The center works to prepare its students to exercise leadership in a world responding to a rapidly expanding array of economic, political, and social challenges.

[2] Hannah Riley Bowles, Roy E. Larsen Senior Lecturer in Public Policy and Management at HKS, was appointed Co-Director of CPL in May 2021 following the departure of Wendy Sherman.

[4] In February 2022, former Massachusetts governor Deval Patrick joined Harvard Kennedy School as Co-Director of CPL and Professor of the Practice of Public Leadership.

[5] In January 2024, Harvard Kennedy School Dean Douglas Elmendorf announced that Patrick plans to step down from his co-directorship in June 2024.

Hauser Leaders spend their time on campus teaching skill-building and leadership development workshops, engaging with key external stakeholders, and advising students and alumni[14] Through a gift of $20 million from the estate of Alan Gleitsman, the center endowed the Gleitsman Program in Leadership for Social Change in 2007.