Five teams selected as finalists in the 2023 Georgetown Public Policy Challenge

Each year, Georgetown graduate students of all backgrounds and academic disciplines develop innovative policy solutions to issues in the Washington, DC region. The Georgetown Public Policy Challenge , founded in 2014 by the McCourt School of Public Policy’s Director of Student Engagement Jaclyn Clevenger, is hosted by the McCourt School and has led to student-led engagement on a large range of policy issues across the District of Columbia, including on opioid reversal medication and local business property ownership . This year, the McCourt School received the largest number of proposals in the Policy Challenge’s history.

Proposals and first-round presentations were evaluated by a panel of Georgetown faculty and staff, former Policy Challenge winners, and local government and nonprofit leaders working on issues that directly impact the DC community. The panel then selected five teams to advance to the final round. Teams were guided through the Policy Challenge by a team of Advisors, including former Policy Challenge finalist Eli Landman (MPP‘23). 

All members of the Georgetown community are invited to attend the live final-round presentations on Friday, March 31, in Copley Formal Lounge at 5:15 pm. A reception will be held in Dahlgren Quad at 7:30 pm, with catering provided by Homemade in DC , a social enterprise launched by McCourt School and Policy Challenge alumna Mackenzie Loy (MPP/MBA’22). All five finalist teams will receive a ,500 scholarship prize, and the winning team will receive a grand total scholarship prize of ,000. Please contact publicpolicychallenge@georgetown.edu for more details.

The 2023 Georgetown Public Policy Challenge Finalists

E-QualityDC

E-QualityDC empowers DC schools to bridge the digital divide for at-risk students, connecting families to accessible and affordable resources.

Team members: Sparsha Muralidhara (G’23) and William Macci (L’24)

Smart(er)Trip Cards: Improving Interoperability in DC’s Transportation Ecosystem

Smart(er)Trip Cards proposes fare integration across transit and bikeshare in DC, enabling users to navigate and pay within a single system.

Team members: Charlotte Bailey (MPP’24), Alekhya Chaparala (MPP’24), Facundo Robles (MPP’24) and Diana Schoder (MPP’24)

A Healthy Start 

A Healthy Start is a health access initiative that aims to provide basic medical checkups to undocumented migrants in the DC area.

Team members: Antonio Ortiz-Mena (MIDP’24), Cristina Pirela (MIDP’24), Diana Rivas Garcia (MIDP’24), Santiago Rodriguez (MIDP’24) and Thomas Tiberghien Alvarez (MIDP’24)

Habitable Homes

Habitable Homes provides financial support for DC homeowners affected by mold in order to prevent respiratory illnesses and improve quality of life.

Team members: Allison Willett (M’26), Lori Garcia (G‘24), Mitchell Zupko (MPP’25), Vanessa Barnes (G’23) and Michael Gill (M’24)

Dashing into the Opioid Crisis

Dashing into the Opioid Crisis advocates for the creation and implementation of a centralized opioid overdose dashboard in DC, increasing access to critical data to help guide local policymakers.

Team members: Matt Reasor (G’23), Bronwyn Walsh (G’23) and Toni Booth (G’23)