Jesse Eugene Herriott, adjunct professor of psychology at Gordon State College, has been named a fellow in the Institute for Educational Leadership’s inaugural Education Policy Fellowship Program: Community Schools Cohort. The seven-week program launches this month.

Herriott joins a nationally representative cohort of fellows from across the United States, including participants from school districts, local education associations and community-based organizations. The fellowship equips Community Schools leaders with the skills to shape policy and advocate for meaningful change in their communities.

“This opportunity allows me to explore the connection between educational practice and policy through both andragogical and pedagogical lenses,” Herriott said.

According to the Institute for Educational Leadership, the Education Policy Fellowship Program is its longest-running initiative, established in 1964. The Community Schools Cohort curriculum focuses on grassroots advocacy, policy analysis and strategy, coalition-building and effective engagement with policymakers. Fellows also gain insight into national partnerships, the federal education policy landscape and how to drive change at the local and national levels.

The program blends on-demand and live instruction with policy strategy sessions and peer collaboration. It concludes with the Washington Policy Seminar™, the capstone event for fellows, and D.C. Hill Day during Community Schools Coordinators Appreciation Week. These events provide hands-on experience in federal education policy, deepen understanding of the federal role in education and build skills for communicating with policymakers.

“Spending time on the Hill with education policy staffers and champions in the House and Senate offered practical experience in funding, advocacy and education administration that I look forward to bringing into my work at Gordon State,” Herriott said.

Herriott holds a master’s degree in criminal justice from Keiser University and completed postgraduate studies in gero-psychology at Grand Canyon University. He is completing his Doctor of Education at South College, with a dissertation exploring the lived experiences of neurodivergent adult learners in higher education. In spring 2015, he was inducted into Morehouse College’s Martin Luther King Jr. Board of Scholars.