A part-time executive education program that prepares senior technology leaders with the skills critical to federal government service and public policy.
The Tech Executive Leadership Initiative (TELI) is a remote, part-time, unpaid 5-week skills-building initiative leading up to a to-be-confirmed final project and presentation. TELI prepares experienced technology leaders to engage effectively with public sector challenges. This program is ideal for senior executives who are interested in future federal government service or in otherwise honing their skills to engage more effectively with governments. The program is mainly online and includes a two-day immersion.
The fifth cohort of TELI ran from February to March 2024.
Read the full press release announcing TELI here.
The Curriculum
TELI provides senior technology professionals with a unique leadership opportunity to strengthen their executive skills through real-world engagement with government problems. Through experiential learning with real government technology policy challenges, leaders hone their skills to work effectively with dedicated public servants and mitigate risk on technology projects.
Our TELI program consists of two blocks: (1) a bootcamp that teaches leaders the basics of government service; and (2) a final project where TELI leaders put their lessons to work on a policy challenge with a client organization.
During the bootcamp, TELI leaders receive lessons and participate in exercises that could be relevant in a future government role. For example, course sessions include:
- How to write effectively in government;
- How to manage government procurement;
- How government structures differ from industry, and where to pull existing competencies versus where new ones need to be developed; and
- How to define government problems and develop solutions to them.
In the last weeks of the program, leaders work on a challenge project with a real government client, with assistance from experts and partner organizations with domain expertise. Teams of 5-6 program participants might work on challenge project prompts like these:
- How can the US organize, prioritize, and operationalize the administration of a COVID-19 vaccine or suite of vaccines?
- How could the US get 10 million student loan borrowers to automatically enroll in income-driven student loan repayment programs?
- How can the State of New York scale its hiring for technology experts over the next 6 months?
For more information about the TELI program, please see the syllabus from our pilot program, below.
Our Leaders
TELI participants include senior leaders from well-known tech advocacy organizations, non-profit organizations, and private companies; entrepreneurial executives who have built and grown successful startups; and innovators who have led digital transformation efforts at large organizations on their own path to modernization.
“As it turns out, optimizing government for human beings is a radical idea. Learning from experts and civil servants dedicated to this idea was eye-opening. Working with fellow techies to try and contribute some ideas of our own was both humbling and exhilarating.” – Ashley Llorens
“I enjoyed meeting and working closely with CTOs, CIOs, CDOs and others on challenging real-world government problems. It was a great opportunity to leverage the strengths of a broad cross-section of technology executives.” – Anirma Gupta
“The TELI program blended industry best practices with a practical overview of federal service exceptionally well. It was a great primer for any tech executive looking to understand government process and shortfalls.” – Chuck Borges
Application
Applications for TELI are available by invitation only. Executives interested in participating in the program should email us.
TELI participants are automatically considered for the Savilla Pitt Memorial Fellowship, awarded to one member of each incoming Aspen Policy Academy Fellowship, TELI, or Primer cohort. Learn more about the memorial fellowship here.
Our Funders
