The Bush Institute is focused on ensuring opportunity for all, strengthening democracy, and advancing free societies.
A note from David J. Kramer
The entire Bush Center staff is thrilled to welcome aboard Shilo Brooks, our new President and CEO, who started this week. We’re excited for him to begin engaging on our work and with all of you.
As President Bush has said, Shilo is “a brilliant thinker” with expertise in civil discourse, civic literacy, and American political thought. A West Texas native, Shilo came to us from Princeton University, where he led the James Madison Program in American Ideals and Institutions and taught a highly popular course on Statesmanship and the American Presidency.
Even as we look to the future with his arrival, we want to highlight some of the Bush Institute’s many recent achievements.
Our signature Forum on Leadership on The American Promise in April included American success stories and conversations on higher education, democracy, and restoring trust in the media. The Dallas Morning News published former CEO Ken Hersh’s op-ed on why fear- based regimes don’t last.
Former Defense Secretary Dr. Robert M. Gates received the George W. Bush Medal for Distinguished Leadership, and Tom Luce, Founder and Chairman Emeritus of Texas 2036, was given the 2025 George W. Bush Institute Trailblazer Citation. The George W. Bush Institute Citation went to BridgeUSA for bridge-building work with young people.
As part of our own bridge-building work, the Presidential Leadership Scholars program, a collaboration with the presidential centers of Bill Clinton, George H.W. Bush, and Lyndon B. Johnson, is celebrating a decade of impact and now has almost 600 alumni.
On the policy front, a first-of-its-kind report from Bush Institute Senior Fellow Dr. Victor Cha co-produced with the Center for Strategic and International Studies in June used the voices of 100 North Koreans to show what life was truly like there during the pandemic. It attracted national and international attention, including from The New York Times and CNN.
In April, the Bush Institute-SMU Economic Growth Initiative tackled two hot topics, housing and immigration. Director Cullum Clark published the latest Blueprint for Opportunity report, Lessons From America’s Fastest-Growing Cities, while Director Laura Collins wrote a widely cited piece on the need to overhaul immigration processes.
Mrs. Bush’s Summer Reading List for Kids in May recommended books for toddlers through middle schoolers, including ones that celebrate America, adventures, and friendship.
The Catalyst: A Journal of Ideas from the Bush Institute made The Case for Conservatism – why humility, respect for tradition, and honoring human dignity still matter.
The Strategerist podcast hosted Jessica Yellin, founder of News Not Noise, and Damon Wilson, President and CEO of the National Endowment for Democracy, among others.
Ken Hersh’s outstanding leadership for the past nine years helped the Bush Institute advance President and Mrs. Bush’s core values of freedom, opportunity, accountability, and compassion, which are more important now than ever before. We will always be grateful. Of course, none of it would be possible without your generous support, and we extend our deepest thanks.
