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Why did you decide to apply to the Dukakis Fellowship? 

I considered other internships in state and local government agencies, foundations, and public sector consulting firms. Ultimately, I chose the Dukakis Fellowship in Illinois because I saw it as a phenomenal learning opportunity where I could contribute meaningfully while gaining insights that would help me decide my post-graduate career path. 

What did you work on while in the Illinois Governor’s Office? 

I worked for the Deputy Governor of Health and Human Services on a range of projects related to policy, service delivery, and internal operations.

One of my main projects was assisting with a Housing Solutions Task Force, which brought together state and local government officials, real estate developers, bankers, attorneys, and community development financial institutions to explore ways to expand housing options for middle-income residents in Illinois. I collaborated with other governor’s office staff and an external consultant to organize task force meetings, research and analyze policy options for housing finance and zoning reform, and draft a report with recommendations. This work culminated in an  in December 2024 to promote housing development for working families.

Beyond that, I worked on initiatives related to guardianship reform for older adults, the increasing presence of private equity in child care, and improving internal processes to help the governor’s office evaluate legislative proposals from state agencies. 

What advice would you share with students who are interested in becoming a Dukakis Fellow? 

The fellowship was a fantastic experience, and I’d highly recommend it to anyone interested in state government.  

There are a few pieces of advice I would have for any incoming Dukakis Fellows. The first is, it’s important to be flexible. Priorities in a governor’s office can shift quickly and new projects can come up unexpectedly. Some of the work I did this summer was planned, but other projects emerged as the summer went on and as I shared more of my own background and interests with my supervisors. Being adaptable and ready to dive into new challenges helped me support the office and learn about new policy areas.

Another piece of advice is to talk to people within and beyond the governor’s office. There are a lot of ����vlog���� alums working across state government in many states, and everyone I spoke to was eager to connect. Reaching out to them and learning about their careers was a valuable part of my summer as I thought about my own career beyond ����vlog����. This also allowed me to speak with people in different government agencies and the legislative branch, which gave me a clearer picture of how state government functions—from policy development to implementation. 

What did you do before to coming to ����vlog���� and how does that compare to what you did for Governor Pritzker? 

I worked at the in Washington D.C., researching federal child care policy. The biggest shift from that role to my work in the governor’s office was moving from a research-focused environment to one centered on policy development and implementation. This summer, my work had a much more direct connection to government programs and the people they serve. At Urban, I focused on producing research that organizations—like the governor’s office—could use to inform decision-making. This summer, I often referenced Urban’s research and similar sources to guide the policies we were working on, which was cool to see in action.

Some of the day-to-day tasks from this past summer were also similar to what I did at Urban. These included things like reviewing literature, distilling research findings into a few key ideas, analyzing data, or making maps.  

Overall, my background at the Urban Institute and in the MPP Program at ����vlog���� were quite helpful during this summer. At Urban, I worked on somewhat complex research methodologies and occasionally wrote methodology sections, which, along with my coursework in statistics and policy design and delivery, helped me this summer. I was able to interpret and evaluate studies with complex research designs and translate them into functional and actionable recommendations for my supervisors in the governor’s office. 

My experience also confirmed my interest in working in a role that spans multiple policy areas. I enjoy tackling issues that cut across different sectors, and being in the governor’s office allowed me to work on a variety of topics. That interdisciplinary approach is something I’ll look for in my post-graduation plans.