What We Do
A community of practice for the people who run elections.
LEAP is professional development built around leadership, not compliance training. Here is how the program works, who it serves, and what it changes.
The model
Three ideas, one program.
LEAP treats leadership as professional reach, access, and influence, not a job title. The program borrows three things that already work elsewhere and brings them together for election administration.
A professional networking group. Neutral and voluntary: conversation, connection, and access to resources and support beyond the formal structures of the field.
A third place. A community-driven space people come to because they want to, where peers build trust, trade ideas, and find the social capital that opens doors.
A community of practice. A group that shares a concern for the work and meets on an ongoing basis to deepen its expertise together.
The first cohort ran as a twelve-month pilot across 2025 and 2026. Read what we learned in our reports.
The program year
A year built around the election calendar.
In-person convenings when you can step away, focused remote sessions when you cannot.
01
Recruitment and pre-assessment
Fellows are selected from mid-career election professionals ready to move from operating elections to shaping the profession. A pre-assessment captures where each person starts.
02
Monthly remote sessions across the ecosystem
Leaders from federal agencies, international election observation, nonprofits, consultancies, and vendors meet the cohort, and fellows are positioned as contributors to those organizations, not consumers of their tools.
03
In-person convenings
Professional bios and elevator pitches, panels on career journeys and leadership from any seat, a strengths and leadership assessment, goal setting, and the peer relationships that remote meetings cannot build.
04
Post-assessment and the long view
A closing assessment measures the year, annual follow-up surveys track careers through 2036, and graduating fellows become the first mentors for the next cohort.
Workforce impact
What changes when officials are connected.
How LEAP sustains, prepares, and elevates the election administration profession.
A networked election official is a resilient election official.
01
Reduce isolation
A community of practice and a third space where officials build trust, exchange ideas, and sustain peer support.
02
Strengthen identity
Fellows come to see their often invisible knowledge and daily responsibilities as transferable, specialized expertise.
03
Expand social capital
Professional networks grow to include national speakers and organizations across the ecosystem.
04
Improve retention
Fellows can see tangible advancement in the field instead of a static local role.
05
Support succession
Mid-career professionals prepare to shift from operator roles toward strategist and field-leader positions.
06
Broaden career pathways
Awareness of opportunities across agencies, associations, nonprofits, vendors, and consultancies keeps talent in the field while increasing mobility.
“There are many talented people in election administration who don’t know where they fit in the environment. This exposure would give them that boost.”
“LEAP helped me think more intentionally about preparing for my future beyond my current position. It opened my eyes to new opportunities and career paths in the election field that I hadn’t previously considered.”
Calls to action
Two ways to move the field.
Whether you run elections or build the field around them, there is a role for you.
Local election officials and staff
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Apply to LEAP to strengthen your leadership identity and expand your network beyond your jurisdiction.
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Connect with peers who understand the operational and public pressures of the work.
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Translate daily work in grants, cybersecurity, and logistics into a clear professional brand.
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Explore long-term pathways within local offices and across the broader election ecosystem.
Institutional and field-building organizations
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Identify and elevate: partner with LEAP to find emerging leaders for committees, advisory groups, and boards.
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Invite and host: bring fellows in to present case studies, mentor, and carry local expertise into national conversations.
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Recognize and broaden: treat participation as a signal of readiness and widen who is visible in leadership spaces.
The evidence