The Policy Academies

🎉 Congratulations to our 2024 Data Science Academy Fellows for a successful summer Internship experience at the Urban Institute! We are celebrating Juan, Linda, and Micaja’s accomplishments - from completing challenging data science training and exercises to a final presentation of their independent research project. Our Fellows will continue to be supported by The Policy Academies through Summer 2025 as they enter the job field or complete their Master's degree. We’re reminiscing already and looking back at some highlights from this summer - read below and check out our recap video! -📊 Eight training sessions in data science skills with the Urban Institute Data Science Team, including best practices for “Working with common public datasets”. -💡 Five engaging Guest Policy Speaker Sessions: Ruben E. Canedo, Michael Huggins, Indivar Dutta-Gupta, and Nicholas Johnson, shared their expertise across education, basic needs, fiscal, and socieconomic policy areas. And six TPA Alumni Panelists came together to share their career and leadership experiences in policy. - 🤝 10+ site visits and networking moments in key DC policy spaces: The White House, Social Security Administration, the National Academy of Social Insurance, MDRC, and the U.S. Department of Education - TPA Fellow Juan Sandoval focused his research on examining education and economic opportunity through higher education attainment rates for Latinx populations in Michigan. Juan will be starting a position at Michigan Hispanic Collaborative. - TPA Fellow Micaja V. developed a Policy Story on the private prison industry and identified incentive structures that may impact incarceration rates. Micaja will be entering the second year of her Master's program at the University of Michigan Ford School of Public Policy. - TPA Fellow Linda C. built a prototype of a data dashboard that can be used to map low food accessibility areas and proximity to urban farms and gardens in the nine Bay Area, CA counties. Linda will be on the job hunt and continuing to refine the data dashboard with input from local Bay Area food security organizations. We’re so grateful to our partners from the Data Science team at Urban Institute for collaborating with us to execute this pivotal experience for our Fellows and their career development. - Judah Axelrod, Alena Stern, Manuel Alcalá Kovalski - thank you for your partnership, and your dedication and support! - Thank you to the amazing Urban Institute Supervisors and Policy Area Mentors for your coaching and valuable mentorship: Thiyaghessan Poongundranar, Manuel Alcalá Kovalski, Jameson Carter, Poonam Gupta, Jason Cohn, Ashlin Oglesby-Neal - Thank to our TPA Founder and CEO, Lynette Rawlings, PhD, for building the partnerships and coalitions that help us reach our mission to support the next generation of policy leaders, as well as our Staff, Alex, Marlene, Keisha, and Delia for being an incredible team and all your efforts!

Ever feel energized by a career panel? Our 2024 TPA Fellows and Grantees got to meet TPA Alumni from our 2008-11 Academy Cohorts in a dynamic panel discussion. The conversation, focused on building leadership and influence in the policy field, was energizing for the next generation of policy leaders.  Some key insights surfaced from our Alumni Panelists about what motivates their purpose in the policy field, and the impact they’ve been able to see across their policy research and policy advocacy careers. Check out a sneak peek of our 💎 Panel Gems 💎 below: - 📊 “[My work has shown me] the power of one data point to influence policy initiatives and positively affect an entire group of people.”  - 📚 “Where I grew up, I wanted to understand the context around me and why my city and neighborhood looked the way it did. I realized this was a job, and I went for it, to help others understand it too. Now I get to inform and be a knowledge-builder.” - 📣 “Affecting change needs theory, and it also needs practice.” - 🤝 “There are whole levers of change that open up when folks come together - across policy leaders and researchers and grassroots organizers, for example.” We want to extend gratitude to the inspiring Alumni Panelists:  Dr. Chantal Hailey - Assistant Professor of Sociology at The University of Texas at Austin; TPA 2010  Enrique Valencia - PhD Candidate, The Graduate Center, City University of New York; TPA 2009 Jonay Foster Holkins - Senior Director, Policy & Corporate Initiatives at Business Roundtable; TPA 2008 Dr. Jose Loya - Assistant Professor of Urban Planning at University of California, Los Angeles; TPA 2009 Zachary Murray - Statewide Campaign Coordinator at ACCE Institute; TPA 2011 And a huge thanks to our engaged audience for their questions and discussion:  2024 Data Science Academy Fellows - Juan Sandoval, Linda C., and Micaja V. 2024 RSF + TPA Grantees - Dr. Brielle Harbin, Ph.D., Dr. Bryant Moy, Natalia Gonzalez, M.A., Dr. Terrill O. Taylor, Ph.D. #PublicPolicyCareers #PolicyResearch #FutureLeaders #PolicyCareers #CareerPanel

To wrap up The Policy Academies’ Washington DC site visit week, our Gueron Scholars at MDRC and Data Science Academy Fellows (hosted at Urban Institute) engaged in small group meetings across Washington, DC for meaningful discussions with experts within the government, legislative, and research fields. These interactions provided a deeper understanding of federal policy, the critical issues our nation faces, and career pathways for policy change. We are deeply grateful to all the speakers and professionals who generously shared their knowledge and experiences making this trip an unforgettable learning experience Jessica Cardichon, Katina Rae Stapleton, Ziyu Zhou, Imani Franklin, Brandon Mendoza, and Jinann Bitar #PublicPolicy #SocialEquity #Research #FutureLeaders #Whitehouse #EducationalLeadership #Government #Research

For our second site visit in Washington, DC, The Policy Academies (TPA), brought together the Gueron Scholars at MDRC and our Data Science Academy Fellows (hosted at Urban Institute) to meet with  U.S. Department of Education policy leaders Mekka Smith, Ramón Carranza Jr., Roxanne Garza, and Blanchi Roblero. The Secretary of Education, Dr. Miguel Cardona, joined us to emphasize the importance of education policy and bringing new voices to the table. Our TPA staff, Lynette Rawlings, PhD, Alex Maza, Marlene Castro, are incredibly proud of program scholars Christian Herald, Hana-Lei Ji, Diamond Russell, Annamarie Warnke, Kelsey B.,  Elizabeth W., Andrew Johnson, Da'Quallon Smith, Juan Sandoval, Linda C., Micaja V., and Donnell K. Bailey. #PublicPolicy #SocialEquity #Research #FutureLeaders #DepartmentOfEducation #EducationalLeadership #Government #Research

Last week The Policy Academies brought together the Gueron Scholars at MDRC and our Data Science Academy Fellows (hosted at Urban Institute)  to meet with leading experts in policy and research in Washington, DC! Our first site visit was to the Social Security Administration, where our scholars had the opportunity to engage with Kilolo Kijakazi, PhD, Senior Advisor to the Social Security Commissioner and senior leaders, Cortney Sanders, Abigail Zapote, Ben Belton, and Bryan Smith, MD. Congratulations to  our staff Lynette Rawlings, PhD, Alex Maza, Marlene Castro, and TPA Scholars Christian Herald, Hana-Lei Ji, Diamond Russell, Annamarie Warnke, Kelsey B., Elizabeth W., Andrew Johnson, Da'Quallon Smith, Juan Sandoval, Linda C., Micaja V., and  Donnell K. Bailey for building bridges of connection across policy spaces. #PublicPolicy #SocialEquity #Research #FutureLeaders #SocialSecurity

Last week, MDRC's DC office was pleased to host this summer's MDRC Gueron Scholars and our colleagues from The Policy Academies (TPA), including Lynette Rawlings, PhD, Alex Maza, Marlene Castro, and the TPA Data Science Academy Fellows!

The Policy Academies (TPA) is thrilled to partner with the Russell Sage Foundation (RSF) to support 11 incredible researchers over the next year through the Dissertation Research Grant, Pipeline Grant competition, and TPA’s dedicated scholar support initiative. These programs offer scholars valuable opportunities to conduct important research, receive mentorship, and contribute to addressing social, political, and economic inequalities. Join us in celebrating and supporting our scholars: Rachel Marie Brooks Atkins, PhD; Brielle Harbin, Ph.D.; Bryant Moy; Casey D. Nichols, PHD; Terrill O. Taylor, Ph.D.; David Cortez; Xavier Durham, MA, Natalia Gonzalez; Reyna Hernandez, Aja Kennedy, and DeAnna Y. Smith. A big thank you to RSF’s Sheldon Danzinger and Stephen Glauser and TPA's Lynette Rawlings, PhD, Marlene Castro, and Alex Maza for helping make this work possible! Learn more about these grants here: https://lnkd.in/eT8KkpPK https://lnkd.in/eg46Rudr #Research #DissertationResearch #SocialScienceResearch #EconomicMobility #PublicPolicy #Mentorship

Last month, I was delighted to join the Financial Health Network in celebrating 20 years of fostering a community of financial services leaders, employers, policymakers, and innovators dedicated to enhancing financial health for all individuals. I also had the pleasure of connecting with friends from The Policy Academies at the Aspen Ideas Festival. A standout discussion around reimagining our justice system included powerful insights and reflections from Andrea Armstrong, Richard Buery, John Legend, Nigel Poor, and Earlonne Woods.

The Policy Academies is thrilled to continue our partnership with MDRC on the Gueron Scholars Program. This summer, we are welcoming eight new scholars! The GSP offers paid internships for undergraduates and master’s-level students, and doctoral fellowships for students engaged in dissertation research. The program immerses scholars in the research process, equips them with crucial policy skills, and provides experiential learning opportunities. Scholars will also expand their networks and meet with distinguished policy experts to deepen their understanding of key issues. We’re excited to introduce this summer cohort of emerging policy leaders - Christian Herald, Hana-Lei Ji, Diamond Russell, Annamarie Warnke, Kelsey B., Elizabeth W., Andrew Johnson, and Da'Quallon Smith! A big thank you to MDRC's D. Crystal Byndloss and John Martinez, and our Founder & CEO, Lynette Rawlings, PhD, for continuing this transformative experience. Learn more about the scholars and program here: https://lnkd.in/eYPxQ_cG  #PolicyAnalysis #PublicPolicyMaking #PublicPolicyCareers #PublicPolicyFellowship

The Policy Academies is proud to announce the launch of a new fellowship training program for Masters degree candidates in Public Policy and related fields -- the Academy for Data Science and Policy Decision Making. Last week we began the summer portion of the program in collaboration with Urban Institute's phenomenal Data Science Team. This new program will equip Academy Fellows with intensive data science training, experiential learning through mentor-guided research projects of their own choosing, and career accelerating seminars and experiences with many of DC’s prominent policy organizations and leaders. We’re excited to introduce this inaugural cohort of emerging policy leaders - Linda C., Juan Sandoval, and Micaja V.! Thanks to Judah Axelrod and Alena Stern, and our Founder & CEO, Lynette Rawlings, PhD, for helping us kick off our opening week. #DataScience #PolicyAnalysis #PublicPolicyMaking #PublicPolicyCareers #PublicPolicyFellowship