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For Jenny Tran (MPP '24), the decision to pursue a summer internship at the Center for American Progress, a Washington, D.C. think tank, was a natural extension of her passion for sustainable development policy. While there, she contributed to published research on the Rural Partners Network, a USDA program supporting underserved rural communities in the transition to a greener economy.

Last Friday, the Batten School was honored to celebrate Julieanna L. Richardson, the school’s recipient of the 2024 Thomas Jefferson Foundation Medal in Citizen Leadership, the highest honor bestowed by the University of Virginia. Richardson is founder and president of The HistoryMakers, the groundbreaking digital archive of Black leaders who helped shape American history.

Batten's Language in Policy (LIP) student organization hosted Daniel Reifsnyder in the Great Hall this week for Batten Hour. Reifsnyder teaches multilateral environmental negotiations at Batten, and is best known for co-chairing the U.N. negotiations which led to the Paris Agreement on climate change in 2015.

Maggie Anderson (MPP ‘18) and Brian Williams, associate professor of public policy at Batten, met during the summer of 2020 when she reached out to him for assistance with the implementation of Richmond Mayor Levar Stoney’s Task Force on Reimagining Public Safety. Tensions were at a breaking point in the city following the murder of George Floyd. The mayor had entrusted Anderson with the creation of this initiative, with the goal of building reform and trust with the community. Williams believes the job was placed in the most capable of hands.

It’s springtime and we students know what that means… the hunt is on for jobs and internships. For Batten students, each with their own policy interests and passions, there are so many incredible opportunities to explore and pursue within the realm of public service, policymaking, and advocacy. As a part of our Student Highlight series, we had the pleasure of sitting down with Amelia Walker, (BA ‘24) to discuss her experience working last summer for the Virginia Department of State Police as a Policy Research Analyst.

Jordan Matsudaira recalls watching his mother work as a middle school teacher in Ithaca, New York, experiencing her work and hearing her talk about her days. Piquing an early curiosity in education, his interest expanded in college to improving outcomes for those in lower-income communities and led to a lifelong focus on related issues including his service as deputy under secretary and the inaugural chief economist for the U.S. Department of Education.

In March 2024, Batten School Dean Ian Solomon and professors Kirsten Gelsdorf and Abigail Scholer joined dozens of scholars and others from around the world in Dharamsala, India, to meet with the Dalai Lama and explore ways to bring contemplative science and practice into teaching, research, policymaking and leadership in all sectors.

About 50 people from across the state and beyond and from all walks of life were invited by Batten professors Kyle Dobson and Brian Williams to a daylong workshop to share, listen and learn with each other as they envisioned the steps needed to enhance safety and health in troubled communities.

For Batten students, the summer internship between their first and second year of the Master of Public Policy program is an opportunity to apply their classroom learning to hands-on policy work. Will Holland (MPP '24) seized this opportunity by diving into the complex world of regulatory compliance.

Dr. Adriana D. Kugler, a member of the Board of Governors of the Federal Reserve System and previous U.S. Executive Director at the World Bank Group, will deliver the keynote address at the 2024 diploma ceremony speaker for the UVA Batten School.

Since its first cornerstone was laid in 1819, the Academical Village has been the literal and figurative heart of the University of Virginia. The buildings of the East and West Ranges are home to 52 of the University's most accomplished graduate students. This year, 12 of those students are Batten MPPs.

The lessons of history have been ever-present throughout Alex Bick's 20-year career in international affairs and national security, including roles at The Carter Center and in the Obama and Biden administrations. He joined the Batten faculty this semester as associate professor of practice in public policy.