Harvard Kennedy School Students Embrace Transitions

HKS’ Taubman Center for State and Local Government Helps Students Experience On-The-Ground Transitioning Administrations 

While the presidential election is dominating the airwaves, the Taubman Center is looking down ballot at our nation’s incoming leaders. State and local leadership plays a pivotal role in government due to its direct impact on residents' daily lives. Governors, county executives, and mayors are intimately familiar with the unique needs, challenges, and aspirations of their constituents, enabling them to craft policies and allocate resources effectively. From managing education and healthcare systems to infrastructure development and emergency response, state and local leaders are at the forefront of addressing issues that directly affect the well-being of their communities.   

Over the past six Januarys, our students have experienced that firsthand. During J-Term, teams of Harvard Kennedy School students get their first taste of local government in its most vulnerable and malleable state – the first days of a new administration. Armed with HKS training, their own skillsets, and their lived experiences, our students descend into city halls, governors’ offices, and county executives’ seats across the country.  

Since 2018, 194 Transition Term students have supported 65 newly elected governors, county executives, and mayors throughout the country. Cohorts have served in communities as varied as Hawaii, Ogden, Utah, Miami-Dade County, Florida, Puerto Rico, Maine and Cuyahoga County, Ohio. Whether the challenge is benchmarking peer cities’ approaches from issues like reducing high school dropout rates to hosting signature music festivals, writing policy memos on affordable housing trusts or sustainability frameworks, or mapping out the first 100 days of their newly fledged governments, our students have been up to the challenge.

 "I was really excited serving local government before Transition Term but even more excited now," said AY 23-24 Transition Term Research Assistant, Philadelphia cohort member, and Masters of Public Policy ’25 student Ella Hanson. "I think it's exciting to see how city government works in different parts of the country. People working in city government are equally excited about serving their communities, learning from other cities across the country, and implementing best practices to serve their residents though the best that they can." While serving in Mayor Cherelle Parker's administration during Transition Term, Ella and her teammates Elisia Ceballo-Countryman MBA/MPP '26 and Hilary Greenberg MBA/MPA '25 developed an implementation tracker for Philly's licensing and inspection task force, wrote a memo setting up the Mayor's Office of Legislative Affairs, and drafted job descriptions. 

 State and local leaders serve as a crucial link between the federal government and local communities, ensuring that policies are tailored to suit diverse regional contexts and fostering greater accountability and responsiveness in governance. Through their proximity to the people they serve, state and local leaders can forge strong partnerships, promote civic engagement, and drive positive change at the grassroots level, ultimately contributing to the overall strength and resilience of the nation's democratic system.

 For Masters of Public Administration ‘25 student Justin Flynn, he saw that grassroots mindset at work when Durham, North Carolina Mayor Leonardo William pulled from his pre-mayoral backgrounds as an educator and restaurant owner when visiting one of the city's largest high schools. "We felt that he was at his complete mastery when seeing him in City Hall engaging with his other City Council members and running the City Hall meeting. And then he had that same level of comfort walking into a room full of 16-year-olds and getting their attention and also leaving them with some motivation to kind of continue along their path of educational success." Justin and his teammates Mary Treacy MPP '25 and Tuan Ho MC/MPA '24 expanded the mayor’s master plan by setting a course for the next 100 days, 2 years, and a decade ahead. 

 For students considering Transition Term, our program alumni encourage embracing uncertainty and curiosity, taking coursework on budgeting and data analysis, reading local news outlets to learn about state and local issues, and preparing to fully immerse yourself in this new experience and community. 

 For newly elected state and local leaders, Transition Term provides support at a time when these administrations are most in need of extra capacity. The Taubman Center matches teams of HKS students with new administrations participating in Transition Term each November following state and local elections. By Thanksgiving, teams of students will be selected and preparing for the work ahead in January. 

This year, there will be a minimum of eight gubernatorial transitions and many dozens more for new county executives and mayors throughout the United States. Transitions can be uncertain times, but they are crucial for building momentum and good governance at all levels of government. With the Transition Term program, the Taubman Center helps state and local leaders start their early weeks of governing from a position of strength with nonpartisan support and high quality technical assistance. 

 We are actively recruiting new state and local administrations to host Transition Term teams this January. If you know of any candidates running for governor, county executive, or mayor who might be interested in getting transition support from HKS students through Transition Term, please contact Taubman Center Director of Government Engagement Amy Mahler at amymahler@hks.harvard.edu or 561-676-4741 by November 13, 2024.