July 28, 2023
SIU’s Carol Greenlee selected as a 2023 Edgar Fellow
CARBONDALE, Ill. — Carol Greenlee, associate director of Southern Illinois University Carbondale's Paul Simon Public Policy Institute, has been chosen a 2023 Edgar Fellow.
Greenlee is one of 40 Illinois public policy leaders from across Illinois chosen this year for the program, which started in 2012. The group includes elected and appointed officials from all levels of government; leaders of non-profit and labor organizations, and individuals who are influencing public policy in the business world. The fellows selected for 2023 reflects Illinois’ political, racial, ethnic and geographic diversity.
Greenlee, who lives in Carterville, started at the Simon Institute while a graduate student and later worked for the Illinois Student Assistance Commission before joining SIU Carbondale and the Simon Institute in a full-time capacity 2012; first as project coordinator and later as assistant director. She then joined the SIU Foundation as corporate secretary in 2017 before returning to the Simon Institute in June 2022 as associate director.
She is a two-degree SIU Carbondale graduate with a bachelor’s degree in finance and a master’s degree in higher education, college student personnel.
“It’s an honor to be selected to participate in this year’s Edgar Fellows Program,” Greenlee said. “I look forward to engaging with dynamic and experienced individuals from across the state.”
The Edgar Fellows Program is part of the Institute of Government and Public Affairs at the University of Illinois and is under the stewardship of former Illinois Gov. Jim Edgar. This is the 11th class, bringing the number of fellows who have participated to more than 400. There were nearly 210 nominees this year.
“Each year, the Edgar Fellows Program brings together a group of leaders, with different backgrounds and different politics from across Illinois,” Edgar said in a release. “They share and learn from those different life experiences, but they also find out that they have more in common than they might realize.
“With each class, it has been gratifying to watch people who were strangers on Sunday become good friends by Thursday. It’s what the Edgar Fellows program is all about – finding common ground and respect, so that our fellows can work together to help shape a better Illinois.”
Greenlee and other fellows will gather Aug. 6-10 in Champaign to participate in an executive leadership training program and meet with more than 30 public policy practitioners who are experienced on issues including economic development, climate change, supply chain, education, Medicaid, transportation and intergovernmental cooperation.
The list of 2023 Edgar Fellows, along with previous Edgar Fellows, is available on the organization’s website.