Featured in Photo from left to right: Connor Cox, Christopher-Robin Millican, Maria Ivanova (Director of the Policy School), Steve Crosby (CAP founder), Fabiola Matos, Isreal Collazo-Luciano, Eliza Leeson
Five students at Northeastern University were selected for the Civic Action Project (CAP) Fellowship! The summer fellowship offers graduate students a paid internship placement and training focused on political strategies and tactics needed to advance public policy.
- Israel Collazo-Luciano, Master of Public Policy student
Placement: Office of Procurement Reform at Boston City Hall - Connor Cox, Northeastern University School of Law student
Placement: MITRE Corporation - Eliza Leeson, Northeastern University School of Law student
Placement: Conservation Law Foundation - Fabiola Matos, Master of Public Administration student
Placement: State Representative Jon Santiago - Christopher-Robin Millican, Master of Public Administration student
Placement: Boston City Councilor Kenzie Bok
Student Experiences
Israel Collazo-Luciano, Master of Public Policy
During my time at the CAP Fellowship, I worked at the Office of Procurement Reform at Boston City Hall. I worked closely with the staff to research spending and to find new ways to make procurement more equitable for the City of Boston. I spent four days out of the week here and one day a week with my CAP Cohort at roundtable discussions. These discussions included prominent policy and law figures, both from the public and private sectors of Boston. The primary focus of these discussions was on strategies and tactics to achieve meaningful change. My summer was full of new experiences and enlightening opportunities that I am grateful to have had.
Fabiola Matos, Master of Public Administration
I spent my summer as a CAP fellow, where I had the opportunity to be placed at the Office of State Representative Jon Santiago. CAP exposed me to different public policy scenarios and issues while providing essential tactics and strategies to make meaningful change.
During the fellowship, I assisted Representative Santiago and his staff with daily tasks such as interacting with constituents, attending briefings, writing memos, conducting research, and conducting policy analysis. I experienced firsthand the Commonwealth’s legislative system––I got involved with the constituents of the 9th Suffolk district, which mainly serves a large Latino population, and I had the opportunity to engage with my Puerto Rican community in Boston. Experiencing the Commonwealth’s legislative system and public policy in action was a valuable experience and engaging with the constituents was a very gratifying experience.
Christopher-Robin Millican, Master of Public Administration
My CAP Fellowship was a truly remarkable experience. Our cohort met for weekly roundtable sessions to discuss strategies for progress within specific policy areas, our experiences at our placement offices, and how we could implement the insights we gathered from our fellowships in our future careers. We had opportunities to speak with Governor Baker and Senator Markey; our roundtable discussions were hosted by many distinguished local practitioners.
Through CAP, I had the pleasure of working as a Policy and Constituent Fellow for Boston City Councilor Kenzie Bok. I provided research to City Councilor Bok on potential policies and programs that the city could utilize to reduce its carbon footprint, increase its ability to capture public land value, and promote equity and inclusion through housing. I also drafted memos, policy briefs, and hearing orders on the city’s application and administration of over $600 million in federal funding opportunities through the American Rescue Plan Act and the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law. Our office also responded to hundreds of constituent concerns and we regularly participated in community events throughout District 8, such as distributing food at Symphony Park twice per month with Fenway Cares.
