The Work First Fellowship- January Newsletter

8/13/2019 The Work First Fellowship- January Newsletter

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Fellowship Timeline

the

Work First Fellowship

The Fellowship Experience

The Work First Fellowship is a unique opportunity for young

people interested in Urban Poverty and Public Policy. The

fellows spend four days a week working directly with low-

income New Yorkers at the offices of America Works. The

clients they serve include recipients of public aid, shelter

residents, ex-offenders, public housing residents, and veterans.

Each fellow will complete a research project on an issue

affecting urban poverty to be presented in May 2014.

OrientationAugust 5-10

RotationsAug-Sept 2013

Train at various

America Works

sites to learn the

different roles in

the company

ResearchOct-May 2014

Conduct an

individual research

project regarding

an issue of urban

poverty and policy.

J A N U A R Y 2 0 1 4

Happy 2014!It has been a busy year at the

Work First Foundation. In 2013

we launched the Work First

Fellowship, a unique research

fellowship for the next generation of

policy makers and scholars.

As we begin a new year, wed like to

take a moment to thank the people

who have made this program possible.To Peter Cove and Lee Bowes for

their vision and commitment, as well

as the incredible staff at America

Works who have worked with fellows.

Thank you also to the board of

directors, and all our speakers and

guests throughout the year.

Thank you to everyone who has

helped impact the lives of low-income

New Yorkers. We look forward to

great things ahead in 2014.

Participate in a 5-

day orientation

program featuring

board, speakers

and activities.


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WORK FIRST FELLOWS WINTER 2014

In the FieldIn addition to research and work, the fellows have

participated in various activities outside of the office

that provide further insight into poverty policy.

Operation BackpackThe fellows ended their orientation week by donating

school supplies and backpacks to families affected by

Hurricane Sandy. The fellows donated three backpacks

filled with calculators, notebooks, pencils and other

supplied to children in Far Rockaway.

United Nations TourThe fellows had the opportunity to visit the United

Nations and learn about economic development and

policy on an international level. They visited the floor

of the Economic and Social Council only two days

before Septembers annual United Nations summit.

Ditmas Park Tour and DinnerFellows toured the Ditmas Park area with Jan

Rosenberg, founder of Friends of Courtelyou, to learn

about economic development movements in Brooklyn.

Afterwards, fellows enjoyed dinner with Peter Cove and

Lee Bowes in the home of Fred Siegel and Jan

Rosenberg. The fellows discussed their research projects

and received feedback.

Washington D.C. Visit

Fellows had the opportunity to visit the office of

America Works of Washington D.C. and observe

how different contracts impact the nature of job search

programs. The fellows briefly visited the White House

before a personal meeting at Housing and Urban

Development with Cabinet Member and United States

Secretary, Shaun Donavan.


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Scholars, practitioners and politicians: the fellowshave had a series of great speakers this year

Phillip Goldfedder: New York StateAssemblyman representing the Rockaways

Kay Hymowitz: Journalist and author of three

books, researches family and poverty

Jan Rosenberg: Founder of Friends of

Courtelyou, Ditmas Park community organizer

Gordon Campbell: Prior CEO of United Way,

former Commissioner of Department ofHomeless Services, current Professor of Practiceat NYU Wagner School of Public Servcie

Shaun Donovan: US Secretary of Housing and

Urban Development, former Commissioner ofNYC Housing Preservation and Development

Work First Board Members:Dan Donovan,

Pete Bullfrog Wikul, Jim McKay, HenryHank Saltzman, Fred Siegel

Shaun Donovan, US Secretary of Housing and UrbaDevelopment, gives words of wisdom to fellows.

Managing in government is like managing in three dimensions.

How do you create a public process that is fair and engages

residents? Innovations in government are hard. Failure ends up

in the paper. We need to create a culture that allows trying new

things.

I think its too easy to sit outside of government and say how they

get it wrong or how its so bureaucraticbut if youre the right

personality, Id like to describe that personality as 'patiently

relentless,' government can be a remarkably satisfying place to

work because you can work at such a large scale. Your job

everyday when you wake up is to help people.

As part of the fellowship experience, fellowshear from various practitioners and scholars inthe field of public policy. We have beenfortunate to have some incredible guests thisyear who have shared their experiences inpublic service and research on policy issues.

Jennifer Jones Austin:Executive Director of

Federation of Protestant Welfare Agencies,Recently named co-chair for the De Blasiomayoral transition team.

Peter Salins:Professor of Public Policy andUrban Planning at Stony Brook, Senior Fellowat the Manhattan Institute

Howard Husock: Vice President of the

Manhattan Institute, scholar and author

Jason Turner: Previous commissioner of HRA,

former Wisconsin Works Director

JenniferJonesAustinKayHymowitz

GordonCampbellHowardH

usock


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Words from the Fellows

Evelyn Canela

I have undoubtedly developed a better understanding

of how New York Citys welfare system directly affects

our ability to change the lives of our clients. This

fellowship has fueled my desire to work in a social

impact organization that improves immigration or

housing services for low-income communities.

Matthew Elliott

Every day I am excited that I am able to do intellectuallystimulating work that makes city governance more

efficient. I have been given the chance to use my

computer skills to build programs that greatly reduce the

amount of paper work the company must fill out. The

research fellowship has given me the chance to work with

Columbia University economists on research that studies

how to better place welfare recipients into jobs.

Natalie Joseph-PaulineDuring my time working at America Works I've

realized that policy makers should know how their

policies affects the lives of those they're influencing. I

had an opportunity to write a blog post about poverty

and discovered that single parent households tend to

struggle more than two parent households.

Matt LozadaThroughout my time as a research fellow I have learned

from both the policy makers and the people their policies

affect that New York can truly be called a tale of two cities.

Unfortunately, the stories my clients tell are not the ones

policy makers always hear. While development policies

create more opportunities for would-be New Yorkers,

they make it more difficult for low-income New Yorkers

who have lived here for decades to retain their housing.


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Words from the Fellows

Molly LuptonThrough my research project, I am learning about thehiring process for individuals who have a criminalrecord. I have talked with professionals at AmericaWorks and other organization that work with ex-offenders, discovering the barriers that individuals have

with a criminal background when seeking employment.

Michael PerloffThe best part of the Work First Fellowship has been

learning how the public assistance system actuallyfunctions. Before I started, I only understood welfare

policy at a theoretical level. By spending five months

helping to implement New York City's welfare programsI have learned how seemingly small policy decisions canhave a large impact on people's lives. The experience has

helped me develop a more grounded perspective on

government aide.

Brandon StormVisiting the America Works office in Washingtonand hearing about how dramatically different localpolicy is compared to New York really put intoperspective how small differences in policy bystates and municipalities can lead to dramaticallydifferent realities for people decades later.

Parma Zahid

An article we read earlier in the year about how braindevelopment is effected due to stress brought on byeconomic hardship heavily influenced my researchproject with the America Works population. I also hadthe opportunity to incorporate my interest in publichealth during our meeting with the Secretary of Housingand Urban Development, Shaun Donovan, to learnabout the way health safety is taken into account whenmaking housing developments.


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Get Involved!Are you an expert in public policy? Are you passionate about helping

young people pursue careers in public service? From speaking with

fellows to assisting with research, there are many ways to get involved.The Work First Foundation also welcomes tax-deductible gifts by check

to the address below. Contact Ashley Putnam at

[email protected] more ways to get involved.

Happy2014!

205 West End Avenue

Suite 19S

New York, NY 10023

www.theworkfirstfoundation.org


workfirstfellows @workfirstfellow @workfirstfellows

The Work First Fellowship- January Newsletter

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