Letter from the CEO: An Early Update on the 2026 BLC Fellowship

2026 has been moving fast, and you may not realize that the Alliance has already kicked off our second year of the Bipartisan Learning Communities (BLC) Congressional Fellowship. In the meantime, in the spirit of the Alliance’s commitment to shared learning, I’m sharing some top-line findings from our inaugural year.

First: we overachieved against our set objectives. By a lot. Fellows from the inaugural year reported gains in confidence, day-to-day application of skills on the Hill, and their ability to engage more effectively in policy discussions – all at 95% or higher.

Just as important, these findings are already shaping how we’ve strengthened the program for year two. They also reinforce something many of you have voiced to us: there is a real appetite on the Hill for structured, nonpartisan learning opportunities to close educational gaps on health policy.

That’s exactly what we’re building with this one-of-a-kind fellowship program. It’s an opportunity for staff to deepen their policy knowledge, learn to navigate complex legislative dynamics, and strengthen their relationships across the aisle. A bullseye for our mission to demystify complex policy topics, especially for Congressional staff.

All our programs derive their quality from our community, so thank you for being part of this success. We plan to build on the momentum of this energizing program. The fellowship is annual, but the community of learners we are building will last long beyond that. We’re excited to see what’s ahead!