NACo's Federal Fellowship Initiative

NACo's Federal Fellowship Initiative focuses on the importance and structure of America's intergovernmental system, with a specific emphasis on the roles, responsibilities, operations and policy priorities of county governments across the country. As part of the initiative, NACo aims to educate members of Congress, Congressional staff and federal policy officials about the roles and responsibilities of counties across the country. The Fellowship is part of NACo’s larger goal of achieving our policy advancement performance priority to amplify the unique county role in the intergovernmental system.

In addition to introductory and educational sessions within our nation's capital, the cornerstone of the Initiative is its bi-annual county site visits. These trips highlight one urban setting and one rural setting each year, with immersive opportunities for federal partners to witness the county role in our communities. More specifically, each visit provides this bipartisan cohort an up-close account of the programs and services counties provide and how federal legislation, regulations and funding impact this work.

Established by NACo's Board of Directors at our 2021 Annual Conference, the Federal Fellowship Initiative is designed to strengthen America's Federalism system through enhanced awareness and education of Members of Congress, their professional staff, federal agency officials and other national policy influencers about the roles and responsibilities of our nation's 3,069 counties, parishes and boroughs.

During the first year of the NACo Federal Fellowship Initiative in 2022-2023, participants traveled to both urban and rural counties. The first trip took place in Miami Dade County, Fla., and focused on the unique roles, responsibilities and innovations of urban counties. For the second trip, the cohort traveled to Maricopa, Yavapai and Coconino Counties, Ariz., where participants heard from rural and Western counties about the unique challenges they face in combatting natural disasters and maintaining outdoor spaces and federal public lands across our nation. More information these trips and other previous county sites can be found below.

The NACo Federal Fellowship Initiative is part of a broader NACo campaign to achieve our mission of strengthening the intergovernmental partnership. Along with the Initiative, NACo also published Governing on the Ground, a new national book that provides an inside look at the complex challenges faced by county officials as they work to strengthen their communities.

2024 County Site Visits

UPCOMING COUNTY SITE VISIT: Clark County, Nev. and Washington County, Utah

NACo's Federal Fellowship Initiative's fourth county staff delegation trip will take place in Clark County, Nev. and Washington County, Utah. in September 2024. During this in-person, field-based tour, participants will engage with federal, state and local leaders as we explore county-owned entities and public-private partnerships across these western counties.

Topics to be discussed on this visit include public lands management, resiliency, sustainability and conservation, rural affairs, transportation and infrastructure, municipal finance, economic and workforce development, housing and homelessness prevention, arts and culture, public safety and broadband accessibility.

Throughout the duration of this trip, tour locations tentatively include:

More details on the trip, including a copy of our full, draft agenda will be posted here soon.

Interested in attending the trip?
Please fill out the interest form here and NACo staff will be in contact shortly with more information.

Los Angeles and Orange Counties, Calif.

To view more photos from this trip, click here.

In February, NACo's Federal Fellowship Initiative held its second urban counties site visit in two counties in Southern California: Los Angeles and Orange Counties, Calif.

In Los Angeles County - a county of over 10 million residents - we explored the county role in mental health by visiting the County's Olive View-UCLA Medical Center. During this conversation, we discussed how reforms to federal regulations and programs such as Medicaid's Institution for Mental Diseases (IMD) Exclusion and 9-8-8 Suicide Lifeline are critical for counties to continue providing vital services to its most vulnerable residents. We also visited the world-renewed Hollywood Bowl, a Los Angeles County-managed facility, to understand the county role in parks and recreation. We also discussed the county's role in workforce development, planning and public works in the entertainment industry, and visited Bob Hope Patriotic Hall to get a glimpse into the county's military and veterans affairs services. The visit also included tours of several county-funded housing projects to see the role counties play in combatting homelessness while uplifting affordable housing.

In Orange County, we turned our attention to issues like resiliency, probation services, emergency preparedness and counterintelligence and transportation and infrastructure. In doing so, the trip included tours and briefings at:

To learn more about the role that urban counties play in our residents' lives, click here. Additional details about this trip can be found in the program linked below:

Los Angeles and Orange Counties Urban Trip Program

2022-2023 County Site Visits

Miami-Dade County, Florida

To view more photos from this trip, click here.

In October 2022, NACo's Federal Fellowship Initiative kicked off in Miami-Dade County, Fla. Centered around the role urban counties play in the economics and infrastructure of its communities, this trip explored Miami-Dade County's impact on international trade, water resiliency as well as transportation and infrastructure. Miami-Dade County is uniquely positioned given its role as owners and operators as several trade and transit hubs, including:

We also explored the importance of a strong federal-county partnership to ensure county governments continue to provide mental health, public safety, homelessness prevention and resiliency services to their residents. To do so, the trip included tours and briefings at:

Additional details about this trip can be found in the program linked below:

Miami-Dade County Urban Trip Program

Maricopa, Yavapai and Coconino Counties, Arizona

To view more photos from this trip, click here.

In June 2023, NACo's Federal Fellowship Initiative traveled to three Arizona counties: Maricopa, Yavapai and Coconino Counties. Before heading to rural communities, Maricopa County welcomed the group with overviews on how it provides transportation, parks and recreation and election services to one of the fastest growing communities in the nation.

In Yavapai County, we discussed the role that counties play in helping bridge the digital divide by providing high-speed, affordable internet access through our federal, state and private partnerships. We also explored Coconino National Forest to understand the public safety, search and rescue and management services counties must provide on federal public lands.

In Coconino County - the second largest county by area in the continuous United States - conversations continued about public lands and forest management as well as disaster mitigation, economic and tourism development, renewal energy efforts, opioid epidemic recovery programs and health and human services. In doing so, the trip included tours and briefings at:

To learn more about the role that rural counties play in our residents' lives, click here. Additional details about this trip can be found in the program linked below:

Arizona Counties Rural Trip Program

Josephine Amusa, Policy Advisor, Office of House Democratic Leader Rep. Hakeem Jeffries (N.Y.-08)
Landon Bailey, Advisor for Intergovernmental Affairs, U.S. Department of Transportation
Derron Bennett, Legislative Director, Office of Rep. Frederica Wilson (Fla.-24)
Allison Blankenship, Floor Assistant, Office of House Democratic Whip Rep. Katherine Clark (Mass.-05)
Chloe Brown, Research & Outreach Advisor, Regional Leadership Council, Rep. Steny Hoyer (Md.-05)
Baxter Carr, Professional Staff Member - Republican, U.S. Senate Environment & Public Works Committee
Dorothy Clark, Legislative Assistant, Office of House Republican Whip Rep. Tom Emmer (Minn.-06)
Andrea Costacamps, Director of Public Affairs, Office of Rep. Maria Elvira Salazar (Fla.-27)
Brian Cress, Deputy Director of Member Services, Office of the Speaker of the House Rep. Mike Johnson (La.-04)
Liam Diebel, Staff Assistant/Legislative Correspondent, Office of Rep. Maria Elvira Salazar (Fla.-27)
Jesse Ebadi, Legislative Assistant, Office of Rep. Salud Carbajal (Calif.-24)
Carlos Fanjul, Community Affairs Director, Office of Rep. Carlos Gimenez (Fla.-28)
Judy Fong, Coordinator and Policy Analyst, White House Office of Intergovernmental Affairs
Valerie Foy, Chief Counsel, Office of Rep. Don Bacon (Neb.-02)
Isrrael Garcia, Senior Legislative Assistant, Office of House Democratic Caucus Chair Rep. Pete Aguilar (Calif.-33)
Lauren Gros, Policy Analyst - Democratic, House Transportation & Infrastructure Committee - Subcommittee on Economic Development, Public Buildings & Emergency Management
Rick Hart, Advisor to the Office of Intergovernmental Affairs for Counties, White House Office of Intergovernmental Affairs
Ryan Hofmann, Deputy Policy Director, Office of House Republican Conference Chair Rep. Elise Stefanik (N.Y.-21)
Lou Hrkman, Energy Advisor, Office of Rep. Debbie Lesko (Ariz.-08)
Stephanie Hu, District Director, Office of Rep. Michelle Steel (Calif.-45)
Joshua Lobert, Deputy Chief Counsel - Democratic, House Agriculture Committee
Willie Lyles III, Senior Advisor, Office of Rep. James Clyburn (S.C.-06)
Emily McBride, Legislative Assistant, Office of Sen. Tommy Tuberville (R-Ala.)
Luke McGowan, Senior Advisor for Economic Recovery, White House Office of Intergovernmental Affairs
Cedric McMinn, Associate Director - Office of Intergovernmental Affairs, U.S. Department of Homeland Security
Megan Molleur, Legislative Consultant - Federal Issues, Texas Association of Counties
Riley O'Leary, Legislative Correspondent, Office of Sen. Steve Daines (R-Mont.)
Gloria Oliveros, District Director, Office of Rep. Mario Diaz-Balart (Fla.-25)
Maria Olson, Legislative Assistant, Office of Sen. Susan Collins (R-Maine)
Erika Ose, Legislative Assistant, Office of Sen. Mike Crapo (R-Idaho)
Chris Phalen, Policy Advisor, Office of Sen. Kyrsten Sinema (I-Ariz.)
Eric Poole, Executive Director, Institute for County Government, Florida Association of Counties
Zahraa Saheb, Legislative Director, Office of Rep. Veronica Escobar (Texas-16)
Howard Senior, Staff Assistant, Office of Maria Elvira Salazar (Fla.-27)
Joshua Sheinkman, Staff Director - Democratic, Senate Finance Committee
Justin Shockey, Floor Assistant, Office of House Majority Whip Rep. Tom Emmer (Minn.-06)
Leeann Sinpatanasakul, Legislative Aide, Office of Senate Majority Leader Sen. Chuck Schumer (D-N.Y.)
Alexis Snyder, District Chief of Staff, Office of Rep. Frederica Wilson (Fla.-24)
Amy Soenksen, Chief of Staff, Office of Rep. Morgan McGarvey (Ky.-03)
Sophia Sokolowski, Senior Advisor to the White House Office of Intergovernmental Affairs, White House Office of Intergovernmental Affairs
Elise Sugarman, Legislative Director, Office of House Democratic Caucus Chair Rep. Pete Aguilar (Calif.-33)
Craig Sullivan, Executive Director, County Supervisors Association of Arizona
Judy Sulltrop, Constituent Services & Outreach Coordinator, Office of Sen. Mark Kelly (D-Ariz.)
Alex Thiessen, Legislative Aide, Office of Sen. Eric Schmitt (R-Mo.)
Jeremy Tittle, Chief of Staff, Office of Rep. Salud Carbajal (Calif.-24)
Connor Torossian, Legislative Director, Office of Rep. Marc Molinaro (N.Y.-19)
Lynda Tran, Senior Advisor & Director of Public Engagement, U.S. Department of Transportation
Evan Wessel, Deputy Assistant Secretary for Intergovernmental Affairs, U.S. Department of Transportation
Faith Williams, Deputy Chief of Staff, Office of Rep. Mike Levin (Calif.-49)
Robert Williams, Deputy Director - Office of Intergovernmental Affairs, National Telecommunications & Information Administration (NTIA), U.S. Department of Commerce
Samuel Zelden, Economic Policy Advisor, Office of Sen. Bill Cassidy (R-La.)

FEDERAL PARTNERS:

Are you interested in learning more about the Initiative and joining a future cohort?

Please reach out to the NACo staff contacts below and they will be in contact shortly with additional information.

NACo MEMBERS:

We would love your feedback and participation!

If there is a federal partner or office that you think would be a great fit for this program, please let us know by reaching out to the NACo staff contacts below.

If you would like to be considered as a host county for a future site visit, please let us know by reaching out to the NACo staff contacts below.