The David A. Winston Health Policy Fellowship & AUPHA are pleased to announce that Anne M. Dwyer, University of Minnesota, and Colin Goldfinch, University of Washington, are the 2013-2014 Winston Health Policy Fellowship Recipients.
The Winston Fellowship offers a twelve-month post-graduate experience in Washington, D.C. to students from AUPHA Full Graduate Member universities. Through systematic exposure to organizations, association and coalitions in the private sector, as well as policy development centers in Congress and the Administration, the program offers Fellows unparalleled opportunities to expand their knowledge of the political system and how health policy is shaped. Three months of orientation visits to key policy development centers in Washington and surrounding areas are followed by a nine-month placement that allows each Fellow to explore current health policy issues in depth while gaining invaluable, firsthand experience in policy making. The selection, as in past years, was extremely competitive, with 37 applicants and 5 individuals selected for interviews.
Anne Dwyer became interested in a career in health policy after a series of both personal and professional experiences beginning with her exposure, while working as a legal secretary, to a broken state Medicaid system. Working as a law clerk at the Minnesota Disability Law Center, she witnessed firsthand the limitations of the current healthcare system while assisting a quadriplegic client appealing a reduction in personal care attendant hours. A May 2013 candidate for a Masters of Public Health Administration and Policy and Juris Doctor, Health Law and Bioethics Concentration degrees from the University of Minnesota, Ann received her Bachelors of Arts degree from the University of Wisconsin-Madison. She has spent the past three years studying health policy with an emphasis on health insurance and healthcare reform.
According to Anne, "The Winston Health Policy Fellowship provides an unparalleled opportunity to learn about health policy through an independent and open lens. I feel truly privileged to experience the legacy of David A. Winston at such an exciting and challenging time for national health policy."
Colin Goldfinch’s interest in health policy crystalized near the end of his days as 
an undergraduate at Concordia University in Montreal. When his grandparents were forced to give up their retirement home in New York State to afford the cost of long-term care, he saw first-hand how healthcare policy affected his own family. When he realized that he needed more than the Bachelor’s degree in biochemistry, he enrolled in a Master of Public Health and, subsequently a Master of Health Administration at the University of Washington with an anticipated graduation date of June 2013.
"The Winston Fellowship is a rare opportunity to learn from and work with the people who have shaped the health policies I have spent the last three years studying. I can’t wait to get started,” shared Colin.
Congratulations to both Anne and Colin on their achievement.