This week six Ford School students were awarded Dow Sustainability Fellowships. Each will receive $20,000 for their studies and will join a diverse and collaborative community dedicated to sustainability.
Dow Fellows focus on interdisciplinary approaches to a broad array of sustainability challenges related to water, energy, transportation, the built environment, climate change, food, health, human behavior, and more. In addition to co-curricular activities and interactions with the Dow Doctoral and Postdoctoral Fellows, each master's/professional fellow will complete an interdisciplinary team project focused on developing collaborative and practical sustainability solutions in the real world.
“We are thrilled to accept this new cohort of talented students,” said Professor Margaret Wooldridge, director of the Dow Sustainability Fellowship Program. “We look forward to a year of opportunities designed to build leadership skills, foster new interdisciplinary collaborations, and to advance sustainable solutions for diverse communities.”
Join us in congratulating the Ford School’s 2018 Dow Fellows:
- Emily Futcher graduated from Cornell University with a degree in policy analysis and management and a minor in gerontology. Futcher worked for the U.S. Department of Transportation Volpe Center in Cambridge, MA conducting transportation policy research and program evaluations for federal programs. She is pursuing a degree in public policy and business administration with a focus on international policies related to economic development and education.
- Augusta Gudeman graduated from the University of Chicago with a degree in anthropology. She was a consultant at the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration in the weather satellite division. She is pursuing a dual degree in public policy and urban planning.
- Sharon Hu graduated from UCLA with a dual degree in ecology and geography. She is currently pursuing a dual degree in public policy and natural resources and environment to study environmental policy. She spent several years with various water agencies working in conservation and budgeting.
- Abigail Orrick graduated from the University of Michigan in 2015 and worked for nonprofits, foundations, and schools before pursuing her master’s degree in public policy. She is interested in the intersection of education policy and philanthropy, specifically charter schools, school integration, and community organizing.
- Emily Pfleiderer graduated from Earlham College with a degree in peace and global studies. She worked for nonprofits in Texas and Michigan and was a recipient of a Foreign Language and Area Studies (FLAS) Fellowship to study Portuguese at Middlebury College’s summer immersion program. She is studying public policy in regards to Latin America, usage of shared natural resources, and environmental governance.
- Benjamin Rego graduated from the University of California, Berkeley with a degree in environmental economics and policy. He joined the Peace Corps and served in Paraguay as a volunteer in the economic development sector. He has also worked for the Department of Homeland Security in the Political Asylum Office. A dual-degree student at the Ford School and the School for Environment and Sustainability, Rego is interested in energy policy.
--Olivia Lewis (MPP '18)