Rhode Island State Sen. Cynthia Armour Coyne Selected as CSG Toll Fellow

LEXINGTON, Ky.—Rhode Island state Sen. Cynthia Armour Coyne has been
selected to participate in one of the nation’s premier leadership development
programs for state government officials, The Council of State Governments’
Henry Toll Fellowship program.

The 48 leaders in the Class of 2016 Toll Fellowship program hail from 29 states,
Puerto Rico and Guam and represent all three branches of state government. A
12-member committee of state leaders, many who are Toll Fellows themselves,
reviewed applications and selected the class.
“I applied to the Henry Toll Fellowship program in order to develop and enhance
leadership skills that will help me better represent my constituents in the Rhode
Island state Senate,” said Coyne.
For 30 years, the Toll Fellowship program, named for CSG founder Henry
Wolcott Toll, has convened a group of the nation’s top state officials for an
intensive, six-day, five-night intellectual boot camp. This year’s program will be
held Aug. 26-31 in Lexington, Kentucky.
The program’s agenda includes a lineup of dynamic speakers and sessions
designed to stimulate personal assessment and growth, while providing
networking and relationship-building opportunities. Each year’s program is
unique, but previous programs have included sessions on leadership personality
assessment, media training, crisis management, appreciative inquiry and
adaptive leadership.
“The Toll Fellowship program provides elected officials with an invaluable and
incomparable leadership development experience,” said David Adkins, CSG
executive director/CEO. “In addition, the program fosters lasting friendships
among a diverse group of elected officials with a like-minded passion for public
service.”
Adkins was a 1993 Toll Fellow when he served as a Kansas state representative.

Toll Fellows alumni include Oregon Gov. Kate Brown; U.S. Rep. John Carney, a
former Delaware lieutenant governor; Arizona Gov. Doug Ducey; Maine
Secretary of State Matthew Dunlap; Tennessee Secretary of State Tre Hargett;
Delaware Gov. Jack Markell; Arkansas Secretary of State Mark Martin; Alabama
Secretary of State John Merrill; Iowa Secretary of State Paul Pate; U.S. Rep.
Todd Rokita, a former Indiana secretary of state; and former U.S. Labor
Secretary Hilda Solis.
Coyne said she hopes during her time in the program to learn leadership skills
that will be specifically targeted to the public sector and government.
“I believe that most elected officials have some leadership experience that they
bring to their position, whether through prior professional experience, as I have
had with the Rhode Island State Police, through service in the military, or through
other life experiences,” said Coyne. “Continuing leadership development can
target that experience toward the skills uniquely applicable to state government,
and help develop new skills to fill any critical gaps.”
The Council of State Governments is a region-based forum that fosters the
exchange of insights and ideas to help state officials shape public policy. CSG is
the nation’s only organization that serves all three branches of state government.
For more information, visit www.csg.org.