Recipients of the Ian Axford (New Zealand) Fellowships in Public Policy for 2020 announced
The Ian Axford Fellowships Trust and Fulbright New Zealand are pleased to announce the recipients of the Ian Axford (New Zealand) Fellowships in Public Policy for 2020. Congratulations to Rachel Galanter (North Carolina) and Melissa Favreault (Washington DC) – we look forward to welcoming you to New Zealand early next year.
Rachel Galanter
Rachel Galanter is Executive Director of Exchange Family Center in Durham, North Carolina. She will be based with Oranga Tamariki (Ministry for Children) for 3.5 months conducting research in to prevention of child maltreatment and early intervention to ensure child wellbeing.
“Focusing on Prevention/Early Intervention would include exploring what early intervention includes, assessing gaps in services, and determining how to measure outcomes. My experience working in primary, secondary and tertiary prevention programs will assist me in a thoughtful examination of the available research,” Rachel says.
“I have practical experience delivering interventions, assessing implementation drivers to determine capacity for adopting new practices, planning summits, credentialing providers, providing professional development to providers, evaluating interventions, leading continuous quality improvement, creating manuals, and participating in community conversations about next steps.”
“Both the US and NZ would benefit from a deeper understanding of how to best identify early signs of need, the service array required to address needs, and the potential outcomes to anticipate from investments in early intervention and prevention. As a local leader who serves on county and state planning committees, advisory boards, and task forces to determine how to best support children’s health, development, resilience after adversity, and educational success, my capacity would be enhanced by this fellowship.”
Rachel earned her Bachelor’s degree in Psychology at Columbia University and her Master’s in Public Health (Maternal and Child Health) at the University of North Carolina. She joined the Exchange Family Center in 2000 as the Family Support Program Manager. In 2013 Rachel was presented with the prestigious Donna Stone Award by Prevent Child Abuse North Carolina, recognising her significant contributions to supporting and her efforts to bring evidence-based family strengthening programs to agencies throughout the area.
Melissa Favreault
Melissa Favreault is Senior Fellow in the Income and benefits Policy Center at the Urban Institute in Washington, DC. She studies social insurance and social assistance programs and has written extensively about Medicaid, Medicare, Social Security, and Supplemental Security Income. She evaluates how well these programs serve Americans today and how various policy changes and ongoing economic and demographic trends could alter outcomes for future generations.
While on the Axford Fellowship in 2020 she will be hosted in New Zealand by the Ministry of Social Development for six months to conduct a comparative study of participation in government income support programmes for working-age adults with disabilities.
“I propose to undertake a comparative study of the policy challenges of supporting working-age adults with disabilities and high health care needs in New Zealand and the United States,” Melissa says.
“After describing each country’s systems of government programs, my project will focus on identifying and evaluating the drivers of participation in disability income support programs among working-age adults. We can think of program participation as having two distinct, interrelated components: the onset and progression of a work related impairment or set of impairments, which may be closely linked to one’s social status, and then the choice to take-up income support benefits conditional on having a limitation, where this choice depends on one’s alternative opportunities,” she explains.
Mellissa earned her BA in political science and Russian from Amherst College and her MA and PhD in sociology from Cornell University. She has published her research in Demography, Health Affairs, Health Services Research, and the Journal of Gerontology: Social Sciences and coedited Social Security and the Family: Addressing Unmet Needs in an Underfunded System with Frank Sammartino and C. Eugene Steuerle. She served on the Social Security Advisory Board’s 2011 Technical Panel on Assumptions and Methods and now serves on the board of the International Microsimulation Association.
Call for Applications: 2021 Ian Axford Fellowships
Do you know someone working in the US public sector who would like to explore public policy on the other side of the world?
Gain public policy comparative experience in New Zealand with an Axford Fellowship. Ian Axford (New Zealand) Fellowships in Public Policy are for outstanding mid-career American professionals to research and gain first-hand experience of public policy in New Zealand.
Learn more about the Fellowships and how to apply
If you have any questions please get in touch with Magnolia Wilson, Fellowships Manager at Fulbright New Zealand.
email: [email protected] ph: +64 21 139 7322