My name is Delaney McDermott, and I am a dual Master of Public Policy (MPP) and Master of Public Health (MPH) at the University of Michigan. I am from South Lyon, MI, which is not too far from Ann Arbor, and so I grew up coming to Ann Arbor for field trips to the Hands-On Museum, going to the farmer's market, and coming to the annual art fair during the summer. Previous to grad school, I worked for three years at a local, Arab American non-profit in Dearborn called ACCESS, where I did organizing work to promote civic engagement and voting among community members. When I was applying to graduate school, I wanted to pursue both public policy and public health work, and U-M's dual degree program offered me the chance to explore my interests, gain important skills, and still remain close to home and in a city I love.
Since coming to grad school, I've had so many opportunities to explore my policy interests and get involved. I did my summer internship with the Ford School at the Detroit Health Department, working with them on their Syringe Service Program (SSP) to develop their outdated internal policies for licensing harm reduction providers in the area. This gave me the chance to work on real, local policy work that has a huge impact on the residents of Detroit and addresses the Opioid Crisis in a way that reflects increasing access to lifesaving materials and destigmatization of substance use. Additionally, I joined the Health Policy Student Association (HPSA), where students from all over the university can come together and learn more about different topics in health policy, and gain skills through workshops, lobby days, and attend conferences. Recently, I attended the 2026 Health Action Conference in Washington, D.C with HPSA. This was a great opportunity for students to network with people from all over the country in the health policy sector, as well as learn more from expert panelists on a variety of topics.
I am excited to continue my degree program next year, and I know that after I graduate, I will have made memories and connections from both the Ford School and the School of Public Health that will serve me for a lifetime.
Delaney McDermott (MPP/MPH ‘27) holds a BA in comparative cultures and politics from Michigan State University. During her undergraduate studies, she was awarded the Gliozzo Scholarship for Muslim Studies and the Ronald Dorr Award for Excellence in Undergraduate Writing. Following graduation, McDermott's Lebanese heritage and passion for advocacy led her to ACCESS, the largest Arab American nonprofit in the United States. At ACCESS, she worked to improve voter education, accessibility, and election protection for Michigan's Arab American communities. Later, at the National Network for Arab American Communities (NNAAC), McDermott played a key role in the "Count MENA In" campaign, which helped to achieve the historic, first-ever inclusion of a "Middle Eastern and North African" (MENA) category in U.S. federal racial and ethnic data collection. At the Ford School, McDermott was awarded the prestigious David Bohnett Foundation Leadership and Public Service Fellowship.