Student and Alumni Spotlights

Graduate Students

Public Policy

Chelsie Riche, MPP ’23

Chelsie Riche, MPP ’23

This year for Black History Month, Rutgers invited professionals and practitioners from around the university to share their experiences as Black professionals: the highs, lows, most impactful lessons, and their advice to the next generation. Read all the stories here...

Ian Vlahović, MPP ’23

Ian Vlahović, MPP ’23

Ian Vlahović Master of Public Policy, Class of 2023 Hometown: New York, NY Ian Vlahović graduated from Rutgers’ Mason Gross School of the Arts in 2014 with a degree in Music Education. Deciding that he didn’t want to pursue teaching after graduation, he began a career...

Tracy P. Glova, MPP ’22

Tracy P. Glova, MPP ’22

Tracy P. Glova Master of Public Policy, Class of 2022 Public Policy and International Affairs (PPIA) Fellow Hometown: Philadelphia, PAPersonal interests: Cat-mom to Fig Newton, enjoys cozy coffee shops, yoga, backpacking, and long road trips with her partner Tracy...

Madison Menkevich, MPP/MPH ’24

Madison Menkevich, MPP/MPH ’24

Madison Menkevich EJB/SEBS (Public Health) '21, (MPP/MPH) '24 was the recipient of the NJ Society for Public Health Education (NJSOPHE) Karen Denard Goldman academic scholarship in 2021. The award recognizes exemplary student achievement and is awarded to a student or...

Roshard Williams MPP ’18

Roshard Williams MPP ’18

Roshard Williams, a second year MPP student at the Bloustein School, has been selected as a 2017 APPAM Equity & Inclusion Student Fellowship Recipient. Roshard is an alumnus of the University of South Florida, where he graduated magna cum laude with a bachelor's...

Urban Planning

Max Toth MCRP ’23 is recipient of SAE Metro Section Fellowship

Max Toth MCRP ’23 is recipient of SAE Metro Section Fellowship

MCRP candidate Max Toth (2023) was recently awarded the New York City Metropolitan Section of the Society of Automotive Engineers Section Fellowship. The award was established to provide financial assistance to students enrolled at the Bloustein School who have an...

Alumni Profile: Music is inherent in building design

Alumni Profile: Music is inherent in building design

Mrunmayee Atre Master of City and Regional Planning, Class of 2018 A trained architect from Pune, India, Bloustein School alumnus Mrunmayee Atre, MCRP ’18, AICP, PP, LEED Green Associate, CAPM, believes that music resides in everyone through heartbeats and breathing. ...

Bike advocacy inspires a public service career for former accountant

Bike advocacy inspires a public service career for former accountant

Ayla Schermer Master of City and Regional Planning, Class of 2021 Hometown: Jersey City, NJ Ayla Schermer is a former accountant turned passionate urban planner focused on creating safe, equitable, and sustainable streets and public spaces. Originally from Pittsburgh,...

Health Administration

MHA Candidate: Aa’ron Dennis

MHA Candidate: Aa’ron Dennis

What Aa'ron says: As an Associate Director in Patient Transport, my mission has been to ensure the safety of our team, colleagues, and our patients. This meant procurement of the PPE needed for transports and providing the leadership skills necessary to manage the...

MHA Candidate: Thomas J. Kayal II

MHA Candidate: Thomas J. Kayal II

What Thomas says: At Universal Health Services, Inc. (NYSE: UHS), I have been fortunate to be entrusted with the responsibility of managing multiple high-level projects, business plans, and contractual negotiations. The projects include medical research, business...

MHA Candidate: Yasir Shakoor

MHA Candidate: Yasir Shakoor

What Yasir says: My essential job function as a Fraud Investigator II on Anthem's Program Integrity Special Investigations Unit is to stop fraud, waste, and abuse (FWA) that may be committed by providers in Anthem's network. One of my tasks is to investigate...

Public Informatics

Junghoon Lee, MPI ’24

Junghoon Lee, MPI ’24

Meet Junghoon Lee, a dedicated professional with a background in urban planning, now making strides in the field of Public Informatics through the Public Informatics at Rutgers University program at the Rutgers University Edward J. Bloustein School of Planning and...

Dayana Toledo-Mendoza, MPI ’23

Dayana Toledo-Mendoza, MPI ’23

Nonprofit Maven and Rising Public Informatics Star Meet Dayana T., a dedicated professional at Rutgers University making waves in the nonprofit sector and a Master of Public Informatics graduate student at the Bloustein School of Planning and Public Policy at Rutgers....

Elana Simon, MPI ’22

Elana Simon, MPI ’22

First-Gen. Grad and Energy Analytics TrailblazerElana Simon, Senior Research Fellow - Center for Law, Inequality, and Metropolitan Equity, is a 2022 MCRP-MPI graduate of the Rutgers University Edward J. Bloustein School of Planning and Public Policy. Through a careful...

Ali Jan, MPI ’21

Ali Jan, MPI ’21

Ali Jan is a highly skilled data analyst and an alumnus of Public Informatics at Rutgers University. With a careful selection of courses, research work, and an internship at the MPI program, Ali has honed his expertise in data analysis, statistical modeling, and...

Simran Singh, MPI ’23

Simran Singh, MPI ’23

First-Gen. Grad and Energy Analytics TrailblazerMeet Simran Singh, a fellow New Jersey resident hailing from Carteret, NJ, and a first-generation university graduate. Simran's academic journey began at Wesleyan University for his Bachelor’s degree. He then continued...

Haoyun Wang, MCRP/MPI ’20

Haoyun Wang, MCRP/MPI ’20

"I enrolled in Theory and Practice of Public Informatics with professor Clinton Andrews, where I learned how public informatics could be utilized to address a wide range of urban issues. This course led me to pursue the MPI degree. I loved the interdisciplinary nature...

Doctoral Candidates

Lauren Nolan, AICP

Lauren Nolan, AICP

Dissertation Advisor Kathe Newman Research Interests Housing and mortgage lending Community economic development Land development and value capture Urban inequality Uneven development Teaching Experience Applied Multivariate Methods, Rutgers University (graduate)....

Ellen Oettinger White

Ellen Oettinger White

Dissertation Topic/Title: Roadside Tree Removal: Causes, Consequences, and Who Decides Dissertation Adviser Dr. Robert Noland Research Interests/Personal Statement My dissertation focuses on roadside vegetation management practices within state highway agencies. I...

Cathy Y.H. Wang

Cathy Y.H. Wang

Dissertation Topic/Title Expert Attitudes toward Performance-Based Funding for Higher Education: A Mixed Methods Approach in the Case of New Jersey Research Interests Public budgeting and finance Social policy and health Nonprofits and philanthropy My current projects...

Adam Scavette

Adam Scavette

Dissertation Title Essays in Urban and Regional Economics Dissertation Advisor Michael Lahr Research Interests Economic Development Urban and Regional Economics Community Development Applied Econometrics Labor Economics Teaching Assistant Experience Research Methods...

Lucas Marxen

Lucas Marxen

Dissertation Topic/Title Public Informatics as Boundary Objects: Advancing Effective Decision-Making Dissertation Advisor Dr. William Hallman Research Interests My dissertation research is focused on the use of public informatics platforms to span the boundary between...

Undergraduate Students

Health Administration

Health administration: Seeking to make a difference in communities

Health administration: Seeking to make a difference in communities

Katherine Orefice Health Administration/Human Resource Management Class of 2023 Monroe Township, NJ Activities/Organizations: Eta Sigma Gamma honor society; Rutgers Italian Club  Personal interests: spending time with family; playing with my dogs Nella and Talulah and...

Health Administration Undergraduate: Sidrah Farooq

Health Administration Undergraduate: Sidrah Farooq

This past spring Sidrah worked with PWNHealth, a national clinician network that provides safe and easy access to diagnostic testing. PWN partnered with Verily Project Baseline, Quest Diagnostics, and other labs that are testing for COVID-19. What Sidrah says: As part...

Health Administration Undergraduate: Elizabeth Tomaselli

Health Administration Undergraduate: Elizabeth Tomaselli

What Elizabeth says: The COVID-19 pandemic has highlighted the critical role that telemedicine plays in increasing both the geographic and financial accessibility of healthcare. I'm proud to be able to continue to make healthcare more accessible through remote access...

Planning and Public Policy

Public Policy

Public Health

Combining Natural Science and Public Health

Combining Natural Science and Public Health

Anjali Patel Public Health/Cell Biology and Neuroscience, Class of 2024 Hometown:Jefferson Township, NJ Activities/Organizations: Reach Out and Read, The Examiner, Voices of Diversity Student Advisory Board Personal interests: Reading, playing board games, sewing,...

Turning A Passion Into a Career: From Pre-Med to Public Health

Turning A Passion Into a Career: From Pre-Med to Public Health

Aliyah Oberoi Public Health with certificates in Public Health Advocacy and Education, Health Disparities, Global Public Health; Class of 2024 Oakland, NJ Activities/Organizations: President, Rutgers Veg Society; Member, NJ Public Health Association; Member, Rutgers...

Urban Planning and Design

A Love of Green Spaces Changes a Career Path

A Love of Green Spaces Changes a Career Path

Zoe McGowan Urban Planning & Design, Class of 2025Minor: Landscape Design Hometown: Basking Ridge, NJ Activities/Organizations: Bloustein Public Service Association Communications & Public Relations Chair, Field Hockey, Delta Gamma Honor Board...

Alexander Liz

Alexander Liz

Hometown: Hackensack NJ Work Experience Student: At my first college I worked as a laboratory aid in the drafting department where I helped students complete and work through their drawings and exercises. At Rutgers I was proud to join the Habitat for Humanity E-Board...