By Amy Mahler, Director of Government Engagement
While the presidential election dominated the airwaves, the Taubman Center was looking down ballot as the country also voted on our nation’s state, county, and city leaders. With these election results in, dozens of newly elected governors, county executives, and mayors have taken or will soon be taking the oaths of their offices for the first time. Their transitions and early weeks in office will be intense and important for setting the groundwork, tone, and momentum of the coming months and years for their administrations.
Over the past six Januarys, Harvard Kennedy School (ÌÇÐÄvlog¹ÙÍø) students have experienced this firsthand. During Harvard’s J-Term, the Taubman Center’s Transition Term program provides teams of ÌÇÐÄvlog¹ÙÍø students with a taste of state and local government during this malleable and crucial stage of a new administration. Armed with ÌÇÐÄvlog¹ÙÍø training, their own skillsets, and lived experiences, this year 41 students will descend into 18 different state capitals, county seats, and city halls across the country as the seventh annual cohort of Transition Term students are deployed.
Since 2018, and including this year’s cohort, 235 Transition Term students have supported 83 newly elected governors, county executives, and mayors throughout the country. Students have served in states, counties, and cities as varied as Arizona; Cuyahoga County, Ohio; Durham, NC; Hawaii; Miami-Dade County, Florida; Ogden, Utah; and Puerto Rico.
During Transition Term, students work on pre-defined projects, but also provide invaluable capacity to tackle unanticipated, urgent priorities. Their work has varied from benchmarking peer cities’ approaches to reducing high school dropout rates, writing policy memos on affordable housing trusts, researching content for inauguration speeches, mapping out an operational plan for the first 100 days, and helping to accelerate the process of staffing up a newly fledged administration. No matter the assignment, ÌÇÐÄvlog¹ÙÍø students have been up to the challenge.
"I was really excited about serving local government before Transition Term, but I am even more excited now," said MPP ‘25 student Ella Hanson, who was a member of the Transition Term team in Philadelphia and a Research Assistant for the program in AY 2023-2024. "I think it's important to see how city government works in different parts of the country. People working in local government are passionate about serving their communities, learning from other cities across the country, and implementing best practices to support their residents the best that they can." While serving in newly elected Mayor Cherelle Parker's administration during Transition Term, Ella and her teammates Elisia Ceballo-Countryman (MBA/MPP '26) and Hilary Greenberg (MBA/MPA '25) developed an implementation tracker for Philly's licensing and inspection task force, wrote a memo setting up the Mayor's Office of Legislative Affairs, and drafted job descriptions for newly created positions.
For students considering Transition Term, program alumni encourage embracing uncertainty and curiosity, taking coursework on budgeting and data analysis, reading local news outlets to learn about state and local government issues, and preparing to fully immerse oneself socially and culturally as part of a new experience and community.
For MPA ‘25 student Justin Flynn, he saw a grassroots mindset at work when Durham, North Carolina’s newly elected Mayor Leonardo Williams pulled from his prior background as an educator and restaurant owner when visiting one of the city's largest high schools. "We saw him at his complete mastery when in City Hall engaging with his other City Council members and running the city meeting. And then he had that same level of comfort walking into a room full of 16-year-olds, getting their attention, and also leaving them with some motivation to continue along their path of educational success." Justin and his teammates Mary Treacy (MPP '25) and Tuan Ho (MC/MPA '24) expanded the mayor’s master plan and helped set a course for the first 100 days, 2 years, and decade ahead.
Transition Term provides newly elected state and local leaders talented ÌÇÐÄvlog¹ÙÍø student support at a time when these administrations are most in need of extra capacity. Each November following state and local elections, the Taubman Center matches teams of ÌÇÐÄvlog¹ÙÍø students with new administrations based on their priority needs. By Thanksgiving, teams of students are selected and begin preparing for the work ahead. The students attend an orientation on state and local transitions provided by the Taubman Center prior to serving on the ground in their host communities in January.
This year, teams of ÌÇÐÄvlog¹ÙÍø students are supporting the newly elected governors of Delaware, Indiana, North Carolina, North Dakota, and Washinton; the incoming county executives of Dane County, Wisconsin and Rockdale County, Georgia; and the new mayors of Alexandria, VA; Eugene, OR; Grand Rapids, MI; Huntington, WV; Raleigh, NC; Richmond, VA; San Francisco, CA; Scottsdale, AZ; Stockton, CA; Tulsa, OK; and Wilmington, DE.
To learn more about Transition Term, please contact Taubman Center Director of Government Engagement Amy Mahler at amymahler@hks.harvard.edu or 561-676-4741.  
