BPI Public Health Fellowship

Public health refers to the collective well-being of entire communities. Issues as diverse as the economics of healthcare and nutrition justice in schools to housing equity, gun violence policy, and more, encompass forces that touch the lives of justice-system involved individuals and affect the health of the communities from which they come.

The BPI Public Health Fellowship is a direct intervention in a problem for public health widely identified but rarely confronted head on: the underrepresentation of justice-system involved professionals in crafting life-determining public health policy and programs. The Fellowship provides a pathway to playing a vital role in contemporary issues in public health and community healthcare.

About the Fellowship Program

The Fellowship aims  to:

• Build the research, writing, and public speaking skills necessary to develop lasting careers in public health;
• Create a professional network of public health leaders and experts inclusive of formerly incarcerated individuals;
• Increase visibility and impact of formerly incarcerated professionals in the field of public health, and in the area of health equity.

The BPI Public Health Fellowship commitment includes:

• Commitment of 10 months: September 2024 – June 2025;
• Two monthly cohort-wide academic and professional development events (one in-person projected, unless Fellow resides outside NYC metropolitan area);
• Individualized instruction, advising, and one-on-one engagement with public health experts;
• Capstone project and presentation at BPI Public Health Symposium;
• Each Fellow receives a $6,000 stipend disbursed quarterly.

Who Should Apply?

BPI invites formerly incarcerated professionals working in academic research, social or health service delivery, community-based wellness/health programming, or other public health-related jobs, who are interested in expanding their knowledge, influence, and participation in the field.

(For questions about what constitutes a job in public health, see: www.apha.org/what-is-public-health )

You are eligible for the BPI Public Health Fellowship if you are/have:

• A formerly incarcerated returned citizen
• Completed associates degree or higher prior to the Fellowship start date
• Employed in a health-related field or actively seeking a career in public health or related social services fields
• Proof of COVID-19 vaccination

Application Guidelines

Step 1: Notify Hancy Maxi, BPI Director of Public Health Fellowship of your interest in applying (hmaxis@bard.edu);

Step 2: Attend online  Fellowship information session on March 13, 2024 6:30-7:30pm, held on Zoom video conferencing. Register here.

Step 3: Attend Application Completion Workshop on Thursday, April 25th, 2024 6:30-7:30pm. Register here.

Step 4: Submit written application materials and outlined: Deadline May 13th, 2024.

Step 5: Interview with BPI Public Health Fellowship Selection Committee (composed of BPI staff, faculty, and past Fellows).

Required Application Materials

Please submit application materials through this Google form. Please save all application-related files you upload with a title that includes your full name.

1. Statement of Purpose (500–700 words): describing your professional goals and how this Fellowship will (a) help you achieve them and (b) fit into your current work-life, i.e how you will accommodate the participation commitments throughout the 10 months of the Fellowship;
2. Prospective Project Plan: (see Proposal Worksheet PDF) (with reference to its feasibility, stakeholders, target population(s), and potential takeaways): The project could be a research question, an intervention in a current program, or an entirely new program idea. Consult Hancy Maxis at hmaxis@bard.edu for further information.
3. Resume or CV
4. One written recommendation from an academic advisor/instructor or professional supervisor.
5. Unofficial Undergraduate Transcripts 

Fellowship Project Formats

Each Fellow will produce a written document of their project that will be in the form of either: 1) an academic research proposal, 2) a grant proposal, 3) policy issue brief (i.e. white paper), or 4) agency-based programmatic action plan (each format having been detailed and approved by BPI Public Health staff). Fellows will receive extensive feedback and guidance on their projects in both individual meetings and cohort-wide workshops.

Past Fellows’ Projects

• Revolutionizing Naloxone Distribution through Inter-Agency Collaboration & Electronic Innovation
• Building Therapeutic Community Gardens
• “Community Love and Support for the Successful (CLASS)”: Therapeutic Programming for Children of Substance Abusing Parents (COSAPS)
• A Public Health Approach to Disaster Preparedness and Management
• Identifying, Measuring, and Systematizing What Makes an Effective Community/Street-Level Violence Interrupter, Tasked with Stemming the Spread of Gun Violence

2024-25 BPI Public Health Fellowship Information Flyer (pdf)