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Jessica Tang (MUP/MPP ’23) Awarded Rappaport Summer Public Policy Fellowship

Headshot of Jessica TangJessica Tang, a joint degree candidate in Urban Planning and Public Policy at the Harvard Graduate School of Design and the Harvard Kennedy School, is working with the Massachusetts government agency MassDevelopment this summer as a Rappaport Public Policy Fellow. Now in its 21st year, the Rappaport Public Policy Fellowship gives graduate students throughout Boston the opportunity to gain hands-on experience as they work with organizations on addressing vital public policy issues. It is funded and administered by Harvard’s Rappaport Institute for Greater Boston, which “strives to improve the governance of the region by strengthening connections between scholars, students, officials, and civic leaders.”

Working with communities, nonprofits, businesses, and banks, MassDevelopment helps create “jobs, increase the number of housing units, revitalize urban environments, and address factors limiting economic growth including transportation, energy, and infrastructure deficiencies.” Tang will be supporting MassDevelopment’s Transformative Development Initiative by adapting TDI economic growth strategies for other areas in Massachusetts, analyzing the implementation of current TDI projects, and researching peer learning opportunities for organizations in the public sector.

Tang is part of a cohort of 20 graduate students representing 14 schools from seven universities. Previous GSD students that were awarded the Rappaport Public Policy Fellowship include Marcus Mello (MArch I/MUP ’18) and Lindsay Woodson (MDes RR/MUP ’17) in 2015.