CPL's 2009 Political Leaders Fellowship   CPL's State Political Leaders Fellowship is a selective, 9-month, non-partisan, part-time leadership program for individuals interested in advancing progressive political and policy change.   Applications to be a 2009 CPL Fellow are now open, including in Arizona, Colorado, Michigan, Ohio and Pennsylvania.   Learn more about the 9-month Political Leaders Fellowship.   -------------------------------------------   Listen to a podcast with delegate Cheryl Mobley.   Read interviews with Phil Reid and Katie Hobbs about their path to becoming delegates.

Former CPL Fellows Head to Denver

Five CPL Alumni are going to Denver to be delegates at this year's Democratic National Convention

Five graduates from CPL’s State Political Leaders Fellowship are headed to Denver this September to be state delegates at the upcoming Democratic National Convention.

This diverse group represents leaders that come fom non-traditional backgrounds, are committed to advancing a progressive agenda and have all developed their leadership skills through CPL's non-partisan 9-month State Political Leaders Fellowship.

Anna Perng is one of the delegates heading to the convention from Pennsylvania. She is a 2007 alumna of the Pennsylvania State Fellowship and is now working full-time for the Obama Campaign.

Before becoming a CPL Fellow, Anna didn’t initially see herself becoming a DNC Delegate.

As the Development Manager at Community Legal Services in Philadelphia, Anna became acquainted with Donna Johnson-Bullock, a CPL Faculty Member. “I definitely saw a divide between non-profit and political leaders. [The two sides] were not working together as they should,” Anna says. “CPL gave me the opportunity to learn more about the political world and how I can work collaboratively with others.”

Anna owes her pursuit of the DNC Delegate seat to encouragement from Dan Wofford, her CPL Mentor. “[Dan] invited me to a Philadelphia for Obama meeting in February to prepare for outreach for the upcoming primaries,” Anna says. “I wasn’t directly involved in politics, but I had a diverse network and brought a different perspective.”

Raised by two Asian immigrant parents, Anna was the perfect addition to the Obama constituency outreach team in Philadelphia’s Chinatown area.

“It was very important that our campaign had a level of cultural sensitivity, and use an outreach strategy that worked best for our constituents at the grassroots level. Reaching out to Asian-language newspapers, ethnic markets and churches meant approaching Philly Chinatown as a community and change the cycle of Asian voters often being ignored [in Presidential elections].”

Throughout the campaign, Anna was able to see the results of her hard work in reaching out to Asian American voters in Philadelphia.

The Philadelphia for Obama office located in Chinatown was actually a donation by a business owner in the area who supported the campaign. “This elderly Asian-American man had just started listening to Obama’s YouTube videos and was so inspired by his words that he donated the space to us. He certainly broke the stereotypes about Asian voters being uninterested in [voting and the election].”

Most of the fellows selected to attend the DNC are non-traditional leaders in their community and did not necessarily climb up their district’s political ranks in order to win the Delegate seat. Instead, they used their strong community ties to rally for their support.

Betsy Magley, a participant of the 2006 Pennsylvania Fellowship class, remembers that it was her time as a CPL Fellow that opened her mind to the idea of seeking a delegate seat at the DNC, and about the underrepresentation of women in Democratic leadership positions.

“CPL helped me understand the different levels of leadership within the Democratic party, and helped me think about getting more politically involved,” says Betsy.

The other CPL alumni include Cheryl Mobley from Pennsylvania, Katie Hobbs from Arizona, and Phil Reid from Michigan.

All of the fellows who will be attending the Convention this year agree that the experience in the non-partisan State Political Leaders Fellowship exposed them to the leadership opportunities in progressive politics and got them on the path of becoming delegates for this year's convention.

CPL is devoted to training and developing a pipeline of talented, diverse political leaders, and the selection of these five former Fellows for the DNC Delegation is a great example of the contributions that current CPL participants and alumni are making to the progressive political movement.

If you are interested in becoming a CPL Fellow in Arizona, Michigan, Ohio, Pennsylvania or Colorado, the application process is now open.

• Apply for this year's 2009 Political Leaders Fellowship