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Meet the 2025-26 cohort of Kenan Fellows Program for Teacher Leadership

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Fellow participants for the 2025-26 program. Photo Courtesy of NC State

Thirty teachers from 24 counties will participate in the 2025-26 Kenan Fellows Program for Teacher Leadership at NC State University, a year-long professional development program that links educators with experiences across industries.

The cohort’s teachers, along with their industry partners and mentors, are listed in the document below.

“We are proud to welcome the 2025–26 Kenan Fellows,” Vance Kite, director of the Kenan Fellows Program for Teacher Leadership, said in a press release.

The program announced its new participants on National Teacher Day, May 6.

“These accomplished educators have shown strong leadership within their schools and a desire to enhance their practice,” Kite said. “The Kenan Fellows Program is dedicated to investing in educators and elevating the teaching profession. We look forward to supporting these teachers as they build skills and confidence that will benefit their communities.”

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The teachers “bring expertise from diverse subjects, including STEM, humanities, and special education,” the release reads.

The fellowship includes immersive summer internships focused on STEM (science, technology, engineering, and math) that are meant to close the gap between the state’s classrooms and its workforce. The program then helps educators bring acquired knowledge and skills into their teaching.

The host organizations for this cohort include employers in energy, agriculture, tourism, scientific research, and high-tech manufacturing, the release says.

Each fellow completes a capstone project from their industry experience. They receive 80 hours of professional development on “expanding leadership capacity and advancing career opportunities.” They also receive $5,000 stipends.

Through the projects, fellows develop resources that help students connect to workforce opportunities or increase collaboration between industry and education.

Since 2000, 640 teachers have participated in the fellowship, the release says. You can read more about the program — which is funded by several corporate, educational, governmental, and philanthropic sources — here.

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