NASHVILLE, Tenn. (AP) — State Rep. Raumesh Akbari of Memphis has been awarded a new annual scholarship named after the late Lois DeBerry, her predecessor in the Tennessee General Assembly.
The scholarship is awarded by the Governing Institute and the State Legislative Leaders Foundation to participate in its women in government leadership program. The inaugural class of 24 just completed its yearlong curriculum aimed at developing leadership and job skills.
Akbari is the first member to be named to the class of 2016,
Rep. Raumesh Akbari is one of 48 state policymakers from across the country selected as a Council of State Governments’ Henry Toll Fellow for the Class of 2015.
The Class of 2015 Toll Fellows represents 33 states and Puerto Rico, with 35 serving in the legislative branch, four serving in the judiciary and nine hailing from the executive. A nine-member committee of state leaders, many who are Toll Fellows themselves, reviewed a record number of applications to select the class.
Named for CSG founder Henry Wolcott Toll, the Toll Fellowship program is one of the nation’s premier leadership development programs for state government officials. Each year, the program brings 48 of the nation’s top officials from all three branches of state government to Lexington, Ky., for an intensive six-day, five-night intellectual boot camp.
“I applied to be a CSG Henry Toll Fellow because I want to push myself to be the best legislator I can be for my constituents,” Akbari said. “There are many challenges–from economic development, education and public service–that we are fighting to improve in District 91. I know that the Henry Toll Fellowship will help further my leadership skills so that I can have the tools to challenge these complex issues.”
The program’s agenda includes a lineup of dynamic speakers and sessions designed to stimulate personal assessment and growth, while providing priceless networking and relationship-building opportunities. While each year’s program is unique, previous programs have included sessions on leadership personality assessment, media training, crisis management, appreciative inquiry, adaptive leadership and much more.
“The Toll Fellowship remains the oldest and most prestigious of all leadership development programs for elected officials,” said David Adkins, CSG’s executive director/CEO. “Its impact is profound and its quality is renowned. As a Toll Fellow from 1993, I know first hand the impact the program has on elected officials.”
Adkins was a 1993 Toll Fellow when he served as a Kansas state representative.
Toll Fellows alumni include U.S. Rep. John Carney, a former Delaware lieutenant governor; former U.S. Rep. Colleen Hanabusa, a former Hawaii state Senate president; U.S. Rep. Todd Rokita, a former Indiana secretary of state; former North Carolina Gov. Beverly Perdue and former U.S. Labor Secretary Hilda Solis.
Akbari said she expects the Toll Fellowship to help her improve communication, leadership and negotiation skills.
“Continuing leadership development is important so that we don’t remain stagnant as leaders,” Akbari said. “I find with each leadership development program I participate in, I am becoming a more effective leader. Not only do you learn from other people and how to communicate with other people, but you also learn a great deal about yourself as a legislator.”
This year’s program will be held Aug. 28-Sept. 2 in Lexington
DeBerry served in the state House for 41 years until her death in 2013. She was the longest-serving member of the chamber, the second African-American woman to serve and the first female House speaker pro tempore.
