Arlington, VA — The Mercatus Center at George Mason University is pleased to announce the third cohort of fellows selected for its John Stuart Mill Fellowship. Launched in 2023, the Mill Fellowship is a one-year program for entrepreneurs and leaders to study the philosophical foundations of markets, politics, and society.
The Fellowship was established with support from current Mercatus board member and founder of Cosmos Institute, Brendan McCord. McCord worked with Virgil Storr, Senior Vice President, Research and Programs, to create the Mill Fellowship, building on the Center’s decades of experience developing successful talent development programs.
“The greatest builders don’t just execute; they reflect. My year as a Mill Fellow was life-changing, giving me the resources, courage, and community to pursue ideas once out of reach,” said McCord. “I look forward to seeing this new class explore the foundations of a free society while shaping ventures that matter.”
Over the course of the academic year, the new class of Mill Fellows will gather for colloquia to explore seminal works from thinkers like John Stuart Mill, Adam Smith, Alexis de Tocqueville, F. A. Hayek, and James Buchanan. The program is designed to equip fellows not only intellectually but also with the practical skills to bring philosophical insight into their work as technology entrepreneurs, nonprofit leaders, business founders, and public thinkers.
Fellows are selected based on their entrepreneurial success or leadership, their commitment to positive social impact, and an intellectual curiosity about the foundations of political economy and liberal thought. Previous participants have expressed how valuable they find the program’s careful curation of readings, as well as the opportunity to explore these ideas with a community of builders.
“Mill Fellows are philosopher entrepreneurs who are changing the world through their enterprises and grounding their practice in deep reflection on the nature of a free society. What began as an experimental program two years ago quickly exceeded my expectations as I witnessed our fellows’ commitment to exploring these ideas,” said Storr. “I look forward to seeing how this impressive next group will draw from the classical liberal ideas to advance positive social change.”
For more information about the John Stuart Mill Fellowship or to request a media interview, please contact:
Kate De Lanoy at 703-993-9677 or [email protected]. For more on all Mercatus Center fellowships and programs, visit Mercatus.org.
John Stuart Mill Fellows for 2025-2026
- Liv Boeree, Founder, Win-Win
- Dan DiLella, Senior Vice President & Principal, Equus Capital Partners, Ltd.
- Will Dufton, Principal, Giant Ventures
- Kate Eberstadt, Artist
- Jad Esber, Founder/CEO, koodos labs
- Tuan Ho, Partner, Xfund
- Oliver Hsu, Partner, Andreessen Horowitz
- Beni Issembert, VP of Trust and Data Governance, Brahma AI
- John Kaufhold, Founder & CEO, ML4Biz.org
- Jon Kokot, CEO, Civic
- Christina Last, Founder, TipplyAI
- Avantika Mehra, Chief of Staff, Cosmos Institute
- Tetteh Otuteye, Actuary and Risk Management Executive
- Andy Talbert, Managing Partner, ELUX Capital
- Tlek Zeinullayev, CEO and Founder, Aina Investment Mgmt