2023 Rappaport Policy Fellows
Name: Maya Alper
Graduate School: Harvard Kennedy School
Undergraduate School: Barnard College
Agency: City of Boston, Department of Innovation and Technology
Supervisor: Julia Gutiérrez, Chief Digital Officer
Mentors: Aisha Miller, Vice President, Related Beal and Rappaport Institute Advisory Board member and Aleja Jimenez Jaramillo, 2022 Rappaport Policy Fellow
Project Description: Maya will collaborate with the Digital Services Team to support the goal of improving service delivery across the City. Specifically, the fellow will work across some combination of the following initiatives: 1) developing an internal playbook for executing UX projects, 2) drafting guidelines for City departments on working with the Digital Services Team, and 3) piloting continuous feedback loops for residents to improve existing digital products.
Name: Maria Aybar
Graduate School: Brandeis University
Undergraduate School: Amherst College
Agency: City of Boston, Mayor’s Office for Workforce Development
Supervisors: Katy Gall, Deputy Director of Workforce Development and Lisa Bower, Senior Program Manager
Mentors: Kenneth Turner, President and CEO, Massachusetts Life Sciences Center and Rappaport Institute Advisory Board member and Melissa Bustillo, Boston College School of Social Work and 2022 Rappaport Public Policy Fellow
Project Description: Maria will be working on the Tuition-Free Community College Plan from the City of Boston Office of Workforce Development. The city wants to ensure that all immigrants, regardless of their status, feel comfortable applying to the program.
Name: Tamara Bah
Graduate School: Fletcher School of International Law and Diplomacy
Undergraduate School: The American University
Agency: Massachusetts Executive Office of Economic Development
Supervisor: Rory C. O’Hanlon, Deputy Chief of Staff and Director of Policy
Mentors: Liz Graham, Chief Operating Officer, Indigo Agriculture and Rappaport Institute Advisory Board member and Deepa Krishna, Managing Director, DPK, LLC. and 2009 Rappaport Public Policy Fellow
Project Description: As the Healey-Driscoll Administration establishes its economic development strategy, what can the Commonwealth of Massachusetts do to better support women-and-minority-owned businesses? This includes established small businesses as well as the development of new small businesses. Focus areas might be: What are the barriers (e.g. childcare, capital, etc.), opportunities (e.g. expand existing programs, improve EOED procurement so that we’re more supportive of local small businesses, etc), and what are some recommendations on ways to improve supporting this segment of the state economy.
Name: Sarah Ballinger
Graduate School: Harvard Kennedy School
Undergraduate School: Trinity College
Agency: City of Boston, People Operations Cabinet
Supervisor: Abigail Milewski, Director of Workforce Strategy and Planning
Mentors: Monica Tibbits-Nutt, Undersecretary, Massachusetts Department of Transportation and Rappaport Institute Advisory Board member and Katie King, Assistant Town Manager and Director of Operations, Needham, MA and former Rappaport Boston Urban Scholar
Project Description: Sarah will work on a project related to city government workforce innovation and bringing new evidence-based strategies into how Boston supports and empowers its workforce.
Name: Gilberto Calderin
Graduate School: Fletcher School of International Law and Diplomacy
Undergraduate School: Brandeis University
Agency: Massachusetts Office for Refugees and Immigrants
Supervisor: Leticia Ripalda, Senior Program Manager
Mentors: Mitch Weiss, Professor of Management Practice, Harvard Business School and Rappaport Institute Advisory Board member
Project Description: Gilberto will work with MORI to create a program to cut down the long wait list (up to 2 years, depending on the region in MA) for immigrants to be able to enroll in an ELL program. MORI would like to change that by providing more ELL classes/training. Gilberto would develop a funding proposal and then pitch it to federal, state, and municipal governments and possibly private donors.
Name: Mattie Harris
Graduate School: Boston College School of Social Work
Undergraduate School: Dillard University
Agency: Boston Public Health Commission
Supervisor: Krystal Garcia, Director of Policy, Executive Office of Policy and Planning, BPHC
Mentors: Melissa Threadgill, Director of Strategic Innovation, Massachusetts Office of the Child Advocate, 2013 Rappaport Public Policy Fellow and Rappaport Institute Advisory Board member and Buki Sihlongonyane, Boston University School of Public Health and 2022 Rappaport Policy Fellow
Project Description: Mattie will work in the Executive Office of the Boston Public Health Commission. Mattie will work at intersections of health equity across various projects, including the Community Health Needs Assessment (CHNA) and the Community Health Improvement Plan (CHIP). Additionally, she will work on innovative projects to address mental health disparities.
Name: Dyanna Jaye
Graduate School: MIT
Undergraduate School: University of Virginia
Agency: Massachusetts Governor's Office of Climate Innovation and Resilience
Supervisor: Jonathan Schrag, Deputy Chief
Mentors: Joyce Linehan, Assistant to the President for Special Projects, Mass College of Art and Rappaport Institute Advisory Board member and Amanda Formica, Craft and Trades Specialist and Strategic Initiatives Manager, National Grid and 2018 Rappaport Public Policy Fellow
Project Description: Dyanna will support the Governor’s Office of Climate Innovation and Resilience to deliver whole of government climate planning and implementation. Specifically, she will work on the deliverables of the Climate Pollution Reduction Grant, including supporting a benefits analysis, support the workforce needs assessment, and potentially stakeholder engagement element associated with the Massachusetts’s statewide climate plan. Secondly, Dyanna will support the Office to maximize federal investment for decarbonization and resilience.
Name: Matt Kamibayashi
Graduate School: Harvard Graduate School of Education
Undergraduate School: Patrick Henry College
Agency: City of Boston, Boston Public Health Commission
Supervisor: Samara Grossman, Director, Center for Behavioral Health and Wellness, BPHC
Mentors: Diana Hwang, Founder and Executive Director, Asian American Women’s Political Initiative and Rappaport Institute Advisory Board member and Lauren Yoshizawa, Assistant Professor, Colby College and 2014 Rappaport Policy Fellow
Project Description: Matt will research on how MOIA specifically can support AAPI mental health initiatives in Boston.
Name: Prajna Cauvery Kotera Pooviah
Graduate School: Tufts University
Undergraduate School: Amrita University
Agency: Massachusetts Executive Office of Energy and Environmental Affairs
Supervisor: Hong-Hang Chu, Program Manager, GWSA Implementation
Mentors: Karyn Polito, former Lieutenant Governor of MA and Rappaport Institute Advisory Board member and Rees Sweeney-Taylor, Net Zero Grid Program Manager, Massachusetts Clean Energy Center and 2021 Rappaport Public Policy Fellow
Project Description: Prajna will create an analysis of the potential costs of offsetting 5% to 15% of the 1990 baseline emissions and another analysis of the estimated abatement cost of reducing statewide GHG emissions beyond the 85% and 89% emissions reductions. With these two analyses, we can roughly compare the cost trade-offs of achieving Net Zero emissions with mostly in-state carbon sequestration, versus heavily relying on out-of-state NWL and technology-based carbon sequestration.
Name: Evans Kyei
Graduate School: University of Massachusetts Boston
Undergraduate School: Kwame Nkrumah University of Science and Technology
Agency: Boston Mayor’s Office of Recovery Services
Supervisor: Catrina Cooley, Community Affairs Manager
Mentors: Dan Rivera, Executive Director, MassDevelopment and Vincent Sweeney, Boston College School of Social Work and 2022 Rappaport Public Policy Fellow
Project Description: Attorney generals from across the US collectively sued opioid companies for their role in driving the opioid epidemic. Boston is receiving funding like many MA municipalities. This Spring the Boston Public Health Commission is conducting a feedback process to gather input from the community on how Boston should use the funds. Evans will provide broad support on opioid remediation. Example activities include: participation in RFP writing and selecting awardees, supporting implementation of programming, and/or producing the yearly report to the State.
Name: Shane Lancer
Graduate School: Harvard Kennedy School
Undergraduate School: University of North Florida
Agency: Massachusetts Executive Office for Administration and Finance
Supervisor: Danielle Cerny, Deputy Chief of Staff and 2009 Rappaport Policy Fellow
Mentors: Ellen Semonoff, Assistant City Manager of Human Services, Cambridge and Rappaport Institute Advisory Board member and Ben Forman, Research Director, MassINC and 2003 Rappaport Public Policy Fellow
Project Description: Shane will be focusing on strategic planning and internal priority setting internally at A&F and assessing where A&F has capability and influence to implement the Governor’s priorities. This would include working on a performance roadmap and engaging directly with agencies to track success. An additional option for a project might include strategy and operations, specifically assisting the performance management strategy group on projects outside of A&F on urgent, sensitive, and discrete topics.
Name: Jenny Lau
Graduate School: Tufts University
Undergraduate School: Tufts University
Agency: Boston Mayor’s Office of Economic Opportunity and Inclusion
Supervisor: Elijah Miller, Director of Policy
Mentors: Segun Idowu, Chief of Economic Opportunity and Inclusion, City of Boston and Rappaport Advisory Board Member and Jessica Tang, Harvard Graduate School of Design and HKS 2021 Rappaport Policy Fellow
Project Description: Jenny will work on projects such as expanding worker cooperative development through deep canvassing with and outreach to workers and local community groups that have trusted relationships with working-age adults, with a particular focus on the Chinatown community; exploring non-regulatory tools and best practices to support anti-displacement and affordability of small businesses; and developing a socially-conscious framework to be used for Justice40 Initiative projects based on the City’s existing DEI plan for public/private partnerships.
Name: Emily Moss
Graduate School: MIT
Undergraduate School: Wellesley College
Agency: Boston Mayor’s Office of Economic Opportunity and Inclusion
Supervisor: Andrew Grace, Director of Economic and Strategic Planning
Mentors: Devin Quirk, Director of Real Estate, Boston Planning and Development Agency, 2009 Rappaport Public Policy Fellow, and Rappaport Institute Advisory Board member and Max Wynn, Deputy Director, Homeless Housing Strategic Initiatives, NYC Department of Housing Preservation and Development and 2018 Rappaport Policy Fellow
Project Description: Emily will work on various projects including Commercial Acquisition Program- strategy, planning and implementation; Business Improvement Districts: formation of the Back Bay BID, on the ground business and property owner outreach/conversations, assistance with marketing collateral and digital assets. Additionally, support the city's participation in Newmarket and Downtown BID's; and Downtown Conversion Study and Plan Downtown- working with our consultant team (HR&A) will provide planning support re zoning reform, density bonus, and research on incentives for revitalization.
Name: Alexandria Onuoha
Graduate School: Suffolk University
Undergraduate School: Bates College
Agency: Massachusetts Office of the Child Advocate
Supervisors: Melissa Threadgill, Director of Strategic Innovation, Massachusetts Office of the Child Advocate, 2013 Rappaport Public Policy Fellow and Rappaport Institute Advisory Board member and Kristine Polizzano, Juvenile Justice Program Manager
Mentors: Edward Davis, President, Edward Davis Company and Rappaport Institute Advisory Board member and Takia Myers, Social Worker and 2020 Rappaport Public Policy Fellow
Project Description: Alexandria will be working on a few mini projects surrounding adolescent development and the Massachusetts Child Welfare system. Specifically, she will be creating materials for the OCA and organizations adjacent on child psychology’s role in understanding the child welfare system. She will also review data to explore the unique experiences of adolescent girls within the child welfare systems and develop policy recommendations to address any issues that may come up after her analysis.
Name: Joshua Ozer
Graduate School: Simmons School of Social Work
Undergraduate School: Rice University
Agency: Massachusetts Executive Office for Elder Affairs
Supervisor: Lynn Vidler, Director of Home and Community Based Programs, Massachusetts Executive Office of Elder Affairs
Mentors: Myojung Chung, Assistant Professor of Journalism and Media Advocacy, Northeastern University and Rappaport Institute Advisory Board member and Kara Jeter, Care Coordinator, Phillips Eye Institute and 2018 Rappaport Public Policy Fellow
Project Description: Joshua will work on the following projects: 1. Developing an operations manual and guidance document to support the development of a new Community Transitions Liaison Program which will support nursing facility residents who have expressed interest in transitioning to the community. 2. Supporting the implementation of a new hospital to home grant program, which funds partnerships between Aging Services Access Points and acute care hospitals to innovate and improve processes regarding hospital discharges to community. This program is beginning this spring and Joshua may be involved in developing templates for reporting and evaluation as well as curating best practices in MA and elsewhere.
Name: Jiedine Phanbuh
Graduate School: University of Massachusetts Boston
Undergraduate School: St. Anthony's College, Shillong, India
Agency: Massachusetts Water Resources Commission
Supervisor: Vandana Rao, Director of Water Policy
Mentors: Joe Curtatone, President, Massachusetts Clean Energy Council, Rappaport Institute Advisory Board Member, and former Rappaport Urban Scholar and Rishya Narayanan, Climate Change Communications Strategist, Conservation Law Foundation and 2019 Rappaport Public Policy Fellow
Project Description:
Name: Taylor Robinson
Graduate School: Harvard T. H. Chan School of Public Health
Undergraduate School: University of Pittsburgh
Agency: Massachusetts Department of Housing and Community Development
Supervisor: George King, Data Systems and Performance Analyst
Mentors: Celina Barrios-Millner, Vice President, Office of Race and Equity Research, Urban Institute and Rappaport Institute Advisory Board Member and Aja Kennedy, Tufts University and 2022 Rappaport Public Policy Fellow
Project Description: Taylor will conduct exploratory data analysis of demographic and economic data included in DCHD's Housing Choice Voucher Program (HCVP), Massachusetts Rental Voucher Program (MRVP) and the Alternative Housing Voucher program (AHVP). Analyses will include aggregate measurement of the client population, spatial exploration, and comparison across the client pool. Taylor will produce a report and Tableau visualization of data analyses, submit policy recommendations to inform future DCHD work, and present the findings to relevant DCHD leaders.
Name: Cara Safon
Graduate School: Boston University School of Public Health currently; Yale University, MPH
Undergraduate School: University of California, Berkeley
Agency: Division of Pregnancy, Infancy, and Early Childhood, Massachusetts Department of Public Health
Supervisor: Ann Peralta, Director
Mentors: Steve Walsh, President and CEO, Massachusetts Health and Hospital Association, Rappaport Institute Advisory Board member and former Rappaport Boston Urban Scholar and Hill Wolfe, Postdoctoral Fellow, Yale School of Medicine and 2022 Rappaport Policy Fellow
Project Description: Cara will write a report consisting of lessons learned from other states currently implementing or developing policies to expand access to perinatal doula care. The report will include a thorough review of the literature on state efforts to include doula care in Medicaid. She will work with the Massachusetts Department of Public Health (MA DPH) and a Doula Partner Advisory Group to increase access to doula services in the state. MA DPH is seeking legislative authority to certify doulas and to set up a statewide system that reduces barriers to entry for a diverse group of doulas and ensure that all birthing people who want a doula have access to a competent professional that meets their linguistic and cultural needs.
Name: Emma Swarney
Graduate School: MIT
Undergraduate School: University of Waterloo, Toronto, Canada
Agency: Massachusetts Department of Transportation
Supervisor: Hayes Morrison, Assistant Secretary, Policy and Strategy
Mentors: Steve Poftak, Taubman Center Visiting Fellow and former General Manager of the MBTA and Andrew McFarland, Project Manager, Transit Priority, MBTA and 2019 Rappaport Policy Fellow
Project Description: Emma’s project will focus on a nationwide look at how the transportation sector is implementing their decarbonization efforts with a focus on integrating with the newly created Office of Climate Innovation and Resilience in Massachusetts. She will be taking a special focus on decarbonization efforts in public transportation, looking at both electrification of vehicles and mode shift.
Name: Rachel Weintraub
Graduate School: Harvard Kennedy School/MIT Sloan School of Management
Agency: Massachusetts Executive Office for Administration and Finance
Supervisor: Quentin Palfrey, Director of Federal Funds and Infrastructure
Mentors: Jay Gonzalez, Partner, Hinckley Allen and Rappaport Institute Advisory Board member and Jillian Standish, Senior Vice President, Chief Equity Underwriter, Merchants Capital and 2008 Rappaport Public Policy Fellow
Project Description: Rachel will work on involving building a strategy to engage external stakeholders (municipalities, industry, community groups) in the federal funds process.
2023 Rappaport Public Finance Fellows
Name: William Boles
Graduate School: Harvard Kennedy School
Agency: City of Boston, Office of Returning Citizens
Supervisor: Kimberly Rhoten, ORC Director of Policy and Strategic Initiatives, Office of Returning Citizens, City of Boston and 2022 Rappaport Public Policy Fellow
Project Description: Will will assist in identifying healthcare resources in the Greater Boston Area for returning citizens. Reporting to the ORC Director of Policy and Strategic Initiatives, the Health Services and Policy Fellow will locate updated information on healthcare providers with experience providing care for Returning Citizens, health insurance enrollment options, and community organizations supporting health needs for Returning Citizens to inform ORC referrals to these programs.
Name: Alex Cardelle
Graduate School: Harvard Graduate School of Design
Agency: Boston Environment Team
Mentor: Christopher Norio Avery, Professor of Public Policy, HKS
Supervisor: Chris Osgood, Special Advisor to the Mayor
Project Description: Alex will continue work on the coastal resiliency project with the city of Boston. This work began in the spring semester as part of the Budgeting and Finance course run by Professor Linda Bilmes.
Name: Jeanney Liu
Graduate School: Harvard Kennedy School
Agency: City of Somerville
Supervisor: Ted Fields, Senior Economic Development Planner
Project Description: Jeanney will continue work at the City of Somerville's Economic Development Department focusing on mitigating gentrification in the city.
Name: Livesey Pack
Graduate School: Harvard Graduate School of Design
Agency: Massachusetts Environmental Protection Agency
Mentor: Amy Dain, Dain Research, 2002 Rappaport Policy Fellow
Supervisor: Kristi Rea, Branch Manager, Office of Regional Assistance and Integrated Strategies, EPA
Project Description: Livesey will continue work at the EPA that was started this spring.