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Rylyn Williams, a doctoral candidate in the Department of Political Science and a project assistant in the Data Analytics and Computational Social Science program in the School of Public Policy, has been named a Founders’ Fellow by the American Society for Public Administration (ASPA).

Williams studies nonprofit administration and data analytics and is among fewer than three dozen scholars worldwide selected for the Founders’ Fellows Class of 2026.

ASPA’s Founders’ Fellows program supports emerging public service leaders through professional development opportunities, including attending and presenting at the organization’s annual conference. Fellows present a subject-matter paper related to their scholarship or professional work, with the option to publish it in the society’s PA TIMES Online.

Open to graduate students and early-career professionals within their first three years of public service, the program is ASPA’s flagship initiative for cultivating the next generation of leaders in the field. UMass Amherst is among the institutions underwriting the program through multiyear funding commitments to support its long-term sustainability.