Avon/Canton State Rep. Picked For National Leadership Program

AVON/CANTON, CT — The state representative serving both Avon and Canton has been chosen for a national fellowship program for state government officials.

State Rep. Eleni Kavros Degraw, D-Avon, serves Avon and Canton as the representative of the 17th House District, which is comprised of part of Avon and all of Canton.

She said Tuesday that the Council of State Governments picked her for the 2024 CSG Henry Toll Fellowship.

Degraw said this year's program is comprised of 49 individuals representing 34 states and U.S. territories and all three branches of state government.

The Henry Toll Fellowship is a leadership development program for state government officials.

“It’s an honor to be accepted into the 2024 Toll Fellowship Class. I am truly excited to learn from my classmates and engage in this significant opportunity to grow as a legislative leader,” DeGraw said.

Since 1986, CSG has convened a new class of CSG Henry Toll Fellows at its national headquarters in Lexington, Ky., "for an intensive leadership boot camp," wrote Degraw's office in a statement.

“While the CSG Henry Toll Fellows come from every region of our nation, from both political parties and all three branches of state government, they share one thing in common — they are all committed to improving the lives of the people they serve,” said CSG Executive Director/CEO David Adkins, a former Kansas state senator and 1993 CSG Henry Toll Fellow alumnus.

“Toll Fellows are selected based on their demonstrated commitment to solve problems, to work collaboratively to get things done, and their belief that state government can and must be a force for good.”

According to a statement, there are 1,400 graduates of the Toll Fellowship, including four sitting state/territorial house speakers, eight sitting state supreme court justices, 10 sitting members of Congress, three sitting governors and more than 200 Toll alumni currently serving as state/territorial legislators.

Degraw was first elected to her seat in 2020 and seeks a third term in office this year.

For more information on the CSG Henry Toll Fellowship, click on this link or email toll@csg.org.