Michigan Leadership Fellows Program

Leveraging mentoring, coaching, and action research to expand leadership capacity toward principalship and district leadership.

***APPLICATION FOR COHORT 3 IS NOW OPEN*** 

Michigan Leadership Fellows share their experiences and why they value the Fellowship program.
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Hi, my name is Jason Henan.

Hello, I am Jessica Garber.

Greetings, all. My name is Sydney Bailey IV.

Hello, my name is Zach McIntosh.

My name is Gina Schmid.

One of the biggest takeaways that I have had is the opportunity to connect with multiple administrators from throughout the state of Michigan. This not only develops you as a leader yourself, but it also allows you to broaden your perspective on different styles of leadership.

I find the trainings, resources, conferences and just the monthly dialogue invaluable for a profession that doesn’t always get a lot of time to reflect.

It’s always great to be able to talk to others who are going through things similar to you who may not be in the same space that you are in.

Additionally, the fellowship has equipped us with the knowledge and insights necessary to advance toward the principalship and foster our professional growth and development.

It also became a network of people that I can reach out to, and it lets you learn new tricks of the trade and put more tools in your toolbox to help you lead a successful building.

This program puts an intentional effort not only into growing you as a leader, but also as a person. The work that we’ve done around leadership styles, learning styles and equity-focused work has been incredibly valuable.

I cannot tell you how beneficial these relationships are going to be to your career. If you’re thinking about it, I would absolutely fill out the form to be a part of it because it will impact your job in ways that other professional development has not.


Application for Cohort 4 will open in the Fall of 2026

The Michigan Leadership Fellows is a collaboration between Michigan College Access Network (MCAN) and Michigan Association of Secondary School Principals (MASSP) designed to create a pipeline of future principals who are equity-minded, transformative leaders who will advance postsecondary educational access and success. This 18-month project-based fellowship is grounded in the 4 Dimensions of Leadership from the Center for Educational Leadership (CEL) to address overarching questions of how school leadership can ensure equitable postsecondary education opportunities for all Michigan students.

  • Application opens October 20, 2025, and closes November 24, 2025. 
  • The third cohort will be notified by December 19, 2025. 
  • The fellowship will begin in January 2026 and conclude in June 2027.

Download Michigan’s Leadership for Equity and Transformation AP Fellows Executive Summary.