Eleven students traveled to Washington, DC with Dr. Anna Shabsin and Dr. Tammy Orahood for a field-based course on Policymaking, Advocacy and Analysis in the US Legislative Process. Students learned about the policy ecosystem and policy at the federal level by meeting with Brown School alumni and other policy changemakers including Andrew McCabe, JD (Former Deputy Director of the FBI, CNN Contributor; Shaina Goodman, JD MSW, (National Partnership for Women and Families); Jenna Hampton, MSW, (Legislative Affairs Manager); National Association of Housing and Redevelopment Officials (NAHRO), and Megan Worden, MSW (Lead Associate at Westat), Katie Allen, MSW MSP (Social Science Analyst), and Gretchen Lehman, MSW, (Senior Social Science Analyst, Department of Health and Human Services, Assistant Secretary for Planning and Evaluation). The week culminated on Capitol Hill when students presented Fact Sheets to Staffers at Senate Offices to persuade them to vote for bills the students had been researching.
Assistant Professor Joshua Rusow led a course that traveled to Brazil over spring break to introduce students to understanding LGBTQ human rights and policy issues from an international perspective, with a strong focus on intersectional experiences of race, ethnicity, gender and sexuality. The purpose of this course was to allow students to examine structural stigma from the context of Brazil – with direct interaction with LGBTQ youth, adults, social service providers and policy advocates to help students understand the ways in which structural stigma influences individual behavioral health patterns which can be applied in the U.S. and in a global context.
Professor Heather Cameron lead a student group to Berlin to explore the landscape of community wealth-building and social businesses. They gained insights into how these concepts are applied in Berlin’s unique urban environment, and how it compares and contrasts to St. Louis. This comparative study class aims to understand the similarities and differences in approaches to social entrepreneurship and community development between the two cities. Watch student stories here and here