Five outstanding master's students have been named the 2026 Weill Scholars. Nour Abdel-Ghani (MPP '28), Sadie Burnaine (MPP/MSW '29), Aries Cole (MPP '28), Kelsey Faranda (MPP '28), and Georgia Youngblood (MPP '28) are recipients of the prestigious Ford School Rackham Master's Award (RMA). The RMA is one of the Ford School's and the University of Michigan's highest honors, awarded to graduate students underrepresented in the public policy field with outstanding qualifications and tremendous promise. Weill Scholars receive full graduate school tuition, a stipend, and health and dental insurance.
Nour Abdel-Ghani (MPP '28) is a first-generation student and proud daughter of Egyptian immigrants. Growing up watching her parents work hard shaped her appreciation for workers and the sacrifices that often go unseen. For the past seven years, Nour has worked in international labor rights and worker organizing, including advocacy that helped build support for ILO Convention 190, the first global treaty addressing violence and harassment at work. At the Ford School, she's focused on building accountability into the future of work before technology outruns the people it should protect. Nour earned her bachelor's degree in international studies from American University and attended the PPIA Junior Summer Institute at Princeton. Outside of policy, she's usually hiking with her dog, Otis, painting, arranging flowers, or poorly throwing pottery!
Sadie Burnaine (MPP/MSW '29) is a first-generation college graduate from Flint, Michigan, whose experiences growing up in poverty and during the Flint water crisis shaped her interest in public policy and social welfare. She earned a BA in biopsychology, cognition, and neuroscience with a minor in history from the University of Michigan, where she was nominated and selected to deliver the student speech at the Comprehensive Studies Program's graduation ceremony. Burnaine devoted herself to public health research and community engagement through political organizing. Notably, she worked two election cycles with The Outreach Team, a national nonprofit, serving as a team lead to expand voter participation among underrepresented communities. She co-founded the Michigan Marriage Equality ballot initiative, establishing partnerships with organizations including Michigan Law OUTlaws to advance the campaign. Now pursuing a dual-degree at the Ford School and the U-M School of Social Work, Burnaine aims to shape health policy and develop accessible trauma-informed interventions for underserved populations. She plans to pursue a PhD in clinical psychology to research and develop evidence-based programs that make trauma-informed care more accessible.
Aries Cole (MPP '28) was born in New York City and spent his early childhood in Kalamazoo, Michigan, where watching his single mother navigate public benefits and college as a nontraditional student made the impact of public policy tangible at an early age.
Cole discovered his passion for improving public systems while serving as student body president at San Diego High School. He attended the University of California San Diego, where he earned a BS in political science with a focus on data analytics and a BS in cognitive science with a focus on machine learning and neural computation. While at UC San Diego, Cole served as Warren College Student Council president, where he advocated for halal dining, secured pedestrian-safety improvements, and restructured the council to better incorporate student input. He later managed the university's student government elections, overseeing an election with 88 candidates and over 6,300 votes cast.
A 2025 PPIA Junior Summer Institute Fellow at the Ford School, Cole returned to Michigan to pursue his MPP. He hopes to build a career in Michigan election administration and policy, particularly voter access, voter education, and youth voter registration, while also pursuing interests in AI governance and education policy focused on student voice, college transitions, and access for nontraditional students.
Kelsey Faranda (MPP '28) is a first-generation student from Poughkeepsie, New York, pursuing an MPP focused on socioeconomic and education policy. She recently earned a BA in politics, philosophy and economics from the University of Rochester, where she was a Ronald E. McNair Post-Baccalaureate Achievement Scholar. Her research experience ranges from working on a professor's ethnographic study of prison towns in Upstate New York, to her McNair summer research on school demographics in Rochester, to her independent capstone project. In that thesis, Faranda developed a quantitative index examining the relationship between historical redlining and modern primary school catchment areas across U.S. metropolitan cities to identify a geographic indicator for educational outcomes. The maps and index she developed earned her the Excellence in Undergraduate Research Award and several opportunities to present her work. After her MPP at the Ford School, she hopes to pursue doctoral study and continue her research in education policy. Ultimately, Faranda hopes to work in higher education or as a superintendent, remain active in her local municipal politics, and publish a book. Outside of academics, she enjoys cooking, crocheting, craft coffee, and staying in with her cat, Ruby.
Georgia Youngblood (MPP '28) grew up in a fifth-generation farming family, where she developed a deep interest in the policies shaping agriculture, rural communities, and the environment. She earned a BS in communications and media arts with a concentration in multimedia journalism and a minor in marketing from the University of Wisconsin–Superior, graduating magna cum laude. While completing her undergraduate degree, she gained experience in journalism, communications, and public service, including internships with US Senator Debbie Stabenow, Michigan State Senator Kevin Hertel, and Northern News Now, a regional television news station in Duluth, Minnesota. In 2025, she participated in the Public Policy and International Affairs (PPIA) Junior Summer Institute at the University of Michigan, an experience that strengthened her commitment to advancing her education in public policy. At the Ford School, she is pursuing an MPP with interests in agricultural, environmental, and economic policy. She hopes to build a career in public service focused on developing policies that support farmers, strengthen rural communities, and promote environmental sustainability.
Read more about the Weill Fellowship.