Feature Stories and Interviews

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, and federal level. Through the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation (RWJF) Health Policy Fellows program and the force of her own will, Damron has been able to fly…

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 the University of California, Berkeley, where she serves as an assistant professor in the School of Social Welfare and director of the Center for the Advanced Study…

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 his perspective on life, politics, and medicine, he said. His path to the fellowship was far from linear, however. His journey began at the State University of New York in Plattsburgh, where he majored in biochemistry. He planned to be a doctor. But another field had captured his attention: policy.

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 feature story.

He reflects on his time in the RWJF Health Policy Fellows program, focusing on the potential for clinicians to impact populations by getting involved with policy.

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 that leadership experience to improve health equity, health care, and health policy.

In this special episode, producer Anna Stoecklein is joined by Reggie Tucker-Seeley, one of the graduates from the program

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 difference she could make By Jamie Durana Four-year-old Brenda Baker stood on her tiptoes and peered through the window into the hospital nursery. Baker’s mother was…

Before joining the program, Wilmoth navigated dual careers as a professor and a Brigadier General in the Army Reserve. She also wanted hands-on experience in the policy world that would be helpful in both careers. This led her to apply for the RWJF Health Policy Fellows Program, where she landed a placement in the office of the Speaker of the U.S. House of Representatives, Nancy Pelosi, during the time when the Affordable Care Act was passed. Read on to find out about Wilmoth’s takeaways from the program and why she calls the fellowship “a privilege” and “transformational.”

By Marisa Coulton Health economist Carrie Colla had been teaching at The Dartmouth Institute for Health Policy and Clinical Practice for seven years when she decided it was time for a change. She loved the work but wanted to make sure her research was getting into the hands of policymakers. “In the beginning of your…

Hear from David Keahey on how the RWJF fellowship helps clinicians have an impact on the design of policy & care systems.

He reflects on how he brought the front-line, rural clinician experience to discussions about the Comprehensive Addiction Recovery Act during his tenure as a fellow.

Dr. Andy Gettinger reflects on his experience in the RWJF Health Policy Fellows program to discuss how his expertise and passions shaped his career and advice for prospective fellows.

He reflects on how the experience allowed him to bring more attention to his passion: the field of clinical informatics.

How the RWJF Health Policy Fellows Program Helps Participants Advance Their Careers The Robert Wood Johnson Foundation (RWJF) Health Policy Fellows Program is often described as a transformational experience offering fellows the chance to envision their career paths from an entirely different angle. The experience is unique for each fellow—perhaps leading somewhere they never expected, or perhaps…

For nearly 50 years, the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation Health Policy Fellows Program has sought to build a strong, diverse network of leaders and maintain a workforce skilled in health policy. By connecting health professionals with the first-hand opportunity to participate in the federal policy process, this nonpartisan program aims to improve health equity, care,…

By Marisa Coulton When it comes to the world of federal health policy, there is nothing that compares to being there, in the room where it happens. “Working in Congress is really something that you can only understand being right in it,” said Ann Sheehy, class of 2021-2022 RWJF Health Policy Fellow, right after she wrapped up…

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 that leadership experience to improve health equity, health care, and health policy.

In this special episode, producer Anna Stoecklein is joined by Reggie Tucker-Seeley, one of the graduates from the program

By Marisa Coulton Brian Williams was at the top of his field as a surgeon and was looking for a way to expand his impact beyond the patients that he cared for every day. “I was at a stage in my career where I just needed a nudge to get to that next level of impact.…

Kirsten Johnson, MPH, discovered a passion for public health while serving in the Peace Corps in West Africa focusing on family planning and vaccine distribution. After receiving her master’s degree in public health and working in a variety of health settings, she felt a pull toward government health and a strong desire to better understand the “nuts and bolts” of the policy world. She gained hands-on experience in health policy as an RWJF Health Policy Fellow working in the office of Congressman Ron Kind (D-WI), where she lent her deep public health knowledge to the Ways and Means Subcommittee on Health. She shares more about her experience below.

In this special episode, producer Anna Stoecklein is joined by Reggie Tucker-Seeley, one of the graduates from the program