Pelosi To Launch Berkeley Institute Focused On Protecting Democracy

SAN FRANCISCO — Former House Speaker Nancy Pelosi is launching a namesake institute at the University of California, Berkeley focused on strengthening America’s democratic institutions, her first major move after leaving Congress at the end of this year.

"The work of democracy is never finished, and securing its future is our greatest calling," Pelosi said in a statement Monday. "UC Berkeley has a long, proud history of challenging the status quo and producing leaders who run toward the greatest challenges of our time.”

The Nancy Pelosi Institute for Representative Democracy at UC Berkeley will launch in January 2027, shortly after she retires from elected office. Pelosi, the first female speaker of the House and one of the most powerful women in modern American politics, announced last fall that she would not seek another term after nearly four decades representing San Francisco in Congress.

UC Berkeley officials and Pelosi said the institute will seek to shape debates over democratic governance, with faculty members and students researching and proposing ideas to improve democratic governance. The institute's mission will also include a focus on protecting civil rights and promoting diversity in political leadership.

“We intend to do more than simply study democracy; we are building this institute to strengthen it,” UC Berkeley Chancellor Rich Lyons said in a statement.

Pelosi’s office said the institute will be strictly nonpartisan, but its focus reflects her concern about the state of democracy in America. Pelosi has, in recent years, often spoken about the threat she argues President Donald Trump poses to democracy and the separation of powers.

The institute will launch with more than $32 million in fundraising pledges, according to Pelosi and Berkeley officials. It will support new undergraduate courses to train future leaders, an annual nonpartisan forum for political thinkers and a visiting fellows program featuring national and global leaders.

Pelosi will co-teach a course with professor Eric Schickler, a scholar on Congress, that Berkeley said will offer students “unprecedented access to an unequaled source of insight about the mechanics and nuances” of government.