Stretching the Imagination — Four Years of The Tsai Leadership Program

The Leadership Program supports courses on new and evolving areas of the law, including artificial intelligence, and reading groups on topics such as pathways to decarbonization and White House policymaking. It also brings a host of speakers and visiting faculty to the Law School each year and connects students with an ever-widening network of alumni mentors.

Students also heard from an extraordinary lineup of speakers for the Crossing Divides series; visited Washington, D.C. and New York City to meet with public and private sector leaders; and attended training opportunities and workshops.

The latter included a series on financial literacy, as well as workshops on procedural justice, pitching ideas to investors, and public speaking. A workshop on leadership development was led by McKinsey Global general counsel Pierre Gentin and Marie Huber, the former chief legal officer and head of eBay’s global legal and government and public policy functions, who offered a practicum on professionalism and team management in real-world scenarios.

For its Business Leadership Speaker Series, the Chae Initiative hosted a wide range of guests, from writers and podcast hosts to the leaders of major multinational corporations. 

Meanwhile, the Ludwig Program sought to highlight leaders working across policymaking contexts, including state and local government, tribal government, and federal government.

“All of our speakers offered unique insight on leadership and service,” said Margie Adler, co-head of The Tsai Leadership Program and executive director of the Ludwig Program. “Students heard from leaders representing a remarkable range of service in the public interest, and the challenges and opportunities that come along with that.”

Noah Hoffman ’25, a Ludwig fellow, said he particularly enjoyed Colorado Supreme Court Chief Justice Monica Márquez’s ’97 presentation. “[She] had so many interesting things to say about the role of state judiciaries,” he said. “I loved hearing about how she was encouraged to [take the position of chief justice] by her community, and though she was skeptical she was the right person for the job, she really thrived once she got there.”

The Leadership Program also provided great experiences for student fellows who opted to engage further with the program.

Chae fellows attended a series of mentoring dinners, during which they met with alumni in smaller-group settings. One such dinner allowed students to talk to Yuan Ji ’11, the co-founder and CEO of Erstwhile Mezcal. 

Claire Ren ’26, a Chae fellow, said she found Ji’s story inspiring. “Her journey reflects a strong sense of agency, vision, and the courage to lead both herself and others,” Ren said. “In true YLS fashion, Yuan has infused her social entrepreneurship with a deep sense of purpose and is dedicated to the broader good.”

In the spring, Chae fellows also visited Yale Investments, where they met with an investor for the University endowment and a team of in-house counsel members, including Chris Zheng ’19, Sohail Ramirez ’10, and Cameron Rotblat ’18.

“We discussed how the Yale investment office functions, learning about their team, the various tasks they each take on, as well as their financial strategic thinking, and how they pursue their goal of managing the University’s endowment for generations,” said Chae Fellow Corey Khan ’25.

The Leadership Program offers as many events as students could wish for throughout the year. But it also offers something equally important: a community.

“The most valuable part of the Ludwig Program is the time and effort the Tsai Leadership team put into providing spaces for us to engage with our fellow students as well as the fascinating speakers and guests they bring to campus,” said Ludwig Fellow Dhruv Singh ’26.

Chae Fellow Matt LoCastro ’25 agreed. “The Chae fellows program and the Leadership Program as a whole has been one of my favorite communities at the Law School,” he said. “I think it brings together a very professionally diverse set of people. It’s an interesting cohort to be in because it feels like you’re always learning from your peers.”

Hoffman, too, said he felt supported by the Leadership Program staff and the Ludwig Program’s community of fellows. Many students in his cohort are interested in pursuing nontraditional career opportunities, and skills they’ve gained through Leadership programming, like public speaking and negotiating, translate to many paths.

“It gives you a community of people doing similar things and reaffirms what you’re doing is not crazy — you’re not wasting this degree, and you have support in this process, through your classmates,” said Hoffman.

For Ren, the program has helped her connect not just to her classmates but to a constellation of alumni who have opened her eyes to a world of opportunities. “I’ve met alumni who have charted new paths — whether directly after law school or midcareer — and their examples have helped me realize that life can be as rich, creative, and full of possibility as my imagination allows,” she said. “The Tsai Leadership Program has stretched the outer bounds of my imagination in more ways than I can count.”