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The Mandela Washington Fellows at Dartmouth

  • The 2016 Mandela Washington Fellows at Dartmouth College.

  • Many Fellows return home and create opportunities for Dartmouth undergraduates, graduate students, and post-graduates to intern in their business ventures.

  • The focus of Whit Mitchell's session is “Uncovering Your Strengths.” 

  • Dr. Gama Perruci, Dean of the McDonough Center for Leadership and Business at Marietta College, leads a session on "Leadership in Context."

In April of 2013, President Obama announced the creation of the Young African Leaders Initiative (YALI) during his visit to Africa. The program, now known as the “Mandela Washington Fellowship,” is overseen by the U.S. State Department and the International Research & Exchanges Board (IREX) and over 1000 young African leaders have participated so far.

The goals of the Mandela Washington Fellowship are:

  •     build and sustain a network of young Sub-Saharan leaders
  •     strengthen ties between Sub-Saharan Africa and the United States
  •     prepare Fellows for future leadership opportunities in Africa

Each summer colleges and universities across the country host 25 Fellows for a six-week course that provides leadership training, academic coursework, and mentoring in one of three areas: business and entrepreneurship, civic leadership, and public management.

This will be Dartmouth’s third summer as a host and the program is a collaboration of the following departments: The Dickey Center for International Understanding, the Nelson A. Rockefeller Center for Public Policy and the Social Sciences, the Dartmouth Center for Service, the Thayer School of Engineering, the Outdoor Programs Office, and the Dartmouth Entrepreneurial Network (DEN).


Dartmouth’s YALI program incorporates two academic portions— an intensive design-thinking workshop and an entrepreneurship course. The Rockefeller Center supplements the classroom work with sessions on leadership, mentoring, networking, and professional opportunities.

Read individual accounts of Fellow's experiences during their time at Dartmouth. Many Fellows return home and create opportunities for Dartmouth undergraduates, graduate students, and post-graduates to intern in their business ventures. Click here for more information on the opportunities provided during Dartmouth's 2014-15 Academic Year.