3 Diplomacy Graduate Students selected for Public Policy New Voices Diversity Fellowship  

Three graduate students from the Seton Hall's School of Diplomacy and International Relations will join the 2022 cohort for the Public Policy New Voices Fellowship. The PPNV Fellowship is a highly selective collaboration among several graduate schools, premier corporate public policy teams, and global strategic advisory firms that offers great professional development opportunities.

The new candidates are Linda Adebola, Dave Calma, and Noradino Connors, who are joining a national cohort comprised of 40 students from institutions including Harvard, Columbia, Georgetown, Tufts, University of California Los Angeles and University of Texas at Austin.

The PPNV program supports the exploration of public policy careers across sectors and is designed for public policy graduate students who self-identify as Black, Indigenous, People of Color (BIPOC) and are U.S. citizens, legal permanent U.S. residents, or DACA recipients. PPNV is part of a larger mission to create and scale communities of impact globally.

This year's partner organizations include the Walt Disney Company, AT&T, Marriot International, Netflix, Verizon, Walmart, Young Professionals in Foreign Policy, the Eurasia Group, BowerAsiaGroup, GeoQuant, and RHGM Ltd. Globally, a community-based organization, is coordinating the initiative.

With the support of these organizations, the Fellows will take part in several virtual programming opportunities each month, including panel discussions, career seminars, and professional networking events. Last year's events included Fireside Chats with Condoleeza Rice and Ian Bremmer.

Graduate student Linda Adebola is excited to be a part of the program: "I look forward to a network of likeminded scholars and practitioners in the field of public policy that will provide mentorship and opportunities within the public policy workspace that foster inclusion and diversity in international relations and diplomacy."

Noradino Connors shares this enthusiasm: "I am excited to participate in the fellowship because it will provide me the tools and skills necessary to help diversify areas of public policy creation. Having greater representation in the field of policy development will, in my opinion, lead to a more equitable society where policy will work to alleviate the suffering of underrepresented communities."

PPNV's launch event took place on February 22, 2022, via Zoom. During the event, fellows were able to become acquainted with one another and were able to listen to talks given by Dorothy Attwood, the SVP of Global Public Policy, and Marya Bangee, the VP of Multicultural Audience Engagement and Representation & Inclusion Strategies, for the Walt Disney Company. Both speakers described their experiences in their professional careers and their advocacy for the inclusion of marginalized communities.

Categories: Nation and World