The Georgina and Charlotte Bloomberg Public Service Fellows Program

The Georgina and Charlotte Bloomberg Public Service Fellows Program prepares high-potential students with the skills, knowledge, and networks to be impactful public service leaders. The Bloomberg Public Service Fellows will receive full-tuition scholarships for full-time study to complete their NYU Wagner Master of Public Administration or Master of Urban Planning degrees and funded summer internships between their first and second years to gain experience in the practice of public service in the public or nonprofit sector. Internships will be supported by professional development programming, reflective assessments from students, and site visits by NYU Wagner. Career guidance will be available for all Bloomberg Fellows, and they will be connected to Bloomberg Philanthropies’ network of government and nonprofit leaders.

A key element of the program is the development of a cohesive network of leaders. The Bloomberg Fellows will meet throughout the year, outside the classroom, to get first-hand exposure to the forces shaping U.S. urban communities in the 21st century.

This Program attracts the best and brightest students to the field of public service and alumni of the Program will be leaders in shaping the ability of the nonprofit and government sectors to address the most pressing challenges confronting our nation.

FELLOWSHIP CRITERIA

• Demonstrated commitment to public service
• Overall academic potential, including quantitative aptitude
• Leadership experience, potential, and aspirations
• Thoughtful and articulate communication skills, both written and verbal
• Ability to analyze various perspectives surrounding a public service issue(s)
• Keen sense of curiosity and ability to problem solve in a collaborative environment
• Desire to work in U.S. local, state, or federal government and/or U.S. nonprofit sector upon graduation

FELLOWSHIP ELIGIBILITY

• NYU Wagner Graduate School of Public Service two-year, full-time Master of Public Administration and Master of Urban Planning Program applicants.
• NYU Undergraduates enrolled in Gallatin, Global Liberal Studies, the College of Arts and Science, and the Tandon School of Engineering (with the potential to add students from other New York-based NYU undergraduate schools in the future), who are pursuing an Accelerated Dual Track Program (BA/BS + MPA/MUP) with NYU Wagner.
• US Citizens or Permanent Residents

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 a one-minute video essay.
• Those selected as fellowship semi-finalists will be invited to participate in interviews.
• Those selected as fellowship finalists will be invited for a virtual interview with the Selection Committee. Those finalists who cannot travel to New York will be able to interview remotely. The panel of judges will be composed of representatives from the Bloomberg Foundation and NYU Wagner.

FELLOWSHIP HIGHLIGHTS

2024 Bloomberg Public Service Fellows

JJ Briscoe (MPA-PNP 2026) 

JJ Briscoe was born in Washington, D.C., and raised in the Kansas City Metro area, where he witnessed at a young age the deep discrepancies in public resources children receive in the United States. As an undergraduate student, JJ conducted research for think tanks such as the Center for an Urban Future and NYU Global TIES for Children, was heavily involved in university DEI initiatives, and organized campaigns at the city, state, and federal levels. JJ is currently organizing for a new youth-led organization, Get Free, which has most recently succeeded in pressuring Governor Kathy Hochul to sign onto creating a New York State Reparations Commission. JJ is passionate about advocating for structural reform to increase representation for marginalized communities within our democratic system. He is committed to dedicating his life's work to educating and building skills at the grassroots level to assist citizens in having more autonomy over who becomes their decision-makers within local government. JJ is eager to enhance his political organizing and advocacy skills at NYU Wagner through the MPA Public and Nonprofit Management degree program. JJ holds a BA from NYU Global Liberal Studies.

Harlowe Brumett-Dunn (MPA-PNP 2026)

Harlowe Brumett-Dunn, originally from Seattle, WA, is a recent graduate from Princeton University, where she obtained a BA in Anthropology with certificates in Environmental Studies and African American Studies. Passionate about environmental injustices affecting disinvested communities in the U.S., throughout undergrad, her research culminated in a senior thesis that investigates the inner workings of environmental justice organizations at both federal and grassroots levels and how it impacts people and working neighborhoods and districts therein. Her thesis also explores art as an expression and narrative from these crisis zones to illustrate the humanness and reverberations of unintended consequences of broad corporate and governmental policies. She gained practical experience in Louisiana through her role as an Environmental Justice and Policy Intern at Healthy Gulf, and in DC, as a Federal Policy and Legislative Intern at WE ACT for Environmental Justice, where she analyzed environmental policy, socioeconomic factors affecting communities and organized advocacy events. Harlowe will pursue the MPA-PNP program at NYU Wagner with an aspiration to gain the necessary tools in order to work with environmental nonprofits to influence governmental policies and uplift marginalized voices to drive transformative action toward environmental equity and justice.

Olivia Chan (MPA-Health 2026)

Olivia Chan is passionate about advancing health equity and health reform through improvements to public investments, safety net programs, and the delivery of health and social services. She is currently a Health Research Analyst at Mathematica, where she primarily works with federal and state agencies to examine and implement health policies aimed at improving the Medicaid and Medicare programs and providing comprehensive, patient-centered, and value-based care. She has worked on innovations such as the Accountable Health Communities Model, Maryland Total Cost of Care Model, and the Financial Alignment Initiative, as well as efforts to strengthen home and community-based services.

Olivia was previously a Bill Emerson National Hunger Fellow, working with the Brookings Institution and Indigenous Food and Agriculture Initiative on efforts to advance economic mobility and tribal sovereignty, respectively. She also served on the Century Foundation’s health care reform team and as a research assistant at the Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health for studies on the Philadelphia beverage tax, housing safety in Baltimore, and family planning. Olivia was born and raised in NYC and graduated from Johns Hopkins University with a degree in public health and social policy.

Liliana Flanigan (MPA-PNP 2026) 

As a Venezuelan-American from a rural area, Liliana’s passion lies in ensuring that marginalized communities have the opportunities they need to be successful. She has served as a director of youth civic engagement programs and led high school lobby trips to the Colorado State Capitol. Liliana is deeply committed to public service and is focused on incorporating cultural competency in resource distribution and outreach. She aims to ensure that the legislative process is accessible for marginalized communities to have their voice heard in our democracy.

She has previously worked for members of Congress, and held positions with Everytown for Gun Safety, Pfizer, Western Colorado Alliance, and as Campaign Manager and staff for various political campaigns. She has traveled throughout the continental United States and Puerto Rico supporting national nonprofit work, engaging rural and urban Latinx communities in conversations about gun violence prevention. This included coordinating listening sessions and serving in the rapid response to the 2022 tragedy in Uvalde, TX.

Liliana holds a BA in Politics and Spanish from the NYU College of Arts and Science (Class of 2024), and is excited to continue in the MPA program at NYU Wagner.

Lucy Friedman-Bell (MUP 2026)

Lucy Friedman-Bell is interested in iterative, holistic urban planning solutions that support healthy, connected, and equitable communities. After developing a participatory mural-making workshop program for youth in Pittsburgh, she worked in municipalities across Massachusetts, implementing school-based programs to enhance opportunities for K-12 students to utilize active, safe means of transportation. In her current role at the New York City Department of Transportation, she develops location-specific bus priority projects that connect New Yorkers to faster, more reliable transportation options. Lucy holds a BA in Art History from Carleton College.

Smrithi Mahadevan (MPA-Health 2026)

Smrithi Mahadevan graduated from the University of Texas at Austin in 2020 with a BS in Public Health and a concentration in health policy. From 2019 to 2021, she served as a health policy analyst in the office of Texas State Senator Nathan Johnson, where she primarily worked towards gathering empirical evidence to create a cogent argument for expanding Medicaid in Texas. Her experiences at the Legislature not only opened her eyes to the realities of policymaking but also deepened her commitment to serving the public sector. In her current role as an analyst at Mathematica, Smrithi has contributed to a variety of state health projects aimed at transforming the existing healthcare system into one that works for vulnerable populations. Throughout her career, she hopes to continue learning how to foster connections between local governments and the communities they serve to better address systemic inequities and improve healthcare accessibility for all.

Jacob Olander (MPA-PNP 2026)

Jacob Olander (he/they) is a pro-democracy advocate who is passionate about leveraging the promises of technology to increase civic engagement and improve local election administration. After graduating from the University of Virginia with a BA in Political and Social Thought, Jacob began working as a Research Associate at the Center for Technology and Civic Life, where he maintains databases containing candidates for federal, state, and county-level office across the United States. Through partnerships with companies like Google and Vote.org, these databases have been accessed by voters nationwide over 250 million times. Jacob also conducts research for the Reflective Democracy campaign, which analyzes the demographics of political power in the United States by comparing the race and gender of political officeholders with the demographics of their constituencies. Jacob’s research with the Reflective Democracy campaign has fueled analyses that have been covered by publications like the New York Times, NPR, and ProPublica. In Jacob’s free time, they can be found playing ultimate frisbee with the Durham Queer Sports League, rock climbing, or dutifully updating their Goodreads account.

Finlay Scanlon (MPA-PNP 2026)

Finlay Scanlon is an active transportation advocate raised in Texas, based in Queens. After receiving her BA in International Relations from UT Austin, she served as an Americorps member for the NYC Parks department. There she managed the Care Captain program, training and leading residents in the stewardship of street trees. She then worked as the Urban Fellow for the Chief Climate Officer in City Hall, leading research and stakeholder engagement for the new mayoral e-micromobility task force. Before Wagner, she served as the Outreach Coordinator for Shared Mobility at NYC DOT, where she collaborated with communities to expand Citi Bike and the e-scooter share program. With her MPA and dedication to building better streets, Finlay aspires to help make New York neighborhoods (especially in the suburbs) safe for cycling, to better connect residents with transit, provide a climate-friendly transportation option, and reclaim space used by cars for people.

Marshall Strawbridge (MUP 2026)

Marshall Strawbridge, a native of St. Louis, Missouri, now proudly identifies as an adopted Bronxite. His dedication to working towards building a more just and equitable economy for the Bronx started during his time at Manhattan College. Upon learning about the rich history of community organizing in the Bronx during the 1970’s and 1980’s from the Decade of Fire documentary, Marshall pursued an internship with the Northwest Bronx Community and Clergy Coalition. After graduating, Marshall joined the Northwest Bronx Coalition as the lead organizer for the Bronx-wide Coalition. In this role, Marshall was responsible for organizing Bronx institutions to participate in the development of a people-led economic development plan for the borough. Through this work, Marshall came to understand the importance of leadership development in impacted communities, the role of accountability in institutions serving these communities, and how essential accountability is to sustaining policy interventions aimed at uplifting marginalized groups. The relationships that Marshall formed in this role with individuals, organizations, small businesses, and elected officials through his work on the Bronx-wide plan, made him an ideal candidate for the role of Director of Outreach at the Bronx Economic Development Corporation, where he is responsible for leading the organization’s small-business grant-making, neighborhood development, and environmental sustainability initiatives.

2023 Bloomberg Public Service Fellows

Alanis Allen (MUP 2025)

Alanis Allen was born and raised in Brooklyn. Her love for nature was fostered in nearby Prospect Park when her dad would take her on bike rides or general exploration on the weekends. She moved to Connecticut for college, where she pursued studies related to climate change, environmental justice, and public health. After graduating with a Bachelor’s degree in Environmental Studies and Economics from Yale University, she became a Research Analyst at Connecticut's Office of Climate Planning, working on various climate change-related projects and programs including, the Governor’s Council on Climate Change and the newly formed Connecticut Equity and Environmental Justice Advisory Council.

Charlotte Borgers (MPA 2025)

Charlotte Borgers aspires to improve US population health outcomes by fostering cross-sector initiatives to address the social determinants of health, and researching new models to incentivize preventative care. Charlotte holds a Bachelor’s degree from Cornell University's College of Human Ecology, where she studied Human Development and Health Policy. As an undergraduate student, Charlotte worked as a Research Assistant in the Early Childhood Cognition Lab, and supported New York’s COVID-19 response efforts while she was a Program Assistant for the Tompkins County Health Department. Upon graduation, she joined Northwell Health’s Management Associate Program and began to work in hospital operations at Staten Island University Hospital. In her current role, Charlotte is a Program Manager for Northwell Health Solutions, where she supports the analysis and administration of value-based care programs.

Dylan Campana (MPA 2025)

Dylan Campana is a native of Brooklyn and determined to center pressing issues like climate change and housing reform in NYC agendas. He holds a B.A. in Public Policy and a minor in Sociology from NYU. Dylan has interned for NYC Human Resource Administration’s Office of Diversity and Equity, where he got experience in policy formation. Dylan has also worked at the voter registration nonprofit Headcount, where he registered 200+ voters by connecting with various communities and organizations in NYC. He is a John D. Solomon Fellow for Public Service, where he will be working in the NYC Department of Health and Mental Hygiene (DOHMH) to gain experience in emergency management. He intends to focus his studies on urban policy at NYU Wagner to get the expertise necessary to work on NYC's coastal resiliency projects.

Peter Estes (MUP 2025)

Peter believes deeply in local government, community-based organizations, and public service as powerful tools for social change. After two years with City Year as an AmeriCorps member working in a DC elementary school, he started organizing with families through Parents Amplifying Voices in Education (PAVE) to secure equitable funding in the DC budget for school-based mental health supports and out-of-school time programs. In his current role with Senior & Disability Action (SDA) in San Francisco, he organizes around housing, healthcare, and transit and manages SDA's team of Peer Advocates, who support people navigating the complex web of city agencies and nonprofits. Previously at SDA, Peter helped establish a Bay Area-wide mutual aid network and co-led a campaign to expand access to affordable high-speed internet in low-income neighborhoods of color. Peter holds a B.A. in Political Science with a Minor in Education from Tufts University.

Daria Guzzo (MPA 2025)

Daria Guzzo was born and raised in the Quad Cities on the border of Iowa and Illinois and holds a B.A. in Political Science and Spanish from Grinnell College, where she also played basketball. Most recently, she worked as an Equitable Development Manager at Capital Impact Partners, a national nonprofit community development financial institution (CDFI). Daria’s primary role was to lead the implementation of the Equitable Development Initiative in the Washington DC Region – a program which strives to increase the knowledge and grow the wealth of real estate developers of color who are creating and preserving affordable housing – and also to play a key role in expanding programming to Austin, Texas. Prior to joining Capital Impact, Daria worked for a boutique affordable housing development and property management firm on the south side of Chicago. There, she collaborated on Low Income Housing Tax Credit (LIHTC) applications, as well as contributed to the day-to-day management operations of the 1,000+ unit portfolio.

Campbell Munn (MUP 2025)

Campbell Munn grew up on Long Island, witnessing the drastic changes in building type and socioeconomic status over a handful of blocks on the same avenue. His academic and professional career have principally concerned suburban land use policies and the links to social outcomes, such as opportunity access and educational outcomes. He has worked with the Stamford Land Use Bureau, writing rezoning codes to bring a new mixed-use main street to brownfield sites. Most recently, he served on the Regional Plan Association’s Long Island Zoning Atlas. Additionally, Campbell serves as a Suburban Chapter lead for Open New York, where he works toward putting New York’s suburbs on a path toward inclusion and sustainability. Campbell holds a B.A. from NYU Gallatin.

Toritsene “Toné” Nanna (MPA 2025)

Toritsene “Toné” Nanna has a B.A in Public Policy and a minor in Web Programming and Design from the NYU College of Arts and Sciences. She is passionate about restoring justice to marginalized communities and has worked at the University Neighborhood Housing Program (UNHP) in the Northwest Bronx as the Community Engagement and Communications intern to begin that work. This included creating reports on UNHP service work, tabling, and events with community members, as well as research and data collection about state and federal programs available to residents. She has also worked as the Program and Event intern at the NYU LGBTQ+ Center, where she focused on providing safe and welcoming community spaces, programs, and events for LGBTQ+ individuals across the NYU campus. Toné is planning to follow the policy specialization at NYU Wagner.

Jacob “Jake” Peña (MPA 2025)

Jake is an equity-driven organizer who has most recently led grassroots electoral and legislative campaigns for Community Change Action. Raised in Texas, he has lived in Washington, DC since 2018. Jake first attended Collin College and then transferred to The University of Texas at Austin for his B.A. in Government. He has worked as a legislative staffer, policy advocate, and political strategist. In 2016, the League of United Latin American Citizens awarded Jake 'National Man of the Year'. In 2017, he was a PPIA fellow at the University of Michigan. Upon moving to DC, he worked for the Center on Budget and Policy Priorities on federal campaigns to expand the Earned Income Tax Credit and Child Tax Credit. In 2020, he moved to Wisconsin for the presidential election and led a statewide campaign engaging low-propensity voters of color which prompted coverage by The New York Times and The New Yorker. Jake is proud to enhance his organizing and policymaking skills at NYU Wagner through the MPA Public and Nonprofit Management degree program.

Christine Rutkowski (MPA 2025)

Christine is passionate about embedding equity in economic development and promoting economic well-being for marginalized populations. Recently, Christine has worked as a Junior Consultant for the Fund for Our Economic Future (the Fund), a Cleveland-based nonprofit dedicated to the city’s economic development. At the Fund, her work largely revolves around strengthening workplaces to become more employee-centric and accessible to urban low-income populations. In her free time, Christine pursues stand-up and sketch comedy and loves using humor to promote change. Christine holds a B.A. in Philosophy, Political Science & Economics with minors in Business Administration and Women’s Gender & Sexuality Studies from Ohio State University.

Clara Smith (MUP 2025)

Clara Smith is a passionate community organizer with a deep commitment to creating positive change in her community. Since the pandemic began, she has been heavily involved in local organizing groups: she has been a key organizer for the North Brooklyn Open Streets Community Coalition, creating concrete infrastructural changes in the community, and a producer for the Make McGuinness Safe Coalition, interviewing and creating videos of local community members. In addition to this organizing work, she works as a studio manager and producer for a boutique video production agency in New York. She is excited to pursue an urban planning degree at Wagner to further develop her skills and turn her passion for civic engagement into a full-time career in public service.

Lulu Zhou (MPA-PNP 2025)

Lulu is a first-generation immigrant, first-generation student, and Asian American from Queens, NYC who is passionate about educational access, gender empowerment, and socioeconomic mobility. She holds a B.A. in sociology and a minor in education studies from Middlebury College, where she received the Public Service Leadership Award and graduated Phi Beta Kappa. She has experience as a researcher, evaluator, program manager, English teacher, and Chinese teacher, expanding educational and socioeconomic equity internationally and domestically. Previously, she worked on education access with refugee and migrant communities at BEAM Education Foundation (Chiang Mai, Thailand) and at Stanford University’s Rural Education Action Program (Sichuan, China). Most recently, she focused on equitable economic development and workforce issues at Harvard Business School and Interise. She is committed to bringing greater equity and justice to more children, families, and workers and catalyzing structural changes through community-centered practice and policy.

2022 Bloomberg Public Service Fellows

Anna Bauman (MPA 2024)

Anna served as a client advocate at the East Baton Rouge Office of the Public Defender for the past two years. As part of the national organization Partners for Justice, she provided holistic client services with the goals of reducing the impact of criminal legal system involvement, eliminating barriers to resources, and decriminalizing poverty. Anna was a Dean's Honor Scholar at Tulane University where she graduated with a degree in political science and social policy. In college, she researched local and state education policy, culminating in a co-authored article on charter school governance in the Urban Affairs Review. Originally from Florida, Anna is passionate about the Gulf States and the capacity for local and state-level governments to implement innovative policy initiatives. She is particularly interested in fines and fees reform, ending cash bail, and increasing access to affordable housing for system-impacted individuals.

Dominique Dukes (MPA 2024)

Dominique Dukes is dedicated to refining policy and practice using research, data, and the experiences and perspectives of the most marginalized constituents. She was a researcher in MDRC’s postsecondary education policy area for six years, partnering with open and broad-access postsecondary institutions to increase college achievement for students with low incomes and students of color. Dominique played a variety of roles: coordinating random assignment evaluations at colleges, conducting qualitative research and providing formative feedback, developing and managing research projects, and disseminating research findings to postsecondary institutions and state policymakers. Dominique is a first-generation student and holds a bachelor’s degree in sociology from Columbia University.

Shannon Flores (MPA 2024)

Shannon Flores is a former legislative staffer born and raised in Southern California. After graduating from Yale in 2018 as an Education Studies Scholar with a degree in Political Science, Shannon moved to Alaska and became a guidance counselor at a public boarding school. There, she helped first-generation indigenous students from predominantly rural villages apply for college. In 2019, Shannon was accepted to the Capital Fellows Program and went to work for the California State Assembly, where she staffed legislation to protect tribal sacred sites, waive childcare fees during the pandemic, create a rental assistance program for unhoused Californians, and establish the first statewide FAFSA completion requirement. Shannon is particularly interested in working in state and local government, where she believes she can create the most change.

Scott Johnson (MPA 2024)

Scott worked in education for six years as a teacher, curriculum fellow, and professional learning community lead. He taught AP Microeconomics, Global History, and English at KIPP high schools in the Bronx, NY and New Orleans, LA. Throughout his teaching career, Scott’s students consistently achieved the highest levels of academic growth and mastery department-, network-, and city-wide. Before teaching, he worked in the Supply Chain Analytics department at Levi Strauss & Co., acting as a technical lead on projects in Belgium, Poland, and Turkey. Scott holds a Master of Arts in Teaching from the Relay Graduate School of Education and a Bachelor of Science in Finance from Santa Clara University.

Juan Diego “JD” Mazuera Arias (MPA 2024)

JD is the government affairs assistant at The Century Foundation, where he focuses on education, health care, and economic policies. His main role is to track and analyze legislation or pending laws as well as establish and maintain relationships in Congress and throughout the Biden-Harris administration. He joined TCF after finishing a fellowship with the Congressional Hispanic Caucus Institute, working first as a public policy fellow at the Aspen Institute’s Latinos and Society Program and then as a legislative fellow and co-leading the immigration portfolio in the office of U.S. Representative Alexandria Ocasio Cortez. JD was born in Pereira, Risaralda, Colombia; was raised in Charlotte, North Carolina; attended Central Piedmont Community College; earned his Bachelor’s degree in Political Science from Queens University of Charlotte; and is the first in his family to graduate from college. Being a former undocumented DACA recipient has led JD to his passion in public service and politics, advocating for Latine issues and immigrant rights.

Lynn Miao (MUP 2024)

Lynn was born and raised in lower Manhattan and holds a B.A. in Government from Harvard University. Most recently, she worked for NYC Health + Hospital as a Senior Program Manager, directing efforts to provide relief and resources to New Yorkers as they recover from COVID-19. Previously, she worked in political campaigns in both field organizing and data roles for advocacy groups, the Texas Democrats, and the 2020 Democratic Primary for Bernie Sanders. She also worked at a data analytics and consulting firm in both Washington D.C. and Taiwan in a variety of industries, such as retail, financial services, manufacturing, and telecommunications.

Eva Phillips (MUP 2024)

Eva is passionate about helping communities leverage data to inform more equitable and impactful programs, policies, and decision-making. She holds a B.A. in Urban Data Analytics and a Minor in Geographic Information Systems from the University of California, Berkeley, and her expertise lies in conducting community-centered research, evaluating program impact, and measuring neighborhood change. In her role as Senior Data Analyst at Enterprise Community Partners, Eva contributed to the design and evaluation of housing and community development initiatives across the country, including an eviction prevention program for undocumented New Yorkers. Before moving to New York, she worked at the Urban Displacement Project, developing models to predict gentrification and displacement risk in the Bay Area, and at the City of Oakland Department of Transportation on increasing transportation access in low-income neighborhoods.

Kenya Reeves (MPA 2024)

Kenya is passionate about helping people by providing impactful resources and making positive change in communities in need. This passion led Kenya to Howard University's School of Business, graduating in 2018 with a Bachelors of Business Administration in International Business concentrating in Emerging Markets and minoring in Sociology. Upon graduation, she joined Americorps/NYC Civic Corps as an Education Specialist working at the NYC Department of Homeless Services. In her role, she managed nearly 40 family shelters throughout the five boroughs and worked with the local library system, Department of Education, and corporate partners to bring educational programming and develop libraries within these shelters. Upon completion of her ten months of service, Kenya began her fundraising career working in institutional giving. Kenya now works as a Development Manager at Fiver Children's Foundation, managing funder relationships and executing Fiver's marketing strategy through a racial equity lens.

Alumni Fellows

Mira Atherton (MUP 2023)

Prior to graduate school, Mira worked in New York City government, first at the Parks Department in their Planning unit as an Urban Fellow, and then for nearly three years as a Policy Analyst in the Mayor's Office of Operations. While at NYU, she worked at Bloomberg Associates as a Sustainability Fellow, consulting cities such as Chicago, London, and Phoenix on a range of sustainability initiatives including increasing shade tree planting in high-need areas, launching a green finance facility to fund decarbonization projects, and designing a community land trust program. She is currently working part-time at MTA Construction and Development in the President's Office, designing and managing the Clean Construction program to reduce embodied carbon in built projects. 

Aisha Balogun (MUP 2023)

Aisha currently works as the Special Projects Associate with the Housing Solutions Lab at the NYU Furman Center, where she is building out resources to help cities integrate climate resilience and equity into their local housing plans. During her time at NYU, Aisha worked as a Research Assistant with the NYU Furman Center, an Environmental Justice Fellow with the Moving Forward Network, and a Philanthropy Fellow with the New York Community Trust. At the Moving Forward Network, she developed technical resources for clean energy advocacy and researched community-based participatory research. Aisha presented the results of her work at the 2022 Environmental Grantmakers Association Retreat and is listed as an author in a journal article published in a special edition of Social Sciences. At Wagner, Aisha served as the vice chair for the Black Student Association and interviewed Secretary Pete Buttigieg about environmental justice and transportation policy.

Symantha Clough (MPA 2023) 

Symantha’s primary focus lies in driving positive change within the public education system for students of color and those from low-income communities. While at Wagner, Symantha interned at the Research Alliance for New York City Schools with the support of the Bloomberg Fellowship. In this role, she evaluated the Computer Science for All initiative through quantitative and qualitative analysis. She presented her work at the 2023 American Educational Research Association (AERA) conference as well as co-wrote and presented a paper at the 2023 SIGCSE conference (Special Interest Group on Computer Science Education). Additionally, Symantha engaged in student leadership as a First-Year representative for the Education Policy Network and as a co-leader of her Capstone project with the Mayor's Office to End Domestic and Gender-Based Violence. 

Jerrell Gray (MUP 2023)

Jerrell received a full-time offer with KPMG's Infrastructure Advisory practice which works with public and private partners across the country to secure public funding and deliver on their capital projects. During his time at NYU, Jerrell had two stints in the NYC Mayor's Office, first working with the Office of Operations' Project Management Team and then the City Legislative Affairs Unit. He also worked as a Graduate Assistant for NYU's Academic Achievement Program, where he had the opportunity to advise minority undergraduate students. 

Jonathan "J.R." Reed (MUP 2023) 

J.R. is currently a Housing and Sustainability Fellow at Bloomberg Associates, a pro bono consulting firm that works with mayor's offices around the world to improve residents' lives. In that role, he has collaborated with senior city leaders in London and Bratislava on decarbonization initiatives and the cities of Tampa and Phoenix on new policies and programs to expand affordable housing. With the support of Wagner's Bloomberg Fellowship, J.R. interned with NYC's Department of Housing Preservation and Development in the summer of 2022, helping close financing for new construction projects promoting affordable housing. While in graduate school, he also interned with the NYC Mayor's Office of Climate and Environmental Justice, worked as a Policy and Communications Research Assistant at the NYU Furman Center, and interned with the Resilient Regions Initiative at the Brookings Institution. Outside of the classroom at Wagner, J.R. also served as the Professional Development Chair of the Urban Planning Student Association and Vice Chair of Wagner City Government. 

Jacqueline Sharry (MUP 2023)

Jacqueline is a Senior Analyst at the Cadmus Group, where she supports public sector clients, such as the EPA and NYSERDA on infrastructure projects and environmental programs related to drinking water protection, offshore wind energy, and climate adaptation planning. Through her time at NYU, she was a peer advisor, completed a Capstone project for the NYC Manufacturing and Industrial Innovation Council, which was presented to a group of stakeholder organizations and agencies, volunteered with Rebuild by Design, and worked at Cadmus completing exciting projects such as a Strategic Plan for a Source Water Protection Collaborative. With the help of the Fellowship, she attended the APA National Conference in Philadelphia, PA, and the Waterfront Conference in New York City, which were both immensely helpful to her growth and professional networking. She hopes to continue my career working towards a built environment that supports more resilient, sustainable, healthier, and livable cities. 

Patrick Spauster (MUP 2023)

Patrick is working as a freelance data journalist, where he writes for Bloomberg CityLab and other publications and is the Data Fellow at the NYU Furman Center, where he builds data tools and advances housing policy research. In addition, Patrick is co-instructing an Urban Planning Class, Data Analysis, Mapping, and Storytelling, at NYU Wagner. As a Wagner student, he was the editor of the Wagner Planner, NYU Urban Planning's student journal, where he wrote blogs and edited the work of 7 staff writers. He also served as the course assistant for Spatial Analysis and Visualization. He was a graduate student researcher on the data team at NYU's Furman Center, and worked as an intern on the data journalism team for Bloomberg News.

Viviana Vizcaino (MUP 2023)

Viviana is currently a Fellow on the Economic Development team at Bloomberg Associates, a pro bono consulting firm that works with mayors’ offices to improve residents’ lives. In this role, she helps cities explore a range of economic policies to achieve their individual goals, ranging from talent retention to business expansions. While at NYU, the support of the Bloomberg Fellowship allowed Viviana to present at the 2022 American Planning Association's National Conference, discussing how cities can plan for an aging population. She also completed an independent study regarding the efficiency of the New York City Housing Preservation and Development agency's subsidy program for the development of affordable infill housing, under the supervision of Professor Ingrid G. Ellen. While at NYU, Viviana also worked for Urbane Development and the NYU Furman Center.