Summer 2011 Graduate Program in Public Policy Fellows
Jessica Beemer | UT San Antonio Jessica is a
graduate student pursing a Masters of Public Administration from The University
of Texas at San Antonio. She is also working to complete her American Humanics
Certification and a certification in Nonprofit Leadership and
Management. Her undergraduate degree is in Political Science and
International Studies, also from The University of Texas at San
Antonio. Jessica is an active member in the UTSA community serving as a chapter
advisor for the Zeta Nu chapter of Sigma Kappa Sorority and also volunteers as
an assistant with the BACCHUS Network affiliate Be A Responsible Roadrunner. She will intern with Communications
Department at the National Republican Congressional Committee.
Rian Carkhum | UT Austin Rian is currently a third year doctoral student in the Educational
Policy and Planning Program at U.T. Austin. She received a B.S. in
Psychology from Central Michigan University and a M.ED. in Higher Education
Administration from the University of Texas at Austin. For the 2010-2011
academic year, Rian served as the membership director for the Graduate Student
Assembly and as a member on the Graduate Education Advisory Committee at the
Texas Higher Education Coordinating Board. She is currently a Graduate Research Assistant for the Longhorn Center
for Academic Excellence with the Gateway Scholars and Summer Scholars Programs
at The University of Texas at Austin.
Garrett Coles UT Southwestern Medical Center Garrett will be entering his second year at The University of Texas
Southwestern Medical Center at Dallas. Prior to medical school, he completed
his undergraduate studies at Brigham Young University, majoring in Nutritional
Science, as well as Exercise Physiology. Garrett is happily married and the
proud father of a handsome one-year-old son. His interests include the
prevalent medical care paradigm and its current, tumultuous relationship with
public policy. Garrett is enthused to participate in the Archer Center
Fellowship this summer and will intern in the office of Senator Orrin Hatch.
Brady Franks | UT Austin Brady is a second
year dual degree student at UT Austin pursuing masters degrees in Community and
Regional Planning and Public Policy. In the past he has worked for
multiple state and national campaigns and during the last three Texas
legislative sessions. His main areas of interest are transportation
policy and public finance, specifically focusing on innovate transportation
funding on a statewide level.
Manny Gonzalez | UT Austin Manny is a fourth year graduate student pursuing his PhD in Higher Education
Administration at the University of Texas at Austin. Prior to attending
UT Austin, Manny earned his Bachelor of Science degree in Business Management
from Trinity University (San Antonio, TX). Manny's research interests include
legislative issues in higher education, equity and access to higher education,
and the vanishing Latino male in higher education. Outside of class, Manny
works at UT Austin's College of Undergraduate Studies as a Graduate Research
Assistant for the Texas Success Initiative on College Readiness. Additionally,
Manny is currently serving his second term as Graduate Student Assembly President,
representing and advocating on behalf of the 13,000 graduate and professional
students at UT Austin. Manny will intern at The White House
Domestic Policy Council this summer.
Ashley Horton | UT Dallas
Ashley is a second year master’s student of Criminology at
the University of Texas at Dallas. She is an active member within her school
and community, participating with the University cheerleading team as well as a
nonprofit organization. Prior to the Archer Fellowship she interned with the
Dallas Police Department and North Texas High Intensity Drug Trafficking
Area. Upon graduation she hopes to work
within the government, advancing policy in areas related to crime control. She
is also a member of Golden Key International Honor Society and during her free
time she enjoys traveling as well as reading.
Jonathan Hunt | UT Austin Jonathan is a doctoral candidate in the Department of History at the
University of Texas at Austin. He is currently writing an international history
of Cold War nuclear nonproliferation strategy, policy and law with a focus on
its environmental aspects. He received his B.A. in Plan II Honors, History, and
Russian, East European, and Eurasian Studies from UT Austin in 2006. His
interests include international affairs, security, and law, comparative
political economy, nuclear proliferation and power generation, as well as
environmental diplomacy. Jonathan spent last summer as a residential fellow at the Kennan Institute for
Advanced Russian Studies at the Woodrow Wilson International Center for Scholars.
This summer, he will work as a fellow of the Security and Sustainability Program at
Global Green USA.
Brandon Hunter | UT Austin Brandon Hunter is a Master's student in Latin American Studies and a
portfolio candidate in Women and Gender studies at the University of Texas at
Austin. Brandon received a B.A. in Latin American Studies and
Women and Gender Studies. His research focus is on human trafficking and commercial
sexual exploitation of women and children in Mexico. Through this research,
Brandon has developed additional thematic focuses on human rights issues in the
Americas and internationally, as well as the impact of civil society organizing
in Mexico. Brandon plans to use his research and background to
pursue a career in international policy with special attention to human rights,
women’s rights, and human trafficking concerns internationally. This summer
Brandon will intern at the U.S. Department of State in the Bureau of Democracy,
Human Rights and Labor.
Maria Islam-Meredith | UT Dallas Maria will complete her master’s degree in Healthcare Management at the
University of Texas at Dallas in August. Given her interests in medicine,
healthcare administration, and reform, she has been involved as a student
member of the American College of Healthcare Executives and has led the
graduate organization on campus. As an undergraduate at UTD, she
completed her B.S. in Biochemistry. She has served in Student Government,
led the local chapter of Amnesty International, and participated in
undergraduate Moot Court. Maria is excited to be part of the Archer
Graduate Program in Public Policy and will intern at the District of Columbia
Department of Health Primary Care Bureau.
Davi Kallman | UT El Paso Davi is a graduate student at the University of Texas
in El Paso and is pursuing her master’s degree in Communication Theory. She
earned her Bachelor of Arts in Corporate and Organizational Communication from UTEP. Davi established the Disabled Student Services Task
Force at UTEP to increase awareness of the needs of students with both obvious
and “hidden” disabilities, and was the driving force behind the creation of the
University’s first Homecoming pageant for disabled students. Last summer she
used her UTEP Study Abroad scholarship to travel to Indonesia to work on
environmental campaigns as part of a team working to the preserve that
country’s rainforests. Honored as the Department of Communication’s Outstanding
Student of the Year and the recipient of numerous other awards for academic
excellence and service to her community, she plans to continue her education in
Washington, D.C., as an intern for Congressman Silvestre Reyes to compliment her
love of politics.
Zareen Khan | UT Austin Zareen is a
Masters of Public Affairs candidate at the University of Texas at Austin.
She completed her Bachelors of Science in Economics from Converse College. She
is deeply interested in Social and Economic Policy and her reserch interests
include the volatility of financial markets, human trafficking, and
innovative ways to help low income families build assets. She will be a
Communications and Government Affairs intern at the Financial Services
Roundtable this summer.
Mauricio Leone | UT San Antonio Mauricio graduated from the
Pontifical Catholic University of Chile in 2005 with a B.A. in History and a
B.A. in Political Science. While a
student, he was a research assistant for UC Berkeley on a project regarding the
political infrastructure in Chile. He
was one of the founding members of the first non-profit for domestic violence
victims, and promoted the organization’s fundraising efforts through the use of
media and outreach. Since 2005 he has
lived in Texas where he volunteered for Texas RioGrande Legal Aid and
researched economics and religion in Latin America for the Assistant Vice
President for Texas A&M International University. He is currently working towards his Master’s
Degree in Public Administration at the University of Texas at San Antonio.
Alice Post | UT Dallas Alice
is a student at the University of Texas at Dallas and will complete her
Master’s degree in International Political Economy in August. She received her
BA in Political Science at UT Dallas in 2010 and traveled to Mexico, Ghana, and
Costa Rica as a part of her studies. Her research interests include governance
studies and economic development within Latin America and Sub-Saharan Africa.
She is currently focusing her graduate degree on the topic of development with
Latin America as her geographic concentration.
Kenisha Schuster | UT Tyler Kenisha is a graduate student at the University of Texas at
Tyler where she is pursuing a Master of Arts in Political Science. Kenisha
earned a Bachelor of Science in Political Science, with a minor in
international relations from UT Tyler and plans to pursue work in the field of
international relations after graduation. As an active member of the Tyler
Collegiate Model United Nations Club, Kenisha has participated in both national
and international competitions for UT Tyler. In 2011, she will serve as a head
delegate for the UT Tyler delegation in the National Model United Nations New
York conference. Kenisha is also a member of the Alpha Chi Honor Society and
the political science honor society Pi Sigma Alpha.
Ben Sigrin | UT Austin Ben is a graduate student at the University of Texas at Austin pursuing a
dual-Masters degree in Energy & Earth Resources and Public Affairs. His
academic interests generally include renewable energy policy, electricity
markets, and energy regulation and, specifically, how consumers make household
energy purchasing decisions. Prior to his time at UT, Ben served for three
years as a Peace Corps Volunteer in northern Namibia, worked as a U.S. Forest
Ranger in the Wyoming Rockies, and received a B.A. in Physics in 2006 from
Grinnell College. Ben will intern with the U.S. Department of Energy this
summer.
Courtney Tyne | UT School of Public Health Courtney is a PhD candidate in Health Policy at the University of Texas Health Science Center at Houston’s School of Public Health in Houston. She obtained her B.S. in Psychology from the University of Iowa, and an MPH in Health Policy from UTHSC. Courtney is particularly interested in the field of health policy reform and for-profit health care. Courtney has worked with MD Anderson Cancer Center in Houston as a program manager, and has significant experience in grants management and clinical research, and has worked in hospitals, assisted living facilities, and home health care agencies.