Last week, I attended the 2026 Melissa Hortman Emerging Leaders Program in Charlottesville, Virginia, a nonpartisan conference hosted by the State Legislative Leaders Foundation. The conference was renamed in honor of Melissa Hortman, the former Minnesota Speaker of the House who was tragically killed in 2025. Hortman was an avid supporter of the program.
One of the most inspirational parts of the program was hearing from Lt. Col. Doug Douds, USMC, who delivered a powerful keynote speech with a reminder that “democracy is a relay, not finished business.”
It was a privilege to join 58 state legislators from across the country, all dedicated to learning how to better serve our constituents back home.
