McCourt students fuel their passion for health policy with support from the George E. Richmond Foundation
Richmond Fellows are awarded tuition scholarships, research assistantships and mentorship opportunities with health experts.
Through a new partnership with the McCourt School, the George E. Richmond Foundation provides experiential opportunities to students with a demonstrated interest in health policy. The Foundation seeks to deepen students’ understanding of oral and comprehensive health care.
Richmond Foundation Fellows are awarded a partial-tuition scholarship, a full-year paid research assistantship to work with select McCourt School faculty and affiliated research centers, and mentorship opportunities.
The Richmond Foundation focuses on advancing the connection between oral and overall health through science, economics and policy, building on the legacy of its namesake who was an entrepreneur and leader in the dental industry. Their generous philanthropy also supports the Georgetown University Oral and Systemic Health RBH Scholars program .
Announcing the inaugural Richmond Fellows
This academic year, the McCourt School welcomed its first class of Richmond Fellows, awarding Maclaine Lehan (MPP‘23) and Caroline Adams (MS-DSPP‘23) as inaugural recipients.
Lehan has been placed as a research assistant at the Center for Children & Families , part of the Health Policy Institute at the McCourt School. Her research, alongside Senior Fellow Tricia Brooks , focuses on the Children’s Health Insurance Program and Medicaid quality improvement.
“Everyone has the right to obtain high-quality health care without barriers,” said Lehan, who works in business development and strategic relationships at a leading health care company while attending McCourt. Since coming to the Hilltop, Lehan has been inspired to use her career and education “to make health care more accessible and affordable for all.”
“I am so appreciative of the Foundation’s mission,” she said, “which aligns with my perspective of improving health care through addressing whole person health. I’m very excited to keep learning from this opportunity and to create meaningful change in health policy.”
Adams is working with McCourt Professors Pamela Herd and Donald Moynihan on research documenting the barriers families covered by Medicaid face when trying to access oral care. Through her research at McCourt, Adams’ goal is to identify a set of policy recommendations to improve their access and coverage.
“Through my personal, educational and professional experiences, I have learned about the stark inequities that exist in health care access and with outcomes globally,” said Adams.
“This experience is strongly related to my future career goals,” she said, “as I hope to continue conducting research on health inequities to support the development and implementation of evidence-based, equity-driven policies.”
Throughout their year-long fellowships, Lehan and Adams will also participate in special briefings, discussions and mentorship on oral health, led by Mark Nehring, MEd, DMD, MPH. Dr. Nehring is a public health dentist with more than 30 years of service in federal programs within the Health Resources and Services Administration, and former chair of the department of public health and community service at Tufts School of Dental Medicine.
How to be a 2022-23 Richmond Fellow
The McCourt School recently released its application for the George E. Richmond Foundation Fellowship and will award up to six students enrolled in McCourt graduate programs for the 2022-23 cohort.
Students with a demonstrated interest in health policy are invited to apply through January 15, 2022 .