Founder and founding chair
Young Philatelic Leaders Fellowship
A year-long mentorship program of the American Philatelic Society
2008–present
American Philatelic Society
No. 03
2008–present
By the numbers
- proposed at the APS Tiffany Dinner
- 2008
- first class of fellows
- 2009
- years of mentoring
- 15+
- graduates
- 35+
No. 01 The story
Proposed by Alex at the 2008 APS Tiffany Dinner, the fellowship gives young collectors a year of mentors, a peer group and a place at the hobby's biggest shows. More than fifteen years on, its graduates help lead the field.
In 2008 Alex was a college senior who knew no one within ten years of his age who collected stamps. He was sure the young collectors were out there, buying and selling online and collecting alone. At the APS Tiffany Dinner in Charlotte, North Carolina, he proposed a fellowship to find them.
He worked with APS staff to set the guidelines, raise support and recruit the first class, which began in 2009. Fellows spend a year with experienced mentors on a track that suits them, whether dealing, research and writing, or exhibiting. They attend the major shows, give presentations and meet the people who shape the hobby.
The program has now run for more than fifteen years, and more than 35 fellows have completed it. Graduates work at auction firms, the Philatelic Foundation and the Scott Catalogue, and serve on the boards of the American Philatelic Society and the American Philatelic Research Library.
No. 02More projects
Elsewhere in the catalog.
No. 01
Clash of Empires: The 1879 Anglo-Zulu War
An artifact-driven museum exhibition at the Royal Philatelic Society London
July 1–31, 2023
No. 02
From Empire to Commonwealth
Commemorating the Centenary of Queen Elizabeth II's Birth
May 23–30, 2026
No. 04
Smithsonian National Postal Museum
Arago, online exhibits and digital outreach
2005–2010
Bringing an exhibition to your society or museum?