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A Growing Community of Purpose-Driven Leaders
This autumn, the University of Chicago Leadership & Society Initiative (LSI) introduces its next cohorts of Fellows, now reflecting two distinctive Fellowship pathways. The fellowship drew unprecedented interest with more than 800 leaders seeking to join the LSI community through the Design and Imagine Pathways. The selected Fellows join a vibrant and expanding community of changemakers who are redefining what it means to lead with purpose and to create meaningful next chapters for themselves and for society.
“The growing interest in LSI reflects a powerful movement of leaders committed to shaping society well beyond traditional career timelines,” said Seth Green, Dean of the University of Chicago Graham School. “Our Fellows are redefining what leadership can mean in life’s second half—harnessing their expertise, ingenuity, and networks to lead purposefully and drive meaningful impact.”
The LSI Design Pathway: Welcoming the Third Cohort
In September, the Leadership & Society Initiative will bring together twenty-two accomplished leaders into the Design Pathway to embark on a liberal arts learning journey to reconnect with their core values, discern where they experience purposefulness, and chart a course for aligning their unique talents with opportunities to contribute to societal needs.
The 2025-2026 Fellows embody a unique convergence of leaders from across industries and sectors—healthcare, financial services, technology, law, consulting, education, manufacturing, philanthropy, and beyond. Together, they represent centuries of executive distinction and innovation, with experiences ranging from corporate boardrooms to grassroots community efforts. They have driven transformation in finance, biotechnology, architecture, academia, cybersecurity, public policy, and the arts. They have guided complex Fortune 500 companies through moments of transition, founded and grown companies, shaped public discourse, influenced policy, and advanced social and environmental impact on a global scale. Their collective achievements reflect a shared dedication to driving progress, developing innovative solutions, and transforming the systems that shape our world.
With support from distinguished faculty and individualized advisors, as well as their peers, Fellows will generate groundbreaking ideas for their future. Through a mutli-disciplinary curriculum, balancing theoretical concepts and practical applications, Fellows are challenged to interrogate different perceptions of leading a good life, being an effective leader, and advancing a healthy and just society, while integrating their reflections into a personalized plan for a next chapter characterized by enduring growth, meaningful relationships, and societal contribution. The experience will culminate with each LSI Fellow developing a Next Chapter Roadmap that lays out their approach for a fulfilling next chapter.
The LSI Imagine Pathway: A New Chapter Begins
This year also marks the launch of the inaugural Imagine Pathway, beginning in January. Thirty accomplished leaders have been admitted, with final Fellows now being selected as the cohort approaches full capacity. Designed for leaders who remain deeply engaged in their day-to-day responsibilities, the Imagine Pathway provides curated moments of pause and reflection to envision deepened purpose and contribution to the wider world in the next phase of life.
Meeting quarterly, Imagine Fellows explore their intrinsic motivations, consider the nexus of their strengths and passions, and explore projections for future demographics, economics, geopolitics, and more to inform their priorities and how they envision a sense of purpose in their current roles and their next stage. Through structured reflection, peer learning, and engagement with eminent faculty, they gain the clarity and confidence to navigate future opportunities best aligned with their values and aspirations for societal contribution.
Spanning industries such as healthcare, education, finance, technology, life sciences, law, and international development, the distinguished group of incoming Imagine Fellows reflect a wide spectrum of leadership acumen and executive distinction. Its members have led major corporations, driven innovation in global enterprises, guided prominent educational institutions, and overseen complex civic organizations. Representing many countries, and more than a dozen U.S. states, they bring a depth of global leadership experience and a diversity of perspectives that will enrich the classroom dialogue and broaden the impact of the Initiative.
“We know the most powerful element of this learning journey is going through it alongside purpose-driven peers,” said Diana Petty, Executive Director of the Leadership & Society Initiative. “LSI’s expansion to two Fellowship Pathways allows more leaders to accelerate their future planning through the power of a cohort, and we believe this growing network of accomplished leaders will create a flywheel effect for amplifying their collective contributions to society ahead.”
The LSI Activate Pathway: Turning Purpose into Action
We are also proud to welcome back six LSI Fellows into the Activate Pathway, who are advancing the Next Chapter Roadmaps they created in previous cohorts: Constance Filling, Ray Stainback, Pamela Narins, M. von Nkosi, Kurt Cherry, and Kat Klingenberg. Through ongoing engagement with UChicago resources and customized curriculum, these Fellows are beginning to implement their visions and bring their ideas from concept to reality across media and the arts, community development, nature-based health interventions, and aligning business investments with a sustainable future.
The 2025–2026 Fellows represent the momentum of a growing community and the possibilities they will unlock together. Please join us in congratulating our newest cohort as they imagine, design, and activate purposeful next chapters. To learn more about the new LSI cohorts please view our current Fellows page.
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