11-07-2025
A reason for hope, at a time of deep division
As we approach America's 250th birthday, our country faces complex challenges. A 2025 Marist survey found that Americans are concerned — 77 percent say the issues that divide us are a serious threat to the future of our democracy.
Yet our common humanity is much deeper and more powerful than our differences.
It's important to recognize that, as a nation, we are stronger because we are able to express and debate different points of view respectfully.
As the executive directors of two presidential centers — one Republican, one Democratic — we have found inspiration through hundreds of leaders who have come together, across partisan lines, to learn from each other and make a difference in their communities.
Ten years ago, Presidents George W. Bush, Bill Clinton and George H.W. Bush teamed up with the LBJ Foundation to create the Presidential Leadership Scholars — a program aimed at developing leaders who work with, not against, those with different perspectives and beliefs to make a positive, lasting impact in the United States and around the world.
Throughout the program, scholars encounter bold examples of presidential collaboration: President Johnson uniting an unlikely coalition to pass landmark civil rights legislation. President George H.W. Bush bringing together both parties to end discrimination through the Americans with Disabilities Act. President Clinton working across the aisle to balance the budget for the first time in a generation — reducing the national debt and leaving the country with a record surplus. President George W. Bush rallying bipartisan support for the President's Emergency Plan for AIDS Relief, which has saved more than 26 million lives.
These examples give scholars insights into how, even amidst division and disagreement, we can work together to create something better.
A decade later, the program has nearly 600 alumni. While they are of different political affiliations, work across different sectors, and are from various parts of the country, these leaders share a common trait: their desire to work across divides to make positive change.
The most critical piece of this program is a charge for these leaders to develop personal leadership projects that address a challenge and make a difference in their communities.
Jon Bennion, a 2018 alum of the scholars program, built a program that brings Republicans and Democrats from the Montana state Legislature together for a literal 'sausage-making' event — creating an opportunity to build trust and relationships that can help elected leaders reach consensus on divisive issues.
Steve Lopez, a 2023 Scholar, discovered the shortage of mechanics was threatening Dallas Fire-Rescue's ability to quickly respond to emergency situations. Inspired by a program started by a fellow Scholar, Lopez led an overhaul of the mechanic recruitment and training process and is building a school-to-work pipeline to bring students into the field.
From last year's class of scholars, Keely Cat-Wells developed a talent acquisition and learning platform for disabled professionals. Cat-Wells became disabled at age 17, and through her new platform, she has already supported more than 3,000 disabled people and connected employers with a highly qualified and often-overlooked talent pool.
President Johnson once said, 'There are no problems we cannot solve together, and very few that we can solve by ourselves.' At a time of great division, the Presidential Leadership Scholars program gives us hope and inspiration that our common humanity can prevail, and the next generation can come together to solve problems in ways that will bring us together, not tear us apart.
David J. Kramer is executive director of the George W. Bush Institute and Stephanie S. Streett is executive director of the Clinton Foundation.
