The 2011-2012 David A. Winston Health Policy Fellowship has been awarded to Miraya Jun of Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health and Jennifer Schmitzer of Yale University. The two will arrive in Washington in June to begin their year-long, post-graduate fellowships.
The Winston Fellowship, awarded annually to two students from AUPHA Full and Associate Candidate Member universities, offers unparalleled opportunities for direct, in-depth exposure to the main arenas of health policy decision-making in Congress, the Administration, and the private sector. With the guidance of members of the Winston Board of Trustees, each Fellow’s experience is designed to embody David A. Winston’s commitment to the public/private partnership necessary for a high-quality, market oriented healthcare system. The first three months are spent making visits to a number of key policy development centers in and around Washington, followed by nine months completing a full-time placement where they experience policy-making firsthand.
Each of this year’s fellowship recipients brings with her a deep commitment to health policy and an impressive track record of field and volunteer experience. Miraya Jun holds a Bachelor of Arts degree from the University of Pennsylvania and received her Master of Health Sciences from Johns Hopkins in Fall 2010. In the meantime, she received a 2010-2011 Fulbright Grant which supported her research into adolescents’ drinking habits in Mongolia and afforded her the opportunity to work with the Mongolia Public Health Professionals Association (MPHPA) on an alcohol advocacy campaign. Miraya’s field experience also includes academic research and volunteer work in several contexts in inner-city Philadelphia.
Saranchuluun Otgon of the School of Public Health, Health Sciences University of Mongolia, commented that Miraya’s “dedication to both her research and community involvement is very remarkable. I am confident her research experience and knowledge, her commitment to building community relations and her passion for working in health policy will serve her exceptionally well within the unique philosophy of the David A. Winston Health Policy Fellowship and in a future career in health policy.”
Responding to her selection as one of this year’s Winston Fellows, Miraya says, “I am honored and grateful to be a Winston Health Policy Fellow as it provides me the extraordinary opportunity to immerse myself in Washington's health policy environment and to gain a first hand look into the nation's health reform process at this exciting time.”
With a Bachelor of Science degree from the University of Maryland in hand, Jennifer Schmitzer is a May 2011 candidate for her Master’s in Public Health from Yale University, where she will be prior to coming to Washington as the other 2011-2012 recipient of the David A. Winston Health Policy Fellowship. Jennifer first became involved in public advocacy as a high school student participating in long-term fundraising to support a Masai village school in Kenya. Over the course of several field trips to Africa during the next few years, her main interest shifted from education to health and matured into a professional commitment to public health policy. Most recently, in 2010, she served as a Student Ambassador at the Global Health Leadership Institute (GHLI) in New Haven, Connecticut and Monrovia, Liberia.
Dr. Elizabeth H. Bradley, Director of the Yale Global Health Initiative, said of Jennifer, “After understanding the role of the US in global health, she was eager to receive training and be exposed to the US policy making process with an understanding of its impact on health care delivery.”
Jennifer says of her selection, “I am honored to accept to the Winston Fellowship. Having worked primarily in global health, I am eager to enhance my understanding of U.S. health policy on the national level. Additionally, I intend to take full advantage of access to the Winston Foundation's distinguished Board of Directors, whom I wish to thank for this exceptional opportunity.”
According to Robert Rubin, MD, member of the Winston Fellowship Board and Clinical Professor of Medicine at Georgetown University, “Interestingly, both Jennifer and Miraya are passionate about international health; a first for our Fellowship. Both have spent significant time overseas, Jennifer in Africa and Miraya in Mongolia. I expect this will give them a new perspective on the interview process as well as their choice of work assignments. It will also help the Fellowship learn more about global health. I want to congratulate our two new Winston Fellows.”
Each year the Fellowship draws from a pool of some of the most promising students within our member programs. This year was no different. Along with Johns Hopkins University and Yale University, the finalists represented the University of Miami, Tulane University and Columbia University.
AUPHA and the David A. Winston Health Policy Board congratulate Jennifer and Miraya, and look forward to welcoming them to Washington.