Page 44 - Leadership Lessons of the White House Fellows

A FOUNDATION FOR FELLOWSHIP

Republican friend John Gardner. Johnson apparently didn’t worry about
credit; he had accomplished his goal. He had opened the door to the White
House so that the nation’s best and brightest young men and women could
go to Washington and work with mentors to tackle the nation’s biggest
challenges, just as he and Lady Bird had done thirty-five years before. 12
Two great Americans, Lyndon Johnson and John Gardner, in a true bipar-
tisan spirit, came together to establish through a public-private partnership
the first leadership and public service program of its kind in the nation.

12 Shortly after President Johnson’s death, Lady Bird Johnson wrote the White House Fel-
lows, “You should know that Lyndon had such great pride in the accomplishments of this
program and for the individuals it has produced. The program was, for him, a chance for
exceptionally talented young people to experience some of the same satisfactions and per-
sonal growth which were afforded a young congressional secretary more than 30 years
before.” March 1, 1973 Letter to the White House Fellows.

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