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Marissa K

- Research Program Mentor

MA Master of Arts candidate

Expertise

Health Care Policy; Reproductive Rights, Health and Justice; Health Equity; Progressive Advocacy Campaigns

Project ideas

Project ideas are meant to help inspire student thinking about their own project. Students are in the driver seat of their research and are free to use any or none of the ideas shared by their mentors.

What's Next for Health Reform or Health Equity?

Health care policy continues to be a hot topic in the political sphere because so many big policy questions remain. How can we get closer to universal coverage, and has the COVID-19 pandemic shifted how the U.S. thinks about this? Are there strategies to narrow existing health disparities? And is Medicare For All a solution to these challenges? I can work with you to dig into one of the many thorny questions of health care policy. This project could culminate in a policy memo, research paper, or Ted Talk style presentation.

Write Like a Policy Professional

While a research paper can be great, it is often not the primary medium used in policy and advocacy circles. Instead, shorter-form materials advance policy discourse, including memos, press releases, tweets, action alerts, and talking points. These products often demand a distinct set of writing skills. I can work with you to identify a policy topic you care about and apply your policy position to a suite of policy of materials often used in policy settings.

Designing a Progressive Health Justice Campaign

While the nuts and bolts of the policy itself are important for any issue-based advocacy campaign, just as key are the political considerations that shape its viability. This project can allow you to dig into both the policies AND politics of reproductive health care or another progressive policy issue you care about. Through a policy memo or campaign plan, you can explore how considerations such as coalitions, key stakeholders, grassroots mobilization, and other campaign capacities are just as important as the content of the policy itself when advocating for change.

Interested in working with expert mentors like Marissa?

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