Category: Featured Stories
‘Life-Changing’: The RWJF Health Policy Fellows Program Ignites a Passion for Policymaking
August 13, 2025
The knowledge and network are truly world-class, fellows say By Marisa Coulton Transformative. Unforgettable. Enriching. Exciting. These are just a few words alumni have used to de...
‘Feed your soul’: The RWJF Health Policy Fellows Program Enabled Michelle Dennison to Revolutionize Diabetes Nutrition Policy
June 17, 2025
By Marisa Coulton Dr. Michelle Dennison loved her work as a diabetes dietitian in a clinic, but it was quickly burning her out.She saw that her patients were coming up against obst...
Bridging Practice and Policy: The Robert Wood Johnson Foundation Health Policy Fellows Program Celebrates 50 Years of Health Leadership
March 20, 2025
As the RWJF Health Policy Fellows Program marks five decades, alumni and program directors reflect on the program’s impact By Marisa Coulton The Robert Wood Johnson Foundation (RWJ...
The Unstoppable Barbara Incardona Damron: How the RWJF Health Policy Fellows Program Helped Her Become an Education Policy Champion
July 30, 2024
By Marisa Coulton Barbara Incardona Damron is unstoppable. For decades, the University of New Mexico professor has made waves in the health policy world at the municipal, state, an...
“Knowledge is Power”: The RWJF Health Policy Fellows Program Gave Angie Perone the Tools to Become an Elder Health Policy Expert
April 25, 2024
Perone advocates for the health needs of LGBTQIA+ older adults By Marisa Coulton Angie Perone is one of California’s foremost elder health policy experts. She currently works at th...
Dr. Hassan Tetteh and the Art of Circling Back
March 28, 2024
Cardiovascular and thoracic surgeon Dr. Hassan Tetteh became became a Robert Wood Johnson Foundation (RWJF) Health Policy Fellow in 2012, an experience that fundamentally altered h...
From Tragedy to a Purpose-Driven Life: How Dr. Joseph Sakran Transformed Personal Adversity into Public Policy with the RWJF Health Policy Fellowship
March 23, 2024
Hear from Dr. Joseph Sakran on how the RWJF Health Policy Fellows program allowed him to build relationships and understand what's happening where policy meets practice in this fea...
How The Robert Wood Johnson Foundation Has Influenced Health Policy – And My Own Life – For Five Decades
March 22, 2024
The Robert Wood Johnson Foundation Health Policy Fellows program offers mid-career professionals the opportunity to participate in the policy process at the federal level and use t...
From Bedside to Beltway: A Nurse’s Journey into Health Care Policy
February 22, 2024
Nurse and professor Dr. Brenda Baker says nurses should have a “bigger footprint” in the health policy arena—the RWJF Health Policy Fellows program helped her see how big a differe...