Home
Fellows
About the Program

About the Program

What sets our program apart?

Launched in 2006, this yearlong interactive program is unique among leadership development opportunities because:

We focus on cultivating skills, so Fellows develop their personal leadership and impact their organizations immediately.
We bring together a peer learning cohort from a variety of sectors and industries.
We immerse Fellows in 11 leadership retreats in unique environments.
We provide multiple one-on-one executive coaching sessions for leadership growth and progress toward important goals.

Apply for 2027 cohort

Applications for the 2027 Tobias Fellows cohort open August 1, 2026.

You will learn to:

Confront leadership dilemmas in a range of environments that are very different from your own but inform your perspective
Engage with world class faculty and guided discussions with a dedicated facilitator
Develop five key leadership competencies
Take part in shared experiences that will strengthen your understanding of leadership in context

Leaders grow their skills over time and through feedback from peers with diverse perspectives. Read a recent white paper on the keys to leader empowerment by our inaugural Executive in Residence, Neal Rothermel.

Read the white paper

Executive Coaching

The Fellows experience includes multiple one-on-one executive coaching sessions. The goal of the coaching process is to provide participants with feedback regarding their strengths and developmental needs along multiple leadership skills and competencies, to help Fellows construct a learning plan to further leverage or develop those skills and competencies as needed, and to help participants implement each plan successfully through ongoing coaching and guidance. Prior to orientation each Fellow will complete several online assessments. The results are confidential and distributed during orientation. The executive coaching portion of the program is an integrated element and highly valued.

Industry Diversity

We bring together 15 to 20 seasoned leaders from various sectors and industries to form a peer-learning cohort that is a key differentiator of our program.

Not for Profit

David J. Siler, LCSW, President & CEO, Families First

“My experience in the Tobias Fellows Program empowered me to take the next step in my leadership. I felt propelled with confidence to push beyond my organizational leadership to assert leadership at the community level. It felt somewhat risky, but it has returned enormous dividends.”

For Profit

Gabrielle Rubenstein | Co-Founder & CEO Manna Tree Partners

“There are so many experiences from the Fellows program that stand out for me – from breaking down silos working on a race car, to achieving a military mission, to reflecting on my legacy. I continue to learn from the experiences as I build my company and I have found it so helpful to revisit the lessons and stay connected to them as well as the people who made those experiences so valuable.”

Government

Rita L Reith, MPIO, Battalion Chief - Media Relations, Indianapolis Fire Department

“The opportunity to engage with and learn from leaders outside my realm of expertise helped to expand and enrich my defined role within the Indianapolis Fire Department. My biggest takeaway from the Tobias Fellows Program came from the process of exploring and differentiating management and leadership concepts through an interactive, group approach. It led to a valuable drill down of how each concept applied to you as an individual and when to make helpful adjustments to pivot from one to the other, ensuring balance."

Education

Dr. Shawn A. Smith, Superintendent, Metropolitan School District of Lawrence Township

“The Tobias Center for Leadership Excellence has provided me with experiences that expanded my thinking about leadership. As a seasoned leader, I was amazed at the quality of experience and the depth of leadership learned through Tobias.”

The Learning Environment

Retreats are held throughout the state of Indiana to take advantage of unique locations to discover how leadership elements vary in other settings such as military, religion, sports, entertainment, government, education, and business environments.

See the retreat schedule

The Network

You will meet and interact with outstanding leaders and experts in the field of leadership. You will be invited to Tobias Leadership Center events and lectures. And you will work with our faculty who research, teach classes, and conduct workshops related to leadership. After successful completion of the Fellows Program, you’re automatically a member of the Tobias Leadership Network.

All-Inclusive Cost

The all-inclusive program fee is $13,000. Fellows’ organizations typically sponsor all or most of the program cost.

In addition to meals and lodging for 11 leadership retreats with exclusive access to several locations, the fee covers all instructional costs, yearlong one-on-one executive coaching sessions, initial assessment instruments, customized educational resources and selected readings, proven learning tools, and computer-based simulations. The fee does not cover travel to and from leadership retreats, but it does include parking at the various locations. A charter bus is provided for the St. Meinrad trip.

Fellows engage with leading faculty experts from institutions and centers around the world that have produced cutting-edge research in leadership styles, team dynamics, ethics, and other key areas.

A limited number of fee reductions are available on a case-by-case basis. Please contact us at tcle@iu.edu or 317-278-2800 for more information.

Keep the conversation going and learn more about current leadership topics and upcoming events.

The Carol Madison Fund for Tobias Fellows

Learn more