Abshire-Inamori Leadership Academy

Providing training in leadership, ethics, and foreign policy

Inspired by the vision of David M. Abshire, cofounder of CSIS, and Dr. Kazuo Inamori, founder of the Kyocera Corporation, the Abshire-Inamori Leadership Academy (AILA) provides rising global leaders with training opportunities in leadership, ethics, and foreign policy. Based on the founders’ ideals of humility, diligence, and forward thinking, AILA aims to empower CSIS’s young professionals and external audiences to make positive contributions to their communities and the world at large. AILA’s multidisciplinary programming helps aspiring interns and young professionals take their leadership capabilities and foreign policy knowledge to the next level. AILA’s goal is to foster growth and collaboration within the Center as well as to help prepare employees for challenges and opportunities in their future careers.

Impact at CSIS

CSIS has a thriving community of young professionals. Approximately 100 junior and mid-level staff members and 200 interns participate in AILA programming each year. From speaker series and skill-building workshops to educational activities and social hours, AILA programming is diverse and offers a holistic approach to training young professionals at CSIS to be active global citizens and impactful future leaders.

Speaker Series

Each year AILA hosts 3 ongoing speaker series and over 30 events and workshops that foster conversations between young professionals, interns, and senior CSIS scholars on topics related to foreign policy and professional development.

CurrentEvents@CSIS - A topical speaker series devoted to covering the most pressing international issues and conflicts as they unfold in real time.
Skill-Building Workshops – While at CSIS, young professionals and interns are encouraged to participate in workshops that develop and strengthen their abilities in key professional development areas such as personnel management, policy writing, policy analysis, social media management, communication and story-telling, and more.
Industry Insights - This is a series dedicated to exploring the many industries and professions in D.C. Participants have conversations with professionals outside of the center and develop an understanding around priorities for different organizations.

CSIS Internship Program

The CSIS Internship Program is an integral part of the internship experience at CSIS. Each semester, a new curriculum is developed to include weekly luncheons, briefings with CSIS experts, and assigned readings based off of cutting-edge research. Interns at CSIS are able to attend skill-building workshops, current event speaker series, and meet with Dr. John Hamre, CSIS President and CEO, to discuss the state of global affairs and the role that think tanks play within this context. They are also encouraged to build a network with their colleagues by attending social events and critically exploring global issues together. Interested in becoming a CSIS intern? Find out more.

Skill-Building Opportunities for Young Professionals

United States Army War College International Strategic Crisis Negotiation Exercise
Participants from nearby universities and leading research institutions join CSIS young professionals in simulating intensive diplomatic crisis negotiations. Experts from the U.S. Army War College develop complex and intricate scenarios involving multilateral conflicts, allowing students to build skills in situation analysis, strategic thinking, team building, and negotiation techniques.

CSIS-Deloitte Debate Program
A series of workshops culminating in a speed debate tournament designed to enhance CSIS interns’ public speaking and argumentation skills by practicing with talented colleagues from Deloitte Inc.