Leaders from Yale, Connecticut gather to celebrate the impact of the Governor's Fellowship program

On May 8, Connecticut Governor Ned Lamont joined Yale President Maurie McInnis, state leaders, Yale faculty, and current and past participants in the Connecticut Governor’s Fellowship Program on campus for a gathering focused on the role that talented public servants can play in strengthening government and improving outcomes for Connecticut residents.

The theme of this year’s Governor’s Fellows Day, “State Capacity: The Impact of High-Performing Individuals and Teams,” reflected the central aim of the fellowship program: bringing early-career professionals into state government to work alongside senior leaders on some of Connecticut’s most pressing policy and implementation challenges.

The Governor’s Fellowship is a state-run program supported by the Tobin Center and Social Impact Partners Connecticut. Conceived in 2021 in response to the urgent needs of the COVID-19 public health emergency, the program has grown into a public-sector talent pipeline that has placed 62 fellows into state service to contribute to projects defined and led by Connecticut government.

“The Governor’s Fellows make a real difference for us,” Governor Lamont said in remarks to kick off the day’s events. “They’re in a variety of different environments, often bringing a skill set that we just don’t generally have in state government, along with a little energy.”

“That fresh perspective is what makes a big difference for us. And if we’re lucky, some decide to stay [in the Connecticut government] and keep on going.”

For Sam Quinney, Director of the Tobin Center’s Yale for Connecticut initiative, the fellowship is designed to do more than recruit talented people into public service. The program supports fellows throughout the year so they can do some of the highest-impact work of their careers while helping Connecticut agencies advance state priorities.

Opening the day, Quinney described the fellowship as a way to strengthen Connecticut government in both the short and long term: by supporting collaborative projects that fill unmet needs today, and by building a talent pipeline of skilled public servants for the future.

Lamont, in his remarks, emphasized that the fellowship brings new perspectives into state government.

“Getting the right people in the job is the most important thing,” Lamont said. “And then empowering them to do the right thing, show a little innovation, life, and heart.”

Fellows, he added, often contribute expertise and energy that can be harder to find inside government, helping agencies move from policy ideas to implementation. Lamont also stressed that state government is where policy becomes tangible. It is where, he said, programs are implemented, tested, and felt directly by the residents they are designed to serve.

“That’s why I love the job,” Lamont told the fellows. “That’s why I love the fellows. Thanks for what you are doing.”

Throughout the afternoon, current fellows gave lightning introductions that showed the range of practical challenges they are helping agencies address. At the Department of Transportation (DOT), Femi Olamijulo is strengthening knowledge sharing to avoid institutional knowledge loss when DOT engineers retire. He noted that he’s “helping design a knowledge-management pilot using survey data from more than 700 employees to identify risks before they become project cost problems.”

In the Office of the Governor, Lily Engbith is advising on federal issues affecting program operations and service delivery, including work to help the Department of Social Services minimize disenrollment from SNAP and Medicaid under new federal rules. At the Department of Administrative Services’ Bureau of Information Technology Solutions, Alex Amari and Tim Sowa are helping state agencies explore responsible uses of artificial intelligence, from pilot applications to intake, production, and risk-evaluation processes.

The agenda also included faculty presentations connecting the day’s theme to emerging research on public-sector talent, government capacity, and implementation.

Zach Liscow, professor at Yale Law School, discussed his research on how staffing, expertise, and internal public-sector capacity affect the cost and delivery of transportation projects. His work shows that retaining experienced engineers can improve procurement, reduce delays, and lower project costs.

Barbara Biasi, associate professor at the Yale School of Management, discussed her research on how state policy impacts how public schools attract and retain talented teachers, drawing lessons from Wisconsin’s Act 10 and changes to teacher pay. Her presentation emphasized that compensation can shape who enters and remains in teaching roles at particular schools, while also underscoring the importance of working conditions, morale, local context, and equity.

The day concluded with a panel on “Lessons for Sustained Impact in Connecticut Government,” featuring fellowship alumni L Britton of the Connecticut Department of Aging and Disability Services, Kevin Fitzgerald of the Connecticut Department of Economic & Community Development, and Carrie Titolo of the Connecticut Department of Transportation. The panel highlighted one of the program’s core goals: helping fellows build experience, relationships, and pathways into longer-term public service.

Many former fellows have gone on to permanent roles in Connecticut government, including in the same agencies where they served during the fellowship. For the program’s organizers, that outcome is a sign that the fellowship is not only helping agencies meet immediate needs, but also strengthening the state’s long-term capacity to attract and retain skilled public servants. Since its launch, fellows have contributed to efforts ranging from lead poisoning prevention and federal COVID recovery planning to evidence-building, refugee resettlement, neighborhood development, student mental health, workforce development, and benefits access.

The Spring Fellows Day offered a chance to recognize that work while connecting the current cohort with Yale faculty, state leaders, and alumni who have continued their careers in public service.

As part of the broader Yale for Connecticut initiative, the Governor’s Fellows Program reflects the Tobin Center’s work to connect Yale expertise, student and professional talent, and evidence-based research with state-defined priorities. At Fellows Day, that work was visible not only in the research presented or the leaders in attendance, but in the fellows themselves: public servants working inside agencies, across systems, and alongside state leaders to help Connecticut government deliver for residents.