By: Anna
Anna participated in our Global Philanthropy Summit 2012 (now called Summer Summit). She was also an intern here at Allow Good in 2014. She is a recent graduate of the University of Pennsylvania.
Here is Anna’s update:
“I just graduated from the University of Pennsylvania, where I majored in Health and Societies -- basically looking at health through history and anthropology. I chose this major because of its ability to equip me to do good in the world. Many of my classes revolved around social justice. One of my favorites was a course with a community service component called Politics of Food. I worked at a local nonprofit for 3 hours a week as part of my coursework, while learning about food policy + justice in class.
I also spent a semester abroad in India, South Africa, and Brazil with a program studying public health. I learned so much about health and social justice through this program -- whether it was a guest lecture by a professor about post-Apartheid healthcare in South Africa, a meeting with a nonprofit that produces sanitary napkins in India, or a discussion with my homestay family about the Brazilian economy.
While I am most passionate about health policy (and specifically women’s health), Allow Good taught me to always remember the ripple effect -- the idea that small actions can ripple into greater impact. I remember learning at the very first Global Philanthropy Summit that the most important priority for the Liger Learning Center in Cambodia was not a shortage of school supplies, but was the need for clean water and sanitation! As a 17-year-old, this was incredibly formative; I started to think about the roots of social issues, leading me to pursue Health and Societies as a major at Penn
The ripple effect underlies everything I do now. I am about to start my first post-grad job, working on the research team at JB Pritzker’s campaign for Illinois governor. I am beyond excited to form an understanding of how political campaigns work, and to push for change in Illinois. In the future, I want to take my campaign skills and translate them to the field of health policy advocacy -- using my ripple effect to push for better policy.”
Anna has an impressive resume: researching racial disparities in children's vision care in Illinois for the Health Policy Team at Sargent Shriver National Center on Poverty Law, conducting research on America’s media coverage of the Zika virus through the Annenberg Public Policy Center (UPenn), leading a team of volunteers at the Democratic National Convention, and volunteering with Hillary Clinton’s campaign."
Thanks so much for sharing your story with us and continuing to be a changemaker in health policy advocacy and beyond. The Allow Good Family wishes you the best of luck starting your career and we look forward to seeing all that you will accomplish.
