The Center offers a variety of competitive fellowships and assistantships that allow Master's candidates at the Georgetown Public Policy Institute to work directly with faculty, visiting scholars and practitioners. Students conduct original research, present at conferences, perform community based research for local nonprofit organizations, and organize "Issue Forums" for the greater Washington, D.C. community. Graduate students for the 2008-2009 academic year are: 

Lydia Kelow, Research Assistant

Kerry Donahue, MPP 2011

Pablo Eisenberg Public Interest Fellowship

The fellowship was created in 2006 to honor the work of retiring GPPI Senior Fellow Pablo Eisenberg. For over 40 years, Pablo has led and served on the board of numerous nonprofit organizations, becoming one of the most influential voices in philanthropy and the nonprofit sector as he challenged nonprofits and foundations to meet the high expectations society places on them as guardians of democracy. The dean, faculty, students and alumni of GPPI chose to honor Pablo and his lifelong commitment to social and economic justice with this endowed fellowship in his name. 

The fellowships are awarded to first-year GPPI students who, through academic pursuits as well as volunteer and work experience, demonstrate a strong commitment to social and economic justice, and the potential to play a leadership role in the public interest arena.  The award is designed to offer each Fellow a unique experience working for and being mentored by a current leader in the field.

The current fellows for the 2009-2010 academic year are:

Mark Hines - Global Aids Alliance

Amshula Jayaram - The Leadership Conference on Civil Rights

Past fellows had placements at the following organizations:

Huber Parsons (2008-2009) - World Vision

Brandon Soublet (2008-2009) - Center for Community Change (CCC)

Zeynep Gueven (2007-2008) - Global Action for Children


Waldemar A. Nielsen Endowed Chair in Philanthropy Fellow

This endowed fellowship is named in honor of Waldemar A. Nielsen, a former Rhodes Scholar and foreign affairs writer for The New Yorker and Harper’s.  Nielsen was involved in the design and implementation of the Marshall Plan, served on the staff of the Ford Foundation, and later led the African American Institute.  He is perhaps most well known for his pioneering study of philanthropy, which provided a critical assessment of foundations and called the field of philanthropy to a higher level of accountability.

The Nielsen Fellow supports the Nielsen Professor of Philanthropy at GPPI’s Center for Public & Nonprofit Leadership.  The Fellow provides ongoing research support in the areas of public policy, philanthropy, and nonprofit leadership.

Lauren Marra, MPP 2010 

Andy Ho, MPP & MBA 2006

Amanda Horwitz, MPP 2006

Catherine O'Connor, MPP 2007

Sonya Behnke, MPP 2008

Pilar Oberwetter, MPP 2008