Harvard's Center for Public Leadership

CPL affiliate faculty Linda Bilmes, an expert on the long-term costs of war, estimates that the Iraq War has already cost about $6 trillion and argues that even a short war with Iran could add more than $1 trillion to an already growing federal deficit.

💡 Read the full piece:

This War With Iran Will Cost More Than We Can Afford | The New Republic Iraq cost us $6 trillion. Even a short Iran war could add $1 trillion to a budget deficit that Trump may already be tripling.

“In a very difficult job market for young professionals right now, it may be smarter to get yourself in the door and fully employed, with an opportunity for progression, as compared to waiting on the market for an uncertain outcome." — Hannah Riley Bowles, CPL resident faculty and faculty chair of the Negotiate WELL Lab

🔎 Read the full article: https://bit.ly/4cdI80d

This Gen Z woman applied for 1,000 jobs and offered to cut her own pay because she was ‘really broke and struggling.’ She’s not alone | Fortune Taking a pay cut at the beginning of your career can have long-term consequences.

A new op-ed co-authored by CPL Faculty Director Anthony Foxx argues that the Trump administration’s proposal to roll back fuel economy standards would raise total costs for American drivers.

🚙 Read the full piece:

Trump's fuel economy cuts cost car buyers even more | Opinion Gasoline prices have jumped 50 cents a gallon in the days since the war on Iran began. And EV sales continue rising in the U.S. and around the world.

After a recent policy trip to San Francisco, CPL Fellows reflect on how AI is reshaping society and on the role public leaders should play in guiding human-centered outcomes.

📖 Read the reflection: hkscpl.org/SF-Trek-26
🎓 Learn about CPL fellowships: hkscpl.org/Fellowships

During this year’s Policy, Politics & People Trek, CPL fellows spent a week in San Francisco exploring how artificial intelligence is reshaping public life. In conversations across industry, advocacy, and government, they examined what effective leadership looks like in this rapidly evolving space.

💡 Student fellows are at the heart of CPL’s mission to develop principled, effective public leaders. Learn more about our fellowships: bit.ly/CPL-Fellows

How can societies rebuild after decades of violent conflict, and what does it take for communities to move beyond cycles of mistrust to create lasting, transformative peace?

The Propeller Toolkit, developed by CPL’s Negotiation & Conflict Resolution Collaboratory (NCRC), offers a research-driven framework for addressing these challenges.

Authored by Monica Giannone, Elan Kogutt, and Brian Mandell, the toolkit helps practitioners, educators, and policymakers understand complex conflicts and design effective, real-world interventions.

💡 Explore the toolkit and learn more about NCRC: https://www.hks.harvard.edu/centers/cpl/programs-initiatives/negotiation-and-conflict-resolution/why-it-worked

www.hks.harvard.edu

📢 Last chance to apply! The deadline for our Leadership Intensives is fast approaching.

CPL Leadership Intensives build skills beyond the classroom through peer cohorts and workshops that focus on principled public leadership. Students from any Harvard graduate school are welcome to apply.

💡✍️ Learn more and apply by January 30: bit.ly/CPL-Leadership-Intensives

🌍 🍽️ Join us for a lunch conversation on how community-driven policy design can transform public leadership.

CPL Zuckerman Fellow Leena Aurora (MPP/MBA ’28) will moderate a conversation with Dr. Jim O’Connell and Derek Winbush on co-design frameworks that put community partners at the center of policymaking. All HUID holders are welcome.

🗓️ Wednesday, February 4
🕐 12:15pm
📍 On campus
🔗 Register at bit.ly/CPL-Feb-Event

Harvard Kennedy School’s Center for Public Leadership is thrilled to announce our Spring 2026 Hauser Leaders: John Anzalone, Pete Buttigieg, Anita Dunn, David Lebryk, Deval Patrick, and Paul Ryan.

These distinguished leaders will join our community to advise students, engage with faculty, and advance CPL’s mission to develop principled, effective public leaders.

Join us in welcoming our fantastic Spring 2026 Hauser Leader cohort to campus!

📰 Learn more: https://lnkd.in/e9ZU6b5K

📚 Meet the facilitators leading our Spring 2026 Leadership Intensives in principled public leadership.

These intensives use reflective and experiential methods to help students strengthen their leadership skills, whether in a one-hour seminar, a two-day deep dive, or a multi-day series across the semester.

The experts guiding this semester’s programming are Christopher Robichaud, Timothy McCarthy, Cathleen McCaffery, Timothy O'Brien, Itay Balely, Elliot Imse, Monica Giannone, and Deval Patrick.

📝 Learn more and apply by January 30, 2026: bit.ly/CPL-Leadership-Intensives

📢 The Center for Public Leadership at Harvard Kennedy School is hiring two senior leaders to help advance our mission:

🔹 Director, Engagement and Stewardship: https://careers.harvard.edu/job/director-engagement-and-stewardship-in-cambridge-ma-united-states-jid-953?_atxsrc=linkedin&utm_source=linkedin

🔹 Director, Communications: https://careers.harvard.edu/job/director-communications-in-cambridge-ma-united-states-jid-952?_atxsrc=linkedin&utm_source=linkedin

These directors will serve on CPL’s senior leadership team, strengthening our culture and operations and amplifying the impact of our programs, scholarship, and community.

CPL brings together faculty, students, and practitioners to enhance the capacity for principled, effective public leadership in government, politics, civil society, and business.

🔗 Interested candidates can learn more and apply at the links above.