Scholarship Recipients

James Chan
MPP Candidate, University of Minnesota, Minneapolis, MN

James Chan was born in Brooklyn, NY and is from Orlando, FL. James graduated in May 2012 with bachelor’s degrees in business administration and political science from the University of Florida. Currently, he is a first year Master of Public Policy candidate at the Hubert H. Humphrey School of Public Affairs. As a Floridian, he is constantly reminded of the importance of social insurance programs such as Social Security and Medicare, especially during elections. He is also interested in learning more about how the changing demographics of this country, also well exemplified in Florida, will impact the debate on Social Security and Medicare.

Tatsuko Go Hollo
Policy Associate, Economic Opportunity Institute, Seattle, WA

Tatsuko Go Hollo is a Policy Associate at the Economic Opportunity Institute in Seattle, Washington, where she researches and promotes public policy that benefits all workers in Washington state. Her interests include paid leave policies, wage and labor standards, access to health care, and the economic status of women and people of color. For over a decade, EOI has advocated for the strengthening of social insurance programs. As Tatsuko becomes more involved in this work, she is particularly interested in advancing the impacts these programs have across generations, including enhancing and expanding benefits to increase economic security throughout life. Tatsuko holds a Master of Social Work degree from the University of Washington.

Geoffrey Orokos
Supported Housing Case Coordinator, Fulton Friendship House, MPA candidate, University at Albany, State University of New York, Albany, NY

Geoffrey Orokos is a Supported Housing Case Coordinator in the NYS mental health sector with the non-profit organization Fulton Friendship House, Inc. In addition to helping those with serious and persistent mental illnesses locate, secure, and maintain safe and affordable housing – Geoffrey assists in their pursuit of independent living with navigation through the social welfare system. This fall, Geoffrey has sought to build upon his MH advocacy role by pursuing his Master of Public Administration in Public Policy Analysis at the Rockefeller School of Public Administration & Policy, University at Albany, State University of New York. Geoffrey has published multiple times as a freelance journalist following his graduation in 2010 with a Bachelor of Arts with Honors in Journalism from SUNY-Albany. He is married to Andrea Orokos, has a 19-month-old son, Colton, and is anticipating the birth of their second child in July.

Christina Trusty received her bachelor’s degree in Microbiology from Ohio Wesleyan University in May 2012. Her research focused on studying molecular mechanisms involved in genetic regulatory responses due to environmental factors. Outside of research, her exposure to critical needs in healthcare while working in a low-income emergency room and volunteering in a free vaccination clinic broadened her educational interests to include scientific and healthcare policy. She has since traveled on grant to London to meet with policy makers within Britain’s National Health Service during their own period of healthcare reform. Christina is now a Master’s in Public Health candidate at Ohio State University where she is currently staffed on a federal Medicaid evaluation grant. Prior to this, she worked to revise regulations as an Environmental Science Intern for the New York Attorney General’s Office. Her interests are in working to bridge the gap between scientific research and healthcare policy and reform.

Madhulika Vulimiri
Student, University of North Carolina – Chapel Hill, Morrisville, NC

Madhulika is a junior from Morrisville, North Carolina studying Health Policy and Management at UNC Gillings School of Global Public Health. This past summer, Madhulika completed an internship at Baylor Health Care System in Dallas, Texas, where she became deeply interested in the healthcare issues facing some of the most vulnerable individuals in our society. She conducted interviews with diabetes patients whose quality of care is improved by building relationships with community health workers. Locally, she has become interested in the changing healthcare needs of minority populations and how the Affordable Care Act will impact these communities. Her experiences at hospitals and clinics have fostered a strong belief that the healthcare system should be easy to navigate, regardless of one’s socioeconomic, literacy, or health status. Madhulika is excited to learn more about the role social insurance can play in meeting people’s day-to-day health needs.

Hannah Weinberger-Divack
Law Student, University of Illinois, Champaign, IL

Hannah Weinberger-Divack is a 3rd year law student at the University of Illinois and a graduate of the University of Chicago.  Before law school, Hannah worked at the Sargent Shriver National Center on Poverty Law where she managed a year-long project to increase the financial security of people with disabilities.  She drafted an article, Accessible Assets: Bringing Together the Disability and Asset-Building Communities, featured in the Clearinghouse Review: Journal of Poverty Law and Policy.  Since entering law school, she has been elected Editor-in-Chief of The Elder Law Journal, and her note on the Social Security definition of disability was selected for publication.  After graduation she will be a Skadden Fellow with the National Senior Citizens Law Center where she will advocate for low-income, older adults to receive health and personal care in their homes, avoiding unnecessary institutionalization.

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