FEATURED STORY
Ford
Leadership Forum
Preparing Tomorrow’s Leaders
Since their inceptions, the Gerald R. Ford Presidential Library & Museum and the Gerald R. Ford Presidential Foundation have been institutions to prepare people—young and old—for participation in civic life, as exemplified by President and Mrs. Ford. In 2016, these institutions expanded this commitment for K-12 students in West Michigan by opening the DVLC. Though this expanded commitment created new opportunities for elementary, middle, and high school students, it left a gap in the Foundation’s programs for college students and young professionals to meaningfully engage with the Ford legacy.
Launched in 2022, the Gerald R. Ford Presidential Foundation’s Ford Leadership Forum (FLF) closes this gap as an initiative to shape young adults for virtue anchored leadership. The FLF goal is to shape young adults by creating a coast-to-coast community of advanced undergraduates, graduate students, college professors, think tank scholars, journalists, and those studying in professional schools dedicated to the law, business, and public administration. It works toward this goal by establishing campus-based chapters.
In the 2024–25 academic year, the FLF supported four campus-based chapters—the University of Michigan-Ann Arbor, Hope College, Middle Tennessee State University, and California State University San Bernadino-Palm Desert Campus (founded Spring 2025)—and one affiliation at Albion College. Chapters meet weekly or bi-weekly. Though the chapters are united by a commitment to preparing students for civic life and ethical leadership, each chapter also provides a unique focus based on its members’ interests.
In 2026, students from the Ford Leadership Forum’s University of Michigan chapter accounted for 30% of the incoming class at the Ford School of Public Policy. Ninety-four percent of FLF applicants were accepted.
Ford Leadership Forum Campus-Based Chapter Activity
TABLE 4
“This program has shown me how getting to know the local community and volunteering can have a positive impact. Even though this club is still in its growing phase, I am looking forward to more opportunities within the community to see where we can continue improving relations between students and the public so that we can foster greater involvement and collaboration to help our neighbors. The bipartisan aspect is something we need now more than ever to ensure greater peace and stability for everyone in our community.”
Ford Leadership Forum Chapter President (2025-26)
Cal State San Bernardino, Palm Desert Campus
– Jose Ramirez
Observer
The Observer is a weekly newsletter, typically consisting of three original scholarly essays, that reaches the campus chapters and a wider audience of professionals and academics with civic interests. Essays discuss themes related to the American founding principles, American history, and civics. In 2025, the Observer had:
Washington, D.C. Chapter
President Ford spent much of his career in one of the world’s most demanding leadership arenas—Washington, D.C. To help address the deficit in virtue and prepare Capitol Hill staff for ethical decision-making, the Ford Leadership Forum launched a Capitol Hill chapter in 2025 to provide learning seminars and mentoring programs for staff on both sides of the aisle.
The FLF piloted activities in early 2025, with 13 congressional staffers participating. The initiative officially launched in the second half of 2025, with 56 staffers either committed to or nominated for the program. In 2025, the FLF hosted five events for Capitol Hill staffers:
High School Cohort
In the fall of 2025, the Ford Leadership Forum piloted an inaugural cohort program for high school students to prepare them for a lifetime of public service, civic engagement, and ethical leadership. Through a series of seminars, guest speaker sessions, networking events, and AP test preparation workshops, participants gain valuable skills, knowledge, and connections. This inaugural cohort, dubbed the “America 250 Cohort,” consists of eight students from West Michigan-area high schools who were nominated by their school leadership.
One of those students is Graham Rybarczyk, a sophomore at the West Michigan Aviation Academy (WMAA). WMAA is an innovative, academically rigorous STEM-themed charter high school located at the Gerald R. Ford International Airport in Grand Rapids. Graham is enrolled in WMAA’s engineering program.
“The Gerald R. Ford Presidential Fellows Program provides students with the tools to become responsible young adults and leaders—leaders committed to changing the world for the better,” said Rybarczyk. “Taking a bipartisan view, valuing unity over division, and remaining open-minded toward all people are principles that have been strengthened during my time as a Fellow in the Gerald R. Ford Presidential Fellows Program.”
“The Foundation and Fellows Program lives up to President Ford’s standards of moral action, regardless of pressure. I am confident in saying that President Ford would be honored and proud to have such a successful and ethical group of young people growing into the world’s future leaders. The only leaders who deserve positions of power are those who represent the majority while also protecting the rights and representation of minorities. These are the people the Foundation seeks to support on their paths toward ethical, just, and compassionate leadership.”
West Michigan Aviation Academy
Class of 2028