Outreach

Empowering the Next Generation of Public Leaders at Rutgers-Newark

By Briana Huett

With the upcoming 250th anniversary of American independence, many have been reflecting on the evolving role of government in individuals’ everyday lives. Because our most pressing public problems are becoming increasingly complex and interconnected, it has become clear that government cannot address them alone.

Understanding this reality, universities across the country have begun reassessing how they can prepare the next generation of public-facing leaders across the public, nonprofit, and private sectors. For Rutgers School of Public Affairs and Administration (SPAA), this has led to the creation of the Next Generation Leadership Academy (NextGen Leadership), a multi-year undergraduate leadership development program that launched in Fall 2025. 

NextGen Leadership joins a national network of 28 universities across 21 states that together seek to inspire and prepare students to serve their communities and the nation by building practical, collaborative leadership skills. 
Created by the Volcker Alliance, the network currently involves over 1,500 students (and over 950 alumni) that engage in cross-university peer networking; exclusive government, nonprofit, and private internships; and national programming. 

While part of this network, however, NextGen Leadership is tailored specifically to RU–N students and the Newark community. Students from all majors experience the program as a cohort, where together they engage in exclusive programming focused on exposing them to current community challenges from different stakeholder perspectives, as well as successful and ongoing cross-sector collaborations between Newark and New Jersey government agencies, nonprofit organizations, and private companies. 

Through these experiences – coupled with those offered through the national NextGen network – NextGen students learn to identify and develop leadership skills necessary for creating collaborative solutions, all while being mentored by effective community leaders to help prepare them for their future careers.

The inaugural NextGen Leadership cohort included 11 RU-N undergraduates:

  • Joseph Bashore (Winter ’26)
  • Janae Brownridge (Spring ’29)
  • Danny Carmona (Spring ’27)
  • Joey Cortez (Spring ’28)
  • Gabriella De La Lanza Banos (Spring ’27)
  •  Dija Janneh (Spring ’28)
  •  Emily Jiang (Winter ’26)
  •  Isaiah Jordan (Spring ’26)
  •  Ayesha Khan (Spring ’27)
  •  Marielena Perla (Spring ’29)
  •  Mia Vasquez (Spring ’28)

During their time in the program, these students:

  • Earn a minor or certificate in Public Leadership;
  • Complete two internships within the public, nonprofit, and private sectors;
  • Form community impact teams dedicated to tackling specific public issues through intentional learning, community networking, and working directly with an organization on a group impact project; and 
  • Participate in core leadership programming, including a New Member Retreat, Collab Lab Experiences, ILead Workshops, NextGen Regional Meetups, and National NextGen Student Exchanges. 

For the 2026-2027 academic year, NextGen experiences — including the selected program sites, speakers, and collaborative projects — will be tailored specifically to admitted students’ career goals and public issues of interest. 
In this way, no matter their future career, NextGen students leave the program with direct, tangible experience that will prepare them to serve their communities in meaningful ways.  

Students interested in learning more about the Next Generation Leadership Academy, including information about the application process and the signature events planned for the upcoming year, can visit https://spaa.newark.rutgers.edu/nextgen or contact the program director, Dr. Briana Huett (briana.huett@rutgers.edu).

Category
Outreach