Press Releases
Controller Malia M. Cohen Named to Prestigious Rodel Fellowship Class of 2026
For Immediate Release
9/29/2025
Bismark Obando
Press Secretary
916-201-9261
bobando@sco.ca.gov
Mariana Carine
Assistant Press Secretary
916-838-5283
mcarine@sco.ca.gov
SACRAMENTO – The State Controller’s Office is proud to announce that Controller Malia M. Cohen has been selected for the highly competitive Rodel Fellowship Class of 2026.
The Rodel Fellowship is the nation’s premier leadership development program for elected officials. Each year, the program selects just 24 outstanding state and local leaders—equally balanced between political parties—to participate in a series of three multi-day seminars held over two years. Guided by leading scholars, fellows read and discuss classic texts on ethical values, democratic principles, and effective leadership, including the Declaration of Independence, the U.S. Constitution, and works by Frederick Douglass, Abraham Lincoln, and Martin Luther King Jr., among others.
“I am deeply honored to be selected for the Rodel Fellowship. Public service is about listening, learning, and leading with integrity, and this program provides a unique opportunity to reflect on those values alongside leaders from across the country,” stated Controller Cohen. “I look forward to the conversations ahead and to bringing those lessons back to California as we work to strengthen trust in government and deliver results for the people we serve.”
Since its founding in 2005, the Rodel Fellowship has helped 425 state and local elected officials reach their full potential as public servants. These fellows have gone on to serve as United States senators, governors, mayors, party leaders, Cabinet secretaries, members of Congress, and Vice President of the United States.
For more information, please visit https://www.rodelinstitute.org/programs/rodel-fellowship/.
As the chief fiscal officer of California, Controller Cohen independently oversees and manages California’s financial resources with integrity and transparency to build trust. The Controller is responsible for accountability and disbursement of the state’s financial resources. The Controller has independent auditing authority over government agencies that spend state funds. She is a member of numerous financing authorities, and fiscal and financial oversight entities including the Franchise Tax Board. She also serves on the boards for the nation’s two largest public pension funds. Follow the Controller on X at @CAController and on Facebook at California State Controller’s Office.
The Rodel Institute seeks to strengthen democracy and public leadership in the United States. A nonpartisan center for leadership and intellectual growth, we help America’s most promising leaders deepen their commitment to democracy and the rule of law and work together to address some of our nation’s most important domestic and international challenges. The Institute’s programs convene diverse leaders from across the country and the political and legal spectrum in an effort to find common ground, build enduring relationships, and encourage the understanding and cooperation needed to move our nation forward. For more information, visit www.rodelinstitute.org.
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