This summer, thanks to alumni support, the Fellowships and Stipends team is supporting 56 students engaging with policy as public service through SIG-funded Cardinal Quarter internships. We received a total of over 200 applications for our programs this year, which returned to a mostly in-person format after last year’s all virtual program, although some positions will remain virtual or hybrid based on the needs of our partners. Speaking of partnerships, this year we were thrilled to be able to co-sponsor 5 fellows to work in California environmental policy positions with the Stanford Woods Institute for the Environment, 5 fellows to work in various energy policy positions in California and Colorado with the Precourt Institute for Energy and the Bill Lane Center for the American West, and 1 fellow with CS+Social Good at the San José Mayor’s Office of Technology and Innovation. The Stanford Institute for Economic Policy Research (SIEPR) also partnered with us to sponsor 4 economic policy fellows and the Freeman Spogli Institute (FSI) generously sponsored some of our stipends recipients working in the State Department. Our chosen fellows come from all class years and a variety of majors, ranging from computer science and mathematics to philosophy and political science. We are deeply grateful to all of our partners and to our alumni supporters for helping SIG’s Fellowships and Stipends team make policy as service an accessible path to every student on campus!
Our State, County, and Local Fellowships team, led this year by Brandon Ma (who will also be next year’s Vice Chair of F&S!), renewed many partnerships with our partner organizations in local and county government as well as in Sacramento. From the Office of California Governor Gavin Newsom to the Santa Clara County Office of Reentry Services to the San José City Auditor’s Office, our state, county, and local fellowships program covered a wide range of policy areas across 3 levels of government this year. This included a new position at the San José Department of Parks, Recreation, and Neighborhood Services evaluating equity in access to parks across the city. In total, 18 students will be sponsored under this branch. State, county, and local fellowships continue to be an important gateway into policy for many frosh and sophomores, with many of our fellows in this branch working in policy for the first time!
Our D.C./National fellowships team this year was led by Marli Bosler, with her team managing the selection of 16 total fellows. This year saw students work at returning partner organizations like the Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency (CISA), the New York City Economic Development Corporation, and the Landesa Center for Women’s Land Rights. We also added 2 new fellowships this year, one with the Bail Project’s Los Angeles office and the other with the Library of Congress – Professional Learning and Outreach Initiatives Office. Our national fellows will work in the federal government, in state and local governments outside of California and in advocacy organizations and NGOs.
The pandemic complicated our international fellowships program last year due to the various travel restrictions across the world, but this year our international branch, led by Enrique Flores, bounced back to sponsor 10 students. This includes long-standing partnerships with the World Bank, the East Asia Institute, and the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees, as well as new partnerships with the Center for Peace Diplomacy and the Latin America and Caribbean and Future of Conflict offices of the International Crisis Group. Our fellows will span Asia, Europe, and North America, with South America and Africa likely making a return next year!
Our stipends team this year was led by Bilen Essayas, who oversaw the selection of 12 stipends recipients. Our recipients come from across all class years and a variety of majors and will work for a wide selection of local, state, federal, and international organizations ranging from the Los Angeles Public Defender’s Office and various Congressional offices to the State Department and United Nations. Stipends have also been a crucial way for students to find funding to explore opportunities where the cost of living may otherwise prevent them from participating.
We are honored to be able to use our fellowships and stipends programs to break down the barriers of inaccessibility in policy career paths and help open doors on campus to future leaders in these fields. I would like to once again thank our alumni supporters, our partner organizations on and off campus, our friends at the Haas Center for Public Service, and the work of all of the fellowships and stipends directors and committee members for an amazing year in our branch. We could not have done this work without you all, and we will keep pushing forward next year under Brandon’s leadership to keep public service accessible and open to all.
Thank you,
Zac Stoor – Vice Chair of Fellowships and Stipends
