David Bohnett Public Service Fellowship

OVERVIEW

The Bohnett Fellowship, sponsored by the David Bohnett Foundation, allows outstanding masters students the opportunity to engage in the challenges of governing at the city level.

The Bohnett Fellowship Program provides a full tuition scholarship for full-time study, as well as a $7,500 summer stipend and internship opportunity for two incoming MPA or MUP students each academic year.

Bohnett Fellows network with mayors from across the country and Bohnett Fellows from other schools when they attend the annual winter meeting of the U.S. Conference of Mayors in Washington DC. Fellows also participate in a summer internship at the highest levels of NYC government or in the Mayor's office of another US city through the US Conference of Mayors, which has an ongoing partnership with NYU Wagner.

See current and past Bohnett Fellows.

Fellowship criteria

An explicit interest in working for municipal governments to solve our most urgent social issues.
Highly articulate in both speaking and writing

Students enrolled in dual degree programs with other NYU schools are not eligible for NYU Wagner Named Fellowship programs.

HOW TO APPLY

Submit your Fellowship Application Essay along with your online application to NYU Wagner. Fellowship applicants must also submit the one-minute video essay in order to be considered for fellowship.
Those selected as fellowship semi-finalists will be invited to participate in a virtual interview.
Those selected as fellowship finalists will be invited for a virtual interview with the Selection Committee. This panel of judges will be comprised of representatives from sponsoring organizations, faculty and NYU Wagner alumni.

The David Bohnett Foundation

The mission of the David Bohnett Foundation is to improve society through social activism. David Bohnett is a philanthropist and technology entrepreneur.

2023 FELLOWS

Josh Chun (MPA 2025)

Josh is a first-generation Korean-American born and raised in Northeast Philadelphia. Throughout his time in Philadelphia, Josh sought to amplify the voices of his local community by supporting outreach and education efforts in the area. A graduate of Temple University, Josh studied HIstory and Political Science while working as an educator at several nonprofits that aimed to support majority immigrant communities. During this time, he interned with Congressman Jimmy Gomez of California as well as the City Commissioner's Office of Philadelphia while also becoming a 2021 PPIA Junior Summer Institute Fellow. Josh recently completed a service year with City Year Philadelphia where he supported public school students in language arts as well as social and emotional learning. During his time at NYU Wagner, Josh seeks to expand on his previous career ventures to support immigrant communities through policy and direct community involvement.

Jazmin Kay (MPA 2025)

Driven by a passion to increase civic engagement and strengthen local communities, Jazmin has served as a nonprofit leader, government consultant, and local government appointee. She is a Government & Public Services Consultant at Deloitte where she supports state and local governments. Previously, she served her home community in the Hudson Valley, NY, as Deputy Communications Director for Ulster County Executive Pat Ryan, where she helped lead communications and public engagement for 25 County Departments and the County’s COVID-19 emergency response. She is the current President and the former Executive Director of 18by Vote, a nonprofit organization that helps Gen-Z voters understand how, when, and why to vote. Jazmin graduated Summa Cum Laude with Special Honors from The George Washington University with a B.A. in Political Science. During her time at GW, she interned at The Obama White House in the Office of Digital Strategy and for Speaker of the House Nancy Pelosi and Senator Kirsten Gillibrand (NY), and served as a reporter covering Voting Rights and Civic Engagement for The Center for American Progress. Her writing and personal essays have been published in The Wall Street Journal, The Nation, HuffPost, VICE, and Mic, among other outlets.

2022 FELLOWS

Tony Bodulovic (MPA 2024)

Tony Bodulovic recently graduated from Columbia University, majoring in political science. A first-generation college student, Tony is deeply committed to addressing inequity through a combination of service, scholarship, and policy analysis. His passion for public service blossomed while working with the Office of NYC Council Member Carlina Rivera, where he advocated for constituents facing housing insecurity. During his time at NYU Wagner, he aims to fully explore the intersection of his interest in housing policy and his identity as a queer person. In doing so, he will be better equipped to serve New Yorkers facing homelessness, gentrification, and discrimination, especially those who identify as LGBTQ.

Cataydra Brown (MPA 2024)

Cataydra Brown was born and raised in Corona, Queens, New York, and is driven by her interest in public service, local government, and amplifying the voices of marginalized communities. She is a first-generation college graduate from CUNY John Jay College of Criminal Justice where she majored in Law and Society and minored in Africana Studies. Cataydra is currently a Senior Advisor to the Chief of Staff and Policy Advisor at the NYC Office of the Deputy Mayor for Strategic Initiatives. Prior to this role, Cataydra worked and oversaw policy issues related to the Mayor’s Office of Immigrant Affairs, the Mayor’s Office for People with Disabilities, the Commission on Human Rights, the Department of Veterans’ Services, the Young Men’s Initiatives, and the Racial Justice Commission under the de Blasio administration. She has also worked in local government in Sydney, Australia where she researched social cohesion metrics.

ALUMNI FELLOWS

Kartika Fuentes (MPA 2023)

Kartika is a Bronx Native and first generation American. She is very proud of her Ecuadorian heritage and the immigrant community that makes New York City so unique and diverse. She went to college in Ecuador and acquired an international perspective on social issues relating to community empowerment, activism, inequality, and grassroots organizing. Prior to NYU Wagner, Kartika worked in the AmeriCorps program at South Bronx United and as an intern for the office of Congresswoman Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, furthering Kartika’s commitment and dedication to social justice and community organizing. While at Wagner, Kartika was a Legislative Intern and Community Aid for Council Member Carlina Rivera. She now works as a Research Officer at Columbia University and a Project Consultant at the Center for Survivor Agency and Justice, applying her skills in legislative research, community engagement, and advocacy to support various projects and initiatives in the fields of international affairs, public service, and social justice.

Saunders Ruffin (MPA 2023)

Before attending NYU Wagner, Saunders drafted, lobbied for, testified on behalf of, and mobilized communities around a resolution in Virginia’s legislature that would have made the state the first in the nation to declare global warming a climate and ecological emergency. Although the bill failed to pass in early 2020, its introduction kick-started an enduring grassroots movement in Virginia that led to the bill’s reintroduction in 2021 and ignited a passion in Saunders for climate advocacy. Saunders carried his motivation for service to Pittsburgh, where he served as an AmeriCorps VISTA supporting the city’s civil rights agency to engage more deliberately with the region’s robust immigrant, refugee, and asylee populations on fair housing issues and combat unjust evictions during the coronavirus pandemic. At Wagner, Saunders interned as a Graduate Fellow with NYC Department of Emergency Management, and he is now a Consultant with Rebel, a leading U.S. infrastructure advisory firm that advises public and private sector clients globally, helping them bridge the gap between their infrastructure needs and financial resources.

Rochelle Brahalla (MPA 2022)

Rochelle is passionate about equitable access to public transportation, having worked for four years at NYC DOT to develop innovative strategies to redesign streets, establish and operationalize internal equity metrics, and strengthen outreach in BIPOC and low-income communities. At Wagner, she honed her policy analysis skills and, upon graduation, was hired by WSP USA's Portland office as a Senior Transportation Planner /Equity Analysis and Equity and Mobility Advisory Committee Lead to establish equity metrics for Oregon DOT as the agency develops a congestion pricing program for Portland.

Parker MacLure (MUP 2022)

Parker is a Master of Urban Planning graduate who is committed to becoming an urban planner who focuses on intersectional solutions that benefit disadvantaged communities. Parker feels strongly that municipal government is uniquely positioned to have the greatest impact on people’s day-to-day lives. After graduating with a bachelor's in economics and minor in urban studies from Tufts University, Parker moved to New York City to work for the Civilian Complaint Review Board, a city agency that investigates complaints made against the New York City Police Department. At Wagner, Parker interned with NYC Mayor’s Office of Criminal Justice as well as with NYC DOT. He now serves as Project Lead for Melissa Johnson Associates, managing community engagement for the New York City Department of Design and Construction's East Side Coastal Resiliency Project.

Zara Nasir (MPA 2016)

"[Wagner] helped me develop the relationships and inroads in the field that I wanted to be in." Zara Nasir (MPA 2016) is a New York City-based muslimah community worker who serves as coordinator of The People’s Plan NYC, a collective of organizations working to create a multi-issue social justice agenda for the new 2022 session for New York City. Zara is also the deputy director at New York City Anti-Violence Project which serves LGBTQ+ and HIV-affected survivors of violence through organizing, counseling, and legal support.

Kevin Hansen (MPA 2013)

"NYU Wagner helped me develop professional skills in areas like project management, negotiation, data analysis, as well as program and impact evaluation. The program introduced me to a vast network of researchers and public servants; and taught me how to leverage peer-reviewed research to advance evidence-based policymaking."

Kevin Hansen is the head of government affairs and policy for New York at Ørsted, a Danish multinational energy company. He was previously senior vice president and head of public policy at Empire State Development, New York State's chief economic development agency. Where he leads teams that are responsible for public policy, legislative affairs, economic analysis and research, and climate and environmental programs. Over the course of his career, Kevin has held public and private sector roles focused on strategy, operations, public policy, real estate and finance for the City of Chicago, the District of Columbia Mayor's Office, and Bain & Company.