Students Selected for Ash Summer Fellowships & Internships

May 26, 2010
Students Selected for Ash Summer Fellowships & Internships

Opportunities to Study in Vietnam, Indonesia, and Throughout the U.S.

Cambridge, Mass. – Today the Ash Center for Democratic Governance and Innovation at the John F. Kennedy School of Government, Harvard University announced the students selected for Summer Fellowships in Innovation, research internships in Vietnam and Indonesia, as well as independent student research projects. Through Ash Center support, 21 students from Harvard Kennedy School and throughout the Harvard community will take part in on site research projects and public policy analyses in the U.S. and southeast Asia.

“We are thrilled to support groundbreaking student research and field work on government innovations and democratic governance,” said Anthony Saich, director of the Ash Center for Democratic Governance and Innovation. “In sponsoring their summer internships and fellowships, we hope to further enrich students’ experience at HKS and better prepare them for their future careers as the next generation of public sector leaders.”

Vietnam Program Internship

Each summer, the Vietnam Program supports students in pursuing eight-week internships at the Fulbright School (FETP) in Ho Chi Minh City. Under the guidance of FETP’s full-time Vietnamese faculty, each intern selects a research topic of interest to them and relevant to FETP’s research agenda. FETP arranges for the interns to meet with government officials and business people working in fields applicable to their research projects and organizes multiple policy field trips to expand their understanding of the Vietnamese economy and the socioeconomic impact of globalization. Vietnam Program Economist David Dapice will also provide guidance to this year’s interns.

The Center’s Vietnam Program has selected the following students for its summer internship program:

      • Aubrey Huynh, Candidate to A.B. Degree in Economics, Harvard College
      • Alex Ngo, HKS MPA 2011 and MBA at the Wharton School, University of Pennsylvania

HKS Indonesia Internship

As the world’s largest majority Muslim country, Indonesia is an important model for positive institutional change. The Ash Center’s newly created HKS Indonesia Program encourages and assists HKS students in their research related to Indonesia by supporting their summer internships, independent research, and other forms of study conducted in Indonesia. The following students were chosen for the inaugural year of the Center’s HKS Indonesia Program internship:

      • Widharmika Agung, HKS MPP/ID 2010: Agung will study the feasibility of a new initiative related to staffing teachers in rural schools.
      • Jessie Cronan, HKS MPP 2011: Cronan will support institutional development efforts at LINA, an organization dedicated to educating and politically empowering women in the Indonesian province of Aceh.
      • Aryo Danusiri, Ph.D. Candidate in Anthropology, Harvard College: Danusiri will research the activities of Indonesian Muslim youth groups who transform public spaces into spontaneous religious congregations complete with multimedia visuals.
      • Panji Hadisoemarto, Doctor of Science Candidate, Harvard School of Public Health: Hadiseomarto will research the impact of the Dengue Vaccination Program in Bandung, Indonesia, and its potential for encouraging the spread of other mosquito-borne diseases.
      • Jung Paik, HKS MPA and MBA 2010: Paik will conduct research on private sector investment in Indonesia examining key players, relevant government policies, current trends, bottlenecks to investment, and recommendations for growing local and foreign investments.
      • Jaeson Plon, MTS 2011, Harvard Divinity School: Plon will explore the role of telecommunications in representing and better integrating marginalized communities living in the Mentawai Island off the coast of Sumatra.
      • Anna Ruman, AB 2010, Harvard College: Ruman will investigate how conservation and public health issues have shaped and will continue to shape democratic governance and institutional transformation in Indonesia.

Summer Fellowship in Innovation

The Ash Center’s Summer Fellowship in Innovation is designed to prepare students for careers in the public sector. Students work with some of the most creative and effective public officials and policy advisors in the country, not only to learn but to add value by sharing cutting-edge trends and ideas explored at the Kennedy School. Hosting public sector agencies are past winners of the Center’s Innovations in American Government Awards or members of the Urban Policy Advisory Group comprised of the chief advisors to mayors of the 30 largest U.S. cities.

The Center has selected the following students for 2010 Summer Fellows in Innovation:

      • Harini Angara, Harvard Graduate School of Education: Angara will support the city of San José Mayor’s Office and the Santa Clara County Office of Education on SJ2020, a new initiative to close the achievement gap among various subpopulations of the city’s K-12 students.
      • Lindsay Berger, HKS MPP 2011 with a concentration in social and urban policy: Berger will work with San Francisco Mayor Gavin Newsom’s education advisor to identify strategies for truancy reduction.
      • Thackston Lundy, HKS MPP 2011: Lundy will split his time between New Orleans and Pittsburgh. In Pittsburgh, Lundy will focus on developing talent management systems to help principals address hiring needs. In New Orleans, he will provide analytical and public policy support as Mayor Landrieu transitions.
      • Alejandra Vellejos Morales, HKS MPA 2011: Morales will supporting several projects designed to advance the mission of Washington, D.C.’s Office of the Chief Technology Officer and the Data Feeds program, the nation’s first government initiative to make virtually all current city government data available to citizens in real time.
      • Jim Secreto, HKS MPP 2011 and Georgetown Law School: Secreto will assist in developing Honolulu’s concept for community-based economic development as it relates to transit-oriented development.
      • Rebecca Strauss, HKS MPP 2011 with a concentration in social and urban policy: Strauss will work with Pittsburgh Mayor Luke Ravenstahl’s Department of Neighborhood Initiatives to conduct quantitative and qualitative assessments of anti-blight programs.
      • Tai Steven Sunnanon, HKS MPP 2001 and Harvard Graduate School of Education Ph.D. Program: Sunnanon will work for New Leaders for New Schools, a 2009 Innovations winner which recruits and trains high-caliber principals to lead historically underserved and underperforming urban schools.

Student-Initiated Research Projects

In addition to this summer’s fellowships and internships, the Center is supporting the following students through student-initiated research projects:

      • Naima Green, HKS MPP 2010: Green will support programmatic initiatives of the White House Office of Public Engagement and Intergovernmental Affairs.
      • Ghanysam Tiwari, Joint MPA/MBA 2011: Tiwari will assist with the management of the upcoming electoral campaign in Bihar, India.
      • Sorbrique Grant, HKS MPP 2011; Courtney Thomas, HKS MPP 2011; and Michael Wolking, HKS MPP 2011: As part of the Community Development Project, Grant, Thomas, and Wolking will expand upon efforts to bring about positive changes to Greenwood, MS.

Learn more about the Ash Center’s programs and resources for students»

For more information, please contact:
Kate Hoagland
Ash Center
617-495-4347
kate_hoagland@harvard.edu

About the Ash Center for Democratic Governance and Innovation
The Ash Center for Democratic Governance and Innovation advances excellence in governance and strengthens democratic institutions worldwide. Through its research, education, international programs and government innovations awards, the Center fosters creative and effective government problem solving and serves as a catalyst for addressing many of the most pressing needs of the world’s citizens. For more information, visit www.ash.harvard.edu.