Rodney Short, Deputy City Attorney for the City of Yuma, has earned a prestigious Flinn-Brown fellowship through the Arizona Center for Civic Leadership. The Flinn-Brown fellowship provides networking and in-depth learning about Arizona policy and politics with a goal of providing long-term support and development for civic leadership. 

Short was among 28 Flinn-Brown Academy finalists selected for the 2024 class. Participants accepted through the rigorous and competitive application process are experienced civic leaders and highly accomplished professionals representing diverse perspectives. Together, they completed an intensive 14-week program that included presenting a project to members of the Arizona Legislature.

Part of Short’s job with the City is working with legislators regarding bills and how their proposed legislation potential impacts Yuma. The Flinn-Brown program provided training that makes participants effective when engaging with policymakers and stakeholders. He called the program’s approach “a holistic way of looking into issues Arizona needs to tackle immediately while also looking to future emerging issues that must be handled to remain competitive on a national or international stage.”

Short credited Flinn-Brown for broadening his perspective on policy issues and who is affected by them. “The program showed me a different way of thinking about Arizona’s issues,” Short said. “I thought I was good at looking at things objectively before, but this program expanded that skill. I had not realized before how much room I had to grow.”

One of the insights Short took from the program came from data that showed how much common ground residents have on key statewide issues. Contrary to the perception of widespread political polarization, Arizonans share agreement on a range of desired outcomes; however, the policies proposed to create those outcomes can lead to tensions that prevent action from being taken.

“This program showed how to steer around policy disputes in a way that keeps the dialogue open before the differences stall the negotiations,” Short said. “Flinn-Brown demonstrates how we can take some difficult decisions and say, ‘this goal is attainable, let’s not let ideology get in the way of action.’ I’m looking forward to putting these tools to use in the next legislative cycle.”

While completing the Flinn-Brown program is a major accomplishment, its benefits do not end there. Graduates maintain a strong network that includes seeking each other out for discussions on policy and problems. “Flinn-Brown is a fellowship that doesn’t go away,” Short said.

Short was one of two from Yuma in this year’s Flinn-Brown class, joined by Lorraine Stofft, AWC Vice President for Advancement and Executive Director of the AWC Foundation. Overall, only nine Flinn-Brown fellows have represented Yuma over the span of the program’s history.

For more information on the Flinn-Brown fellowship, visit the Flinn Foundation at www.flinn.org.

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