Eisenhower Fellowships Names 2025 USA Fellows

PHILADELPHIA, June 26, 2025 /PRNewswire/ -- Eisenhower Fellowships (EF) has selected nine exceptional young American leaders from diverse professional fields for its prestigious 2025 USA Program, offering five weeks of intensive travel overseas to meet with experts in their respective professions.

The ascendant leaders from across the United States will embark on a transformative fellowship journey abroad this fall designed to foster dialogue and cross-cultural exchange. They will engage with international peers and thought leaders to explore new ideas, forge collaborative partnerships and give shape to projects of impact they will implement upon their return home.

The Fellows selected for the 2025 USA Program represent a variety of professional backgrounds, including public policy, education, health care, civic engagement and technology. These dynamic leaders help drive change in fields ranging from school-based health and STEM education to AI safety and economic development.

They have a track record of leading impactful initiatives in the United States. These include a big-city community-led safety hub, a digital transparency platform for local governments, innovative park programming that bridges civic memory and public space and partnerships to scale hands-on STEM outreach to over 100,000 underserved students.

The USA Fellows are developing pioneering approaches to advance their work in communities across the country. Each embodies EF's mission to promote peace, prosperity and justice through international understanding and collaboration. They will apply what they learn on fellowship to better their societies after they return home.

"In a time of global tension and uncertainty, we are proud to send these outstanding young Americans overseas for fruitful people-to-people exchanges that will strengthen ties between future leaders of our countries," said EF's chairman, former U.S. Secretary of Defense Dr. Robert M. Gates.

The 2025 Eisenhower Fellows from the United States are:

• Kam Buckner, State Representative, Illinois General Assembly (Chicago, IL)

• Sirisha Kuchimanchi, Founder and Chief Executive Officer, Sahita Technologies (Dallas, TX)

• Ryan McClure, Executive Director, Gateway Arch Park Foundation (St. Louis, MO)

• Gabriel McCormick, Senior Director of Teaching and Learning, Public Schools of Brookline (Boston, MA)

• Kendra McDow, Medical Officer, School District of Philadelphia (Philadelphia, PA)

• Elizabeth Pishny, Government Affairs, Google (Washington, D.C.)

• Kenneth Smith, Integration and Test Lead, Blue Origin (Miami, FL)

• Daniela Velázquez, Alderperson, City of St. Louis (St. Louis, MO)

• Bryan Weisbard, Director of Product Management, DoorDash (San Francisco, CA)

Founded in 1953 and named for President Dwight D. Eisenhower, EF brings to the United States and sends abroad mid-career leaders from diverse fields and countries to exchange ideas, foster collaboration and promote international understanding through direct dialogue.

With a network of nearly 1,900 active Fellows in scores of nations, EF inspires, connects and empowers leaders to take on some of the world's most urgent challenges with creativity, determination and purpose.

For more information contact:
Erin Hillman, Vice President of Programs and Operations
[email protected]
215-546-1738

SOURCE Eisenhower Fellowships