National Academy of Public Administration elects 64 new Fellows for 2026

The National Academy of Public Administration approved 64 new Fellows on Sept. 25, adding leaders from government, academia, nonprofits and the private sector to its 1,000-plus member fellowship. The class will be inducted at the Academy’s November conference in Washington, as the organization expands its bench of public administration experts.

Why it matters: - The 2026 class adds 64 public servants and experts to a fellowship that already includes more than 1,000 current Fellows. - The new group includes leaders with experience in federal, state and local government, plus academia, nonprofits and industry. - The Academy uses the Fellowship to support its mission of helping leaders build more effective, efficient, transparent and accountable government.

What happened: - On Friday, Sept. 25, the Academy Board approved the incoming class of 64 Fellows. - The 2026 class includes AI pioneers, statisticians, historians, educators and public service practitioners. - The incoming Fellows include Lonnie Bunch, Smithsonian secretary; Ann Veneman, former U.S. secretary of agriculture; Christy Goldsmith Romero, former U.S. chief data scientist; and Debbie Mucarsel-Powell, former member of Congress. - Induction will take place during the Academy’s 2026 National Conference, Nov. 8-10, at the National Academy of Sciences building in Washington, D.C.

The details: - The selection process includes a review of each nominee’s contributions to public administration and policy. - A Nominating Committee chosen by the Academy Board Chair reviews hundreds of applicants and sends recommendations to the full Fellowship. - The full Fellowship then votes on each nominee. - The 2026 Nominating Committee was co-chaired by Fellows Kerry Neal and Jeanette Takamura. - The Academy describes itself as a Congress-chartered, independent, nonprofit, nonpartisan organization established in 1967. - The organization’s stated purpose is to assist government leaders in building more effective, efficient, accountable and transparent organizations. - The 2026 class includes people from universities, federal agencies, city and county governments, consulting firms, nonprofits and private companies. - Named organizations represented in the class include the Smithsonian, U.S. Government Accountability Office, U.S. Department of the Interior, National Science Foundation, Office of Management and Budget, General Services Administration, Georgetown University, Arizona State University, University of Utah, University of Georgia, Harvard University and others. - Several Fellows come from state and local roles, including county administrators, city managers, a state superintendent and a county executive officer. - The class also includes public sector technology and management leaders, including chief AI, CIO and security strategy roles.

Between the lines: - The class reflects the Academy’s push to mix hands-on government operators with academic and technical specialists. - The presence of AI, cyber and data leaders signals how management challenges are shifting toward technology, governance and digital operations. - The broad mix of Fellows suggests the Academy is betting that public administration problems now require cross-sector experience, not just traditional government credentials.

What’s next: - The new Fellows will be formally inducted in November in Washington. - The Academy will add the class to its network of more than 1,000 current Fellows. - The organization is likely to use the expanded fellowship to support future nonpartisan advice and capacity-building efforts for government leaders.

The bottom line: - The Academy’s 2026 Fellow class is a wide-ranging group of senior public servants and policy experts chosen to strengthen its work on government performance and accountability.