Leading Forward is a new half-day intensive series from the Chicago Council on Global Affairs, built for early-career professionals (those under 35 or in the first eight years of their career) who want to do more than talk about the world's biggest challenges.

In a single afternoon, participants build a concrete leadership skill; dig into a specific, timely global issue with a leading expert; and leave with real relationships from peers across the private, public, and nonprofit sectors who are ready to act on what they learn.

Our first Leading Forward intensive takes on one of the most consequential energy questions of the decade: the expansion of nuclear power. Participants will spend the afternoon with Council Distinguished Non-Resident Fellow and nuclear expert Deborah Rosenblum. They will work through the opportunities and tradeoffs of a nuclear buildout, while also learning how to write an executive memo and practicing how to deliver an executive report-out, a skill every rising leader needs regardless of industry. Alongside the content, participants will connect with peers across sectors through substantive conversation and a hands-on skills workshop built to create lasting, cross-sector relationships.

The AI boom is driving an unprecedented surge in demand for data centers, and data centers need enormous, reliable power. Nuclear energy is one of the few sources that can meet that demand, and Illinois already produces more nuclear power than any other state in the country. As Illinois looks to build a clean, reliable grid, who pays for it (from corporations down to the individual Chicago resident), and how do we build the political will and social capital to justify the cost? What are the real benefits and risks of a deeper national investment in nuclear power, for this industry and well beyond it? These are the questions our first Leading Forward cohort will work through together.

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