The sixth cohort of graduate students in the LBJ School of Public Affairs's unique and accelerated DC Concentration have begun their coursework in Austin and they will be in Washington before we know it.
While in DC, these Master of Public Affairs and Master of Global Policy Studies students take evening coursework as well as their required, simultaneous six-month (June-December 2021) Policy Apprenticeship at a public or private policy organization throughout the city, before graduating early in December 2021.
As the students begin their searches for Policy Apprenticeship placements, they need your help. Below is more information on each of the 2021 LBJ DC Fellows. If your organization might be interested in hosting an LBJ DC Fellow, or you would like to speak to a student about their interests, please contact the LBJ Washington Center via email for more information. Please note: preliminary interest on your or a referred organization's part does not imply a commitment to hire.
JACK TYLER BAINES
MPAff-DC Candidate
Policy interests: Health care, labor protections, criminal justice
Policy Apprenticeship goal: Data-driven organization focused on stimulating our most vulnerable communities
Jack Tyler Baines is a candidate for the Master of Public Affairs (DC Concentration) at the LBJ School and a teaching assistant for the finance department at the McCombs School of Business. He completed his undergraduate degrees with honors at The University of Texas at Austin, obtaining two bachelor's degrees in history and government and the business foundation certificate. While earning his undergraduate degrees, Baines gained a greater understanding of the legislature by interning for Texas State Rep. Ryan Guillen (D-31). After graduating, he spent a year as an AmeriCorps VISTA organizing and mobilizing low-income communities for the City of Dallas Planning and Urban Design Department. Overall, his experiences have taught him the innate interconnectedness between community engagement and data application in the policy development process.
BAONGAN CHUOR
MGPS-DC Candidate
Policy interests: Refugee resettlement, bilingual education, workforce development
Policy Apprenticeship goal: Think tank, the U.S. Congress or the Office of Refugee Resettlement
Baongan Chuor is a candidate for the Master of Global Policy Studies (DC Concentration) at the LBJ School and a Graduate Research Assistant with the Texas Institute for Child & Family Wellbeing. As an undergraduate at the University of Houston — Main Campus, she graduated summa cum laude in political science and liberal studies, became a Certified Nonprofit Professional (CNP), and studied abroad as a Gilman Scholar in Andalusia, Spain. Her policy focus areas are migration and education, particularly in the context of refugee resettlement. Her experiences as a Fulbright global classrooms instructor in Madrid, Spain, and a policy analyst in the Texas House of Representatives also developed her interest in cross-sector partnerships that fuel economic opportunity for immigrants working in international cities.
ANDREW KELLER
MPAff-DC Candidate
Policy interests: City decarbonization, green economic development,institutional resilience
Policy Apprenticeship goal: The U.S. Congress, a climate-based advocacy organization, or an environmentally focused consulting firm
Andrew Keller is a candidate for the Master of Public Affairs (D.C. Concentration) at the LBJ School. He graduated magna cum laude in political science and journalism with a French minor at The Ohio State University, and he is specifically interested in the intersection of climate change mitigation and economic development, particularly in the developing world. After college, he worked as a project manager in the private sector, managing technical initiatives for small startups and Fortune 500 companies. Meanwhile, he volunteered with the Sierra Club's Ready for 100 campaign, an effort to put cities on the path to 100 percent renewable energy. Working with the campaign in Columbus, Ohio, he helped push the consideration of community choice aggregation for 100% renewable energy, which appears on the city's fall 2020 ballot. Keller is a volunteer researcher with The University of Texas’s Innovations for Peace and Development program, helping analyze data related to corruption in the developing world.
DANIEL LECOMTE
MPAff-DC Candidate
Policy interests: National security, foreign policy, public interest technology
Policy Apprenticeship goal: Intelligence, foreign policy or commerce sector
Daniel Lecomte is a candidate for the Master of Public Affairs (DC Concentration) at the LBJ School. He graduated with honors with a Bachelor of Commerce (International Management) as an undergraduate at the University of Ottawa. He is specifically interested in the domain of national security, foreign policy concerning Russia and China, and public interest technology for financial and social inclusion. While earning his undergraduate degree, Lecomte acquired experience in the private, public and nonprofit sectors, which, coupled with his trilingual capabilities, enhanced his versatility in the professional arena. Furthermore, his academic semester in Hong Kong, completed weeks prior to the political unrest, heightened his interest in international politics and more specifically, the foreign policy implications for the United States. He is currently taking "Intelligence Briefing, Writing, and Reading," which will prepare him for a position in the intelligence community.
SEAN MCDANIEL
MPAff-DC Candidate
Policy interests: American foreign policy, veterans affairs, civil rights
Policy Apprenticeship goal: Foreign Affairs Committee, the Armed Services Committee, the Council on Foreign Relations or the Justice Policy Institute
Sean McDaniel is a candidate for the Master of Public Affairs (DC Concentration) at the LBJ School. He is a cum laude graduate in theatre from Stephen F. Austin State University. He is interested in American foreign policy as it relates to troop movements. In 2011, McDaniel commissioned as an Army field artillery officer, later deployed to Helmand Province, Afghanistan as a logistics officer and Manbij, Syria as the squadron fire support officer and operations officer. In Syria, his passion for public policy grew as he helped implement a joint training and combat patrol mission between the U.S. and Turkey. He gained understanding of how policy decisions at the strategic level have an incredible ability to maintain, and even prevent, further conflict. At the LBJ School, McDaniel has been an active participant in the Alexander Hamilton Society, as well as two peer policy groups: one focused on international security, intelligence and diplomacy, and the other on race, gender, justice and civil rights.
BRIANNA MURPHY
MPAff-DC Candidate
Policy interests: Labor policy, wealth distribution, affordable housing
Policy Apprenticeship goal: Think tank providing empirically based policy recommendations
Brianna Murphy is a candidate for the Master of Public Affairs (DC Concentration) at the LBJ School. She majored in biology at the University of Wisconsin-Madison, graduating with honors and as a member of Phi Beta Kappa. While Murphy is a policy generalist, she is interested in social policy, particularly in the context of labor policy and wealth distribution. Prior to graduate school, she worked for the Wisconsin Department of Safety and Professional Services as a consumer protection investigator (Opioid Project position). She is currently taking "Philanthropy and Social Change," which examines how philanthropic organizations interact in the public, private and policy spheres, and whether philanthropy can be directed to decrease overall social and economic inequality. Murphy is also taking "Legislative Development," in which she is researching ways to strengthen the middle class and drafting a legislative proposal.
ARCHNASHREE NELLAN
MPAff-DC Candidate
Policy interests: Federal Arts Administration, Digital Advertising Regulation
Policy Apprenticeship goal: Regulatory advising firm or the National Endowment for the Arts
Archnashree Nellan is a candidate for the Master of Public Affairs (DC Concentration) at the LBJ School. As an undergraduate at New York University’s Gallatin School of Individualized Studies, she developed a plan of study centered on the relationship between media studies, business, and sociology to explore how the intersection of those subjects can lead to efficacious storytelling that mobilizes and empowers people. Prior to graduate school, Nellan worked at Precision Strategies in the paid media/digital advertising field on projects that ranged from elections to campaigns for progressive non-profit organizations on state, national, and international levels. This experience cultivated her interest in developing sustainable solutions to prevent false advertising, especially any advertising to drive a specific election result. Furthermore, it sparked her desire to pursue a graduate degree and learn how to create actionable policies on issues beyond digital advertising. This semester, she began researching COVID-19’s impact on the creative economy and how the federal government can help rehabilitate the industry.
JANNETH PERALES
MPAff-DC Candidate
Policy interests: International education, pre-K-12 education, immigration issues
Policy Apprenticeship goal: Capitol Hill or an international organization
Janneth Perales is a candidate for the Master of Public Affairs (DC Concentration) at the LBJ School. She earned her undergraduate degree in international relations and global studies at The University of Texas at Austin. Prior to LBJ, she worked at EMILY's List as a political researcher, doing rapid-response policy research for congressional candidates. Perales started her career as a middle school history teacher with Teach for America in Bridgeport, Connecticut. Her classroom experience developed her interest in the intersection between education, policy, race and class. She is specifically interested in access to education for students in low-income or marginalized communities in the United States and globally.
AMY PHILLIPS
MPAff-DC Candidate
Policy interests: Health care reform, voter and clinician perspectives, special interest influence
Policy Apprenticeship goal: U.S. Congress, an executive branch agency such as OMB, or a small health care strategy firm
Amy Phillips is a candidate for the Master of Public Affairs (DC Concentration) at the LBJ School. She graduated with honors in medical anthropology as an undergraduate at the University of Pennsylvania. She is specifically interested in health policy, particularly in the context of health care reform. In the five years prior to graduate school, Phillips worked at the Medicare Payment Advisory Commission (MedPAC) and at Arnold Ventures (AV), which developed her skills and interest in health policy, especially as it relates to payment and delivery reform and enabled her to develop her management skills as health care chief of staff at AV. Her specific policy interests are health care reform, health care advocacy, and the influence of special interests in the policy making process.
Learn more about the Policy Apprenticeship program of the DC Concentration.