By Nicole Morell, Director of Communications
Each January, dozens of Kennedy School students descend on state houses, county offices, and city halls across the U.S. as part of the Taubman Center’s Transition Term program. Teams of HKS students arrive with the goal of supporting a bipartisan group of newly elected leaders as they transition from campaigning to governing—working to advance agendas and build momentum for the coming years of governance. “For two weeks you’re there to give it your all, learn from community leaders, and be helpful in any way you can,” shares Hanna Rohman Watkins who supported Hialeah, FL Mayor Bryan Calvo. As the role of state and local government expands to meet the changing needs of constituents, the talents of HKS students are more in demand than ever. “State and local government are facing unprecedented pressure, and we’re so proud to be able to offer this program where HKS students apply their passion for public service, skills, and classroom learning to assist new leaders at a pivotal moment,” says Taubman Center Executive Director Rafael Carbonell.
Since launching in 2018, nearly 300 HKS students have taken part in Transition Term. In 2026, 44 students were deployed across 21 locales to offer administrative support, research, and outreach to aid transition teams. In addition to working with new mayors like Calvo, the most recent cohort of fellows also supported the new governors of New Jersey and Virginia, as well as the county executive in Lehigh County, PA. Working in communities with varying demographics and needs, each Transition Term experience is unique, but the imperative of building relationships and trust remain consistent across placements. “Trust building is really important,” shares Catherine Zhu, who supported Kansas City, KS, Mayor/CEO Christal Watson. “You’re coming in as this unknown entity, so facilitating that trust is key to making an impact in a short time.”
Students Zhu, Rohman Watkins, Jacob Essig, Dhruv Kapadia, and Sara Rahman shared a deeper look into their 2026 Transition Term experience.
Getting into the weeds on policy in Jersey City, NJ
For Dhruv Kapadia MPP 2027 and Jacob Essig MPP 2027, supporting Jersey City, NJ Mayor James Solomon MPP 2012 was a bit of homecoming—both students are New Jersey natives, and Solomon is an HKS alum. “With Mayor Solomon having a Master in Public Policy, he really centered his campaign on governance and policy,” shared Kapadia. “So right away we had the opportunity to get into the weeds on policy.” A lean team in Solomon’s office—common during transitions and in cities of all sizes—also enabled Kapadia and Essig to play a central role in drafting policy white papers on key mayoral priorities, like housing, traffic safety, and immigration, for the city of nearly 300,000 residents. “The mayor shared that this may have been the first time a Jersey City mayor got a policy paper. It’s something that he really appreciated,” shares Essig. The team ultimately developed four policy memos, four draft executive orders, and two advocacy letters on various topics.
Kapadia and Essig were able to see their policy research quickly come to life. During their time in Jersey City, the police department showcased motorcycles for the resurrected traffic safety division, on which Essig offered policy guidance. Kapadia saw his research and draft language on an executive order related to immigrant protections become official and garner national news, which included provisions to manage local cooperation with federal immigration enforcement, train municipal employees, and expand community-based legal support.
But Team Jersey City was careful to note that not all work in Transition Term is so exciting or forward-facing. “Exciting work doesn’t mean the absence of grunt work,” says Essig. In addition to executive orders and meaningful policy movement, the two were on hand to scan QR codes for the mayoral inauguration. “We were there to support a transition in any way that they want us to help,” says Kapadia. “And if that's writing executive orders, phenomenal, but if that means scanning QR codes in the freezing winter, that also is exactly what we need to be doing.”
Asked about their takeaways from the experience, the team highlighted the power of finding comfort in ambiguity and how quickly they were welcomed by the Jersey City community. “We were working in a city we had never lived in, in a community that welcomed us with open arms, and we were able to deliver meaningful policy changes through executive orders,” says Kapadia. “To me, it just shows the power of state and local governments to serve their community.”
A deep dive on city operations in Hialeah, FL
In Hialeah, FL, Hanna Rohman Watkins MBA/MPP 2028 saw a city full of opportunities. “I was so excited to be matched with Hialeah. The city has a deep Cuban American heritage and strong sense of community identity –it’s at a real inflection point, deciding how to position itself as Miami-Dade grows.” She was quickly welcomed into the community, working beside new Mayor Bryan Calvo, a Harvard College graduate and the youngest mayor in Hialeah history. “It was inspiring to see the mayor’s leadership up close,” she shares. “He came in as a change candidate, and I got to see firsthand how young people can drive real institutional change.”
Team Hialeah focused on helping the new mayor hit the ground running across a municipality with over twenty departments and a thousand staff. Rohman Watkins compiled departmental research, launched a citywide employee survey, and conducted interviews and focus groups across departments. “Mayor Calvo was focused on making an impact early on and wanted a clear-eyed view of where the biggest opportunities were,” says Rohman Watkins.
To help the administration move quickly, Team Hialeah developed analyses on city departments and helped draft executive orders focused on 911 emergency communications and reviewing citywide vendors and contracts. This work highlights one of the unique needs of political transitions: new leaders are expected to have immediate expertise across all city functions. “Hialeah is the sixth largest city in Florida with a strong mayor form of government, meaning Mayor Calvo has both a wide mandate and real leverage to drive change,” shares Rohman Watkins. “Transition Term offers the chance to witness the power of local government upfront and help a new administration take action.”
For Rohman Watkins, her experience reinforced just how much is possible at the local level. “More people should get involved in city government,” she says. “It was exciting to see that regardless of party, the work you're doing—keeping schools safe, fixing potholes, 911 dispatch reform—is stuff that everyone can get behind. In an era that's so polarized, there is a lot of collaborative and bipartisan work going on at the local level – and that’s where real change is moving.”
The challenges and opportunities of a city-county government in Kansas City, KS
In Kansas City, KS, Catherine Zhu MPP 2027 and Sara Rahman MPP 2026 drew on their respective experiences in the New York City Mayor’s Office and the New South Wales, Australia state government to support the city-county unified government led by newly elected Mayor/CEO Christal Watson. Although this consolidated form of government is uncommon—there are only nine in the U.S.—Team Kansas City quickly found aspects that felt familiar. “The structure was actually similar to a council-manager system, where the mayor works as part of a larger governing body and collaborates closely with a county administrator,” Zhu explained. After speaking with various offices and parsing through official documents, Zhu noted that this is where some of the challenges of the form of government can be seen. “The city and county have similar demographics, but the density is different. When you’re thinking about funding things like transit and road maintenance, the budget can feel almost bisected, with different needs across the same community.”
Zhu and Rahman studied the proposed fiscal impact of the controversial Kansas City Chiefs' move from Missouri to Kansas. Rahman said the experience broadened her understanding of how to communicate data and analysis to political leaders. “When I worked in a large bureaucracy, I mainly analyzed specific policies or programs. I rarely saw how decisions were made using the results of those analyses. It was fascinating to be able to deliver analysis to the Mayor and her team and then discuss the implications of the analysis not only to that issue, but in the broader context of policy and political tradeoffs across multiple issues and the Mayor’s agenda.”
In writing standard operating procedures for the mayor's new team and kicking off efforts around an initiative for unhoused residents—a key mayoral policy—Zhu shared that the projects closely aligned with her classes at HKS. “A lot of the work we did felt like my first time applying my HKS coursework to the real world,” she says.
Looking to the future with state and local government
After each Transition Term, students meet for a full cohort debrief to share an overview of their experience. Common highlights include excellent regional food and welcoming communities, as well as a new regard for the work of state and local government. Over seven years of post-fellowship surveys, 78 percent of Transition Term participants reported an increased interest in working in state and local government after taking part in the program. "Transition Term often attracts the Kennedy School student that's passionate about state and local government, but not quite sure if it's right for them or how to get started," says Amy Mahler, Director of Government Engagement for the Taubman Center who runs the Transition Term program. "After supporting these new leaders in January, many fellows come back with deeper expertise, better questions, stronger networks, and an even greater commitment to future service in state, county, and local government."
For Jersey City’s Kapadia—who also served as a research assistant on the program alongside Eli Melendrez MPP 2026 and Transition Term Fellow ‘25 in Grand Rapids, M—this is no surprise. “My parents immigrated to this country in the nineties. It was the state agency that granted my dad’s Indian restaurant a liquor license. It was the county park that my mom took me to on weekends, and it was our local schools that allowed me to attend an institution like the Kennedy School,” he shares. “To give back to these local communities is important. I will always be proud that I was able to be a part of Transition Term and grateful to the Kennedy School for providing me with that opportunity.”
To learn more about Transition Term and see a full list of states, counties, and cities where Transition Term fellows have served, visit the program page.
