Niki Brunson Saunders, a Master of Public Service candidate at the Clinton School of Public Service, has been accepted into the Arkansas Collegiate Civic Leadership Academy (ACCLA) Class of 2027.
Hosted by the Winthrop Rockefeller Institute and starting in September, ACCLA is a yearlong civic leadership program that brings together student leaders from colleges and universities across Arkansas. The academy prepares students to become effective civic leaders in their communities, and graduates receive the Civic Arkansan Credential from the Winthrop Rockefeller Institute.
Saunders learned about ACCLA while attending the Arkansas Engaged Learning Network Conference at the University of Arkansas, where Dr. John C. Davis, a Visiting Fellow at the Clinton School and Executive Director of the David and Barbara Pryor Center for Arkansas Oral and Visual History, co-presented on the academy’s inaugural cohort and statewide purpose.
“I am honored to join the second ACCLA cohort,” Saunders said. “Dr. Davis’s encouragement stayed with me because it helped me recognize ACCLA as a practical way to continue growing through the Clinton School’s applied public service mission. The academy will serve as a meaningful extension of the training I’ve received in civic engagement, applied public service, and community-centered leadership at the Clinton School. I look forward to learning alongside student leaders committed to service, dialogue, and democratic participation.”
At the Clinton School, Saunders’ work has focused on civic engagement, public participation, program evaluation, community-based research, and institutional accountability. Her applied public service experience includes a Practicum team research project with Get Loud Arkansas involving youth civic participation and an International Public Service Project with the Arkansas Chapter of the Fulbright Association focused on international education, civic diplomacy, institutional partnerships, and cross-cultural public service.
As part of ACCLA, participants will attend monthly sessions, complete a service-learning project, engage respectfully across different perspectives, and contribute to the academy’s civic leadership mission.