are looking forward to hosting MYALP & YALP information session on Thursday October 10th. Please share with your network and join the Itasca Project and the University of Minnesota’s Center for Integrative Leadership as we discuss MYALP & YALP details, deadlines, and answer any questions you may have about this year’s upcoming Programs.
· 12-12:30p: MYALP & YALP (Minneapolis-St. Paul Applicants & Nominators) – Register HERE
· 12:30-1p: MYALP (Greater MN Applicants & Nominators) – Register HERE
Nominations will be due October 15th. Please submit your nomination using this form.
Applications will be due on November 7th. Please submit your application using this form.
For more information, please visit the MYALP website or the Harvard Business School’s US Competitiveness page.
