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Arizona Center for Civic Leadership
Enhancing civic life in Arizona through education, engagement, and leadership programs.
Arizona's premier fellowship program of learning and support for state-level public service.
Meet the more than 400 Fellows who make up the Flinn-Brown Network through this searchable directory.
Monthly virtual public policy seminars emphasizing learning and discussion.
A partnership to measure Arizona's progress on civic participation and connected communities—and act.
A statewide resource for organizations interested and involved in strengthening civic leadership.
Learn more about the Arizona Center for Civic Leadership and its cornerstone programs.
Connect with Arizona Center for Civic Leadership: Stay up to date. Join our email list.
The Arizona Center for Civic Leadership
The nonpartisan Arizona Center for Civic Leadership at the Flinn Foundation enhances civic life in Arizona through civic education, leadership, and engagement programs. The Arizona Civic Exchange—CivEx—creates opportunities for the public to become better informed and educated on political and policy topics impacting their communities. The prestigious Flinn-Brown Fellowship fosters civic leaders in Arizona by building knowledge, skills, and a robust network to find solutions for Arizona’s long-term issues. The Center promotes civic engagement through the Civic Leadership Collaborative and the Arizona Civic Life Partnership by convening organizations committed to generating public discussion about the critical importance of civic participation and connected communities to effective civic leadership—and our broader prosperity and quality of life.
Flinn-Brown Fellow Cecilia McCollough to serve another term as mayor of Wellton
The Honorable Cecilia McCollough was first appointed as mayor of Wellton in 2014 and was recently re-elected for another term. The 2018 Flinn-Brown Fellow said because Wellton, a community of mostly retirees, does not have the resources that larger urban areas have, the connections with local, county, and state leaders have been important to create solutions.
Currently, Mayor McCollough is working on a team to pursue grants for Wellton for after-school STEM-related programs and activities. She said collaboration in the southwest Arizona region is key to bringing a unified voice on regional issues, plus it has allowed for the sharing of best practices. [Read more]
Bringing Fellows—and Arizona—together: 2022 Flinn-Brown Convention
The 2022 annual Flinn-Brown Convention, “The State of Our Democracy,” was held Friday, Nov. 4 at the Desert Botanical Garden in Phoenix.
The all-day event for Flinn-Brown Fellows included topics related to our democratic processes and institutions, including data-driven discussions on what Arizonans want from our policymakers, how the language we use can impact our messaging around civic engagement, and speakers and panelists who spoke to our state’s elections process and opportunities for reform. [Learn More]
Flinn-Brown Fellow JP Martin works alongside Tucson neighborhood groups
JP Martin is the director of small business and community engagement for the city of Tucson, where Martin says he works to use the power granted by the state to organize leadership and change policies that build a consensus of diverse and popular voices. Martin said he works with neighborhood associations and plans to create and support the first municipal participatory-budgeting process in Arizona.
The 2017 Flinn-Brown Fellow from Tucson said the Flinn-Brown Network provides a platform for Fellows to exchange values as effective and ethical public stewards who carry out critical governance decisions. [Read more]
Flinn-Brown Fellows lead CivEx on state’s defense economy
Four Flinn-Brown Fellows discussed Arizona’s defense ecosystem, its nearly $60 billion economic impact on the state, how it compares with other states, and opportunities for growth during an Aug. 31 CivEx webinar.
The discussion about the state’s defense industry featured Drew Trojanowski, assistant vice president, strategic initiatives, Arizona State University Knowledge Enterprise; Matthew Walsh, intergovernmental and legislative liaison, U.S. Army Intelligence Center of Excellence, Ft. Huachuca; Alanna Riggs, executive liaison, U.S. Army Intelligence Center of Excellence, Ft. Huachuca; and Travis Schulte, chief legislative & tribal liaison, Arizona Department of Emergency and Military Affairs, Arizona National Guard. [Watch CivEx]
Introducing the 2022 Flinn-Brown Fellows
In this video, the 2022 Flinn-Brown Fellows introduce themselves and share what excites them most about the Flinn-Brown Fellowship.
In the spring of 2022, the Arizona Center for Civic Leadership selected 27 civic leaders from around the state to participate in Arizona’s most prestigious leadership program on state policy and politics, bringing together diverse political perspectives, experience, and policy interests. [Watch video]
News and Updates
Civic Leadership
November 2022 Network News
Thoughts from Dawn Wallace Over the holiday break, I rewatched The Candidate, a 1972 film featuring a charismatic, free-thinking political outsider who is haphazardly thrown into what is expected to be a losing electoral campaign. Not surprisingly, the candidate’s uncompromising integrity begins to weaken as his chances of winning increase. He eventually succumbs to a […]
Civic Leadership
Arizona Center for Civic Leadership chooses statewide leaders for Flinn-Brown Fellowship
The Arizona Center for Civic Leadership at the Flinn Foundation has selected the 2022 Flinn-Brown Fellows, 27 leaders who will participate in Arizona’s most prestigious leadership program on state policy and politics. Members of the 14th cohort of Flinn-Brown Fellows, bringing together diverse political perspectives, experience, and policy interests, currently serve in the private and […]
Civic Leadership
Flinn-Brown Fellow Matthew Herman: A life of service and business in Casa Grande 
Matthew Herman(Casa Grande, 2019) General ManagerNorris RV LinkedIn | Twitter Matt manages his family’s small RV dealership and repair shop in Casa Grande, where he works side by side with his parents daily. It is said that he is the oldest person in Pinal County to still get an allowance from his parents because his mom still […]
Civic Leadership
Flinn-Brown Fellow Reyna Montoya works to advance justice for immigrant communities
Reyna Montoya(Gilbert, 2020) CEO and FounderAliento LinkedIn | Twitter 1. Can you please describe your work and how public policy impacts how you manage your organization? Public policy impacts real human beings. As the founder and CEO of Aliento, a nonprofit that envisions a world where we nurture human potential regardless of immigration status, every decision that […]
For information about Civic Leadership, please contact:
civicleadership@flinn.org or (602) 744-6832
Dawn Wallace
Vice President, Civic Leadership
Jennifer Papworth
Program Manager, Arizona Center for Civic Leadership
Danielle Underwood
Program Coordinator, Arizona Center for Civic Leadership