Magazine Archives

• Letter from the interim dean
• A Moment of Serendipity Joseph Assan shares how he crossed paths with Laurence Simon at a conference, leading to a new chapter in his career with Heller’s MA in Sustainable International Development program
• Creating a Self-Sufficient Future Three Heller Social Impact MBA/MA in Sustainable International Development alumni share what they have learned from working with Fab Labs and Makerspaces
• Voices of Heller: Podcast Playlist A podcast playlist featuring Heller community members who moonlight as podcast hosts, or pinch-hit as guest experts on podcasts we all know and love
• Q & A with Bawi Mang Lian, MS GHPM/MA SID’23 Bawi Mang Lian talks about navigating political unrest to provide critical health care
• In Focus: In support of the Colombian Peace Process, Everyday Peace Indicators (EPI) has integrated photovoice into its Everyday Justice project in Colombia.

In Case You Missed It

• “Closing the Equity Gap” with Impact Investors Freada Kapor Klein, PhD’84, and Mitch Kapor
• Brandeis punches above its weight in social science research

Alumni Milestones

• Sam Hyun, MPP/MBA’22: Featured in BOLD 9
• Morgan Crossman, PhD’15: One of Vermont’s Rising Stars
• Summer Jackson, MA SID’13: Studying organizational inequality
• Larry Tobin, Hornstein MA’17, Heller MBA’17: Helping refugees resettle

*The summer 2023 edition of Heller Magazine is entirely digital, with no print issue.

• Letter from the interim dean
• Fabric of Change: Ambreen Khan, MA SID’19, fosters economic empowerment for artisan women from Pakistan to Texas in an increasingly competitive marketplace
• Children in Crisis: Dr. Ilan Schwartz, EMBA’21, established the award-winning Child Psychiatry Short Stay Service to ease pressure on Massachusetts’ strained care system
• The Power of Storytelling: Economist and professor Lisa Lynch, P’17, H’17, helps students make sense of an economy and labor market unlike any other
• Q & A with Habiba Braimah, PhD candidate: As the director of the Brandeis University Intercultural Center, Habiba Braimah fosters a welcoming community where diverse experiences and perspectives are valued
• In Focus: PhD candidate Teresa Kroeger’s research lens illuminates her perspective as a professional photographer

In Case You Missed It

• Heller-led teams sweep at Brandeis’ largest start-up pitch competition
• Institute for Economic and Racial Equity receives $1 million gift to establish Racial Justice x Tech Policy initiative
• Heller launches Undergraduate Research Fellows program

Alumni Milestones

• Jessica Sanon, MBA’18: One of the BOLD 9: Brandeis’ annual list of up-and-coming recent alumni
  
• Matthew Brookner, MPP/MA’13, PhD’21: Digging into the data
• Mariama Khan, MA SID’08: Becoming a cultural scholar
• Lange Le, MPP’10: Bringing the Affordable Care Act from theory to practice

• Letter from the dean
• Health Policy Change-Makers: Heller alumni are advancing health equity from every angle
• It’s a Problem So Big, We Have to Solve It: In a powerful new book, Anita Hill describes the true costs and consequences of gender-based violence
• Fighting for Energy Justice: Paula Garcia, MA SID’13, is taking a people-first approach to solving the climate crisis
• Q & A with “The Farmer Foodie”: Meet Alison Elliott, MBA/MA SID’22, who is passionate about using social entrepreneurship to promote sustainable agriculture practices
• In Focus: Associate Dean Maria Madison brings her restorative justice expertise to The Robbins House

In Case You Missed It

• Banner Month: Heller receives $11M in grant funding for disparities-related research in September 2021
• MPP Program Launches Environmental Justice Concentration

Alumni Milestones

• Jessica Santos, PhD’15: Research Center for Immigrant Health Selects Heller Alumna as Inaugural Director
  
• Tom Sannicandro, PhD’16: New Nonprofit Eases Estate-Planning Process for Parents of Children with Disabilities
• Ziyanda Stuurman, MA SID’20: Alumna Authors Book on Future of Policing in South Africa
• Thomas P. Glynn III, MSW’72, PhD’77: Celebrating a Career Built on Solving Big Public-Administration Challenges

• Letter from the dean

• Advancing access to independent living: The Community Living Policy Center helps win increased funding for home- and community-based services for people with disabilities in the American Rescue Plan

• The overlooked children: Institute for Child, Youth and Family Policy research informs new policies to include children in immigrant families in essential safety net programs

• Accelerating Africa’s (technology) revolution: Amrote Abdella, MA SID’07, is expanding internet access and supporting African-led start-ups at Microsoft’s 4Afrika Initiative

• Beyond “Do no harm”: Four students reflect on ethical dilemmas in international development and peacebuilding – and how Heller is teaching them to challenge the status quo

• A big-picture approach to better health care: Health policy experts Jennifer Perloff and Robert Mechanic explain how Accountable Care Organizations could remake our health care system

• Creative community-building during a pandemic school year: How Heller students have found ways to stay connected during a challenging pandemic school year

Alumni Milestones

• Cal Harris, MPP’10: Building a system that works for everyone
• Christopher Ives, MA SID’11: Introducing the world’s most eco-friendly camper van
• Constance Fairweather Kane, PhD’85: Empowering women, children through education in Ghana
• Barbara Nobles Crawford, PhD’84: Opening doors and changing systems for underrepresented and marginalized people
• Emilia Dunham, MBA/MPP’15: Connecting justice-involved individuals with critical behavioral health care
• Making connections with the new B Connect

*The summer 2021 edition of Heller Magazine is entirely digital, with no print issue. 

• 2020 asks us: If not now, when? Dean David Weil shares reflections on a year like no other
• Physician leaders meet the challenge of a career: Students and alumni draw on EMBA skills, resources and connections to navigate the pandemic
• Reimagining policing in America: Heller students and alumni work to advance policies and programs for racial equity, police accountability and community safety
• The forgotten frontline workers: The precarious world of nursing home workers during the COVID-19 pandemic

Heller Alumni Award Winners (Alumni Profiles):

• Fernando Torres-Gil, MSW’72, PhD’76: Advising presidents from Carter through Obama on aging and disability policy
• Van Ngoc Ta, MA SID’12: Working to end modern-day slavery and human trafficking in Vietnam 
• Elisa Trotta Gamus, MA COEX/MA SID’11: Fighting for democracy and human rights in Venezuela
• Heather McMann, MBA’12: Building a healthier, more equitable community in Lawrence, Massachusetts

• Professor Emerita Donates Retirement Fund to Support Heller Students 
• Peak Inspiration: Daniel Mazur, PhD’00, scales the planet’s highest summits and gives back to the communities that call those mountains home
• Celebrating Heller at 60
  • Letter From 60th Anniversary Steering Committee Co-chairs
  • Reflections from Dean David Weil on Heller’s 60th Birthday
  • The Best Lessons I Learned at Heller: Alumni share stories about their favorite professors
  • Then and Now: Heller by the Numbers
  • Then and Now: Heller Policy Impact
  • 60 Heller Alumni Around the World
  • Deans’ Stories: Stuart Altman, Jack Shonkoff and Lisa Lynch look back on their time leading the Heller School
• Tracking Fentanyl in the Drug Supply: Traci Green puts public health first with new services for users to test their drugs
• Alumni Milestones:
  • Maryse Pearce, MBA/MPP’18: Strengthening the LGBTQ Community in New York City
  • Sydney Skov, MA SID’15: Shining a light on dance and development
  • Evan Hochberg, MMHS’96: Creating social change through philanthropy
  • Kathy Byers, MSW’71, honored as National Association of Social Work Pioneer

• Dual Degrees Rise in Popularity at Heller
• Rescuing History: King Davis, PhD’72, harnesses his Heller education and decades of experience to save a vital trove of health history
• Opportunity Knocks Across the Nation: The Child Opportunity Index from the Institute for Child, Youth and Family Policy inspires policymakers and practitioners to improve the lives of the youngest members of their communities
• The Power of Local Public Service: Heller alumni share why they’ve chosen careers in city and county governments across the United States
• Understanding Everyday Peace: New COEX Associate Professor Pamina Firchow brings unique, participatory peace and conflict research to Heller
• Perspectives: Bridging the Disparities Gap in the Opioid Crisis: Maria Madison and Andrew Kolodny discuss how the prevailing narrative around the opioid addiction epidemic fails to recognize its effects on nonwhite populations
• Alumni Milestones:
  • Antoinette Hays, PhD’90, receives Living Legends in Massachusetts nursing award
  • Nicole Rodriguez, MPP’14: Leading policy change for low-income people
  • Adeyemi Okunogbe, MS GHPM’12: Improving health systems globally
  • Shadi Sheikhsaraf, MA SID/COEX’17: Improving the lives of displaced people

• Who Is Your Social Justice Hero? Heller community members share stories of those who have inspired them in their work
• The Toughest Job You'll Ever Love: Returned Peace Corps Volunteers on their passion for service, why they chose Heller and their lifelong bond
• From Social Policy to Sesame Street: Sesame Workshop's chief knowledge officer Michael Levine, PhD'85, on his career in early education and child development
• Bringing Big Business to the Fight Against Climate Change: Pallavee Panchal, MBA/MA SID'16, is advancing corporate sustainability at Citi, the 200-year-old multinational banking and financial services company
• Shepherd, Scholar and Social Entrepreneur: Roba Bulga Jilo, MBA/MA SID’19, fights for the rights of indigenous people around the world — including his own tribe in Ethiopia
• Perspectives: Thomas Shapiro describes how emergency savings funds could become a mainstream workplace benefit, helping workers cope with financial crises

• The Right to Parent: PhD candidate Robyn Powell is fighting for the rights of parents with disabilities, and it’s personal
• Redefining Opioid Addiction Treatment: An excellent medication exists to treat people addicted to opioids. Why aren’t we using it?
• Where the Rubber Meets the Road: Susan Windham-Bannister, PhD’77, navigates the intersections of science, business and policy to spur life sciences innovation
• Building Welcoming Places: The Sillerman Center engages philanthropic organizations in northern New England around immigrant integration efforts
• Get to know the Incoming 2018 Class: Every Heller student has an incredible story, a drive to make change, a purpose to fulfill and a goal for their future. Read about six of them here
• Perspectives: Joel Cutcher-Gershenfeld gives readers a master class on a technique to facilitate culture change, borrowing from his work with the geoscience community

• Simulated Society, Real Lessons: COEX Program Director Alain Lempereur uses an exercise called SIMSOC around the world—from Burundi to his classroom at Heller—to shed light on social inequities
• Optimism of the Heart: Professor Robert Kuttner on his latest book, that infamous phone call from Steve Bannon, and a lifetime on the left edge of the possible
• Changing the Future Through Fellowships: How critical financial support from Heller alumni and friends helps students—especially international ones—transform their lives and the communities around them
• A Community for Life: The Eli J. & Phyllis N. Segal Citizen Leadership Program celebrates its 10th anniversary

• The Academic Advocate: The Heller School welcomed David Weil, workplace and labor policy expert and former Obama appointee, as the school’s dean in August 2017
• Connecting the Dots on Criminal Justice Reform: From policing to substance abuse to recidivism and re-entry, Heller MPP researchers and alumni strive for change at every level of the justice system
• WorkAround: Three Heller alumnae have founded a startup company that provides online micro-tasking jobs to refugees and displaced people around the globe
• Heller's Homegrown Global Ambassador: Ravi Lakshmikanthan, Heller’s assistant dean for academic and student services, builds connections for alumni around the world
• Homelessness is, Foremost, a Housing Problem: Tatjana Meschede reflects on her work on homelessness in the U.S. 

• In the Age of Trump: Faculty from Heller’s academic programs respond to the new presidential administration’s policy agenda
• Taking Aim at America's Opioid Crisis: How a team of researchers from the Institute for Behavioral Health is pointing policymakers in a more effective direction
• At the Intersection: Heller's new Executive MBA for Physicians program aims to improve health care by helping doctors take the lead
• Watch City/La Ciudad de Reloj: Building a dual-immersion language program in Waltham public kindergarten
• Who's With Me in the Classroom: Professor and Sillerman Center Director Susan Eaton shares the lessons she keeps close to heart that she learned from her former teachers and mentors

• Hacking Bias in the Tech Industry: Freada Kapor Klein, PhD'84, co-founder of Project Include, brings research to bear on diversity and inclusion efforts in Silicon Valley
• Right in Their Backyard: How three prominent Heller researchers and an alumna lend their strong voices to the cause of affordable housing in their hometown of Newton, Mass.
• Inside Man: Edwin Pool, MA SID'17, wants to be an agent of change for a sustainable future
• A Herculean Tradition: The Team Consulting Project comes full circle for one Heller MBA alumna
• My Journey to Belong and Empower Others to Find Their Space in the World: Tam Emerson, director of the Eli J. Segal Citizen Leadership Program, reflects on her recent visit to Columbia--her first time back since being adopted from Bogotá almost 30 years ago at the age of six months