Roosevelt Network Launches 2025 Emerging Fellows Policy Journal

New York, NY—​​Today, the Roosevelt Network celebrates the release of 14 new issue briefs from its Emerging Fellows program—a yearlong fellowship empowering undergraduate students to develop rigorous policy research and writing on pressing issues of their choice. This year’s Emerging policy briefs offer bold visions of democratic economies and democratic institutions, proposing people-centered, aspirational policy solutions that shift power from corporations to the people.

“This year’s cohort takes aim at the root causes of wealth inequality and democratic decline, refusing to accept the status quo,” said Eric A. Paul, Deputy Director of Student Programs for the Roosevelt Network. “Their policy visions aren’t just thoughtful; they’re bold, grounded in lived experience, and unapologetically people-first. I’m inspired by their work and can’t wait to see how they’ll continue shaping the future of progressive policy.”

The Emerging Fellows represent a wide range of universities and backgrounds, and the topics of their briefs reflect this diversity:

Democratic Economy

• “A Worker-Driven Industrial Strategy for Diversifying Local Economies: Transitioning From Defense in New London, Connecticut” by Tony Ruan, Yale University
• “A Gig Economy That Works for Everyone: Rejecting the Exploitation of Worker Divisions by Rideshare Apps in California” by Sian Salazar, University of Southern California
• “Extending Brotherly Love to Philadelphia’s Subcontracted Workers: Expanding on Labor Reforms by Building Worker Power” by Sophia Rosser, University of Pennsylvania

Changing Climate, Transforming Systems: Managing Energy, Resources, and Public Health in a Climate Crisis

• “A Blueprint for Water Equity in the Farmworker Communities of California’s Central Valley” by April Higa, University of California, Berkeley
• “Investing in Green Space in the South Bronx for “Public Health and Equity” by Kimberly Vega, New York University
• “Southern Hospitality in Extreme Heat: Combating the Urban Heat Island Effect in Metropolitan Nashville” by Lindsey Spencer, University of Michigan, Ann Arbor
• “An Analysis of the Impacts of Climate Investments on Local Economic Conditions and News Sentiment” by Jay Philbrick, Brown University
• “The Power Struggle: How Investor-Owned Utilities Undermine California’s Clean Energy Goals” by Katelyn Eng, University of Southern California
• “A New Energy Frontier: Indigenous-Led Renewable Development in Alaska” by Bria Dominici, Barnard College

Democratic Institutions

• “Reversing the Corporate Capture of Higher Education: Restoring Job Security and Democracy on Campus” by Alex Aghdaei, University of Oregon.
• “Restoring Democratic Values Eroded by Immigration Enforcement in Maverick County, Texas” by Karyme Flores, Texas Woman’s University
• “Who’s On First? Lessons for Implementing Ranked-Choice Voting and Making Elections More Representative” by Zara Chapple, University of Chicago
• “Who Gets to Be a Peer? A Pathway to Reforming Texas’s Ex-Felon Jury Exclusion Laws” by Katherine Jeng, Rice University
• “Legislate, Lobby, or Organize? How Latinos Can Build Local-Level Political Power in Majority-Black Prince George’s County, Maryland” by Carlos Hernandez Tavares, Williams College

“The Roosevelts were unafraid to embrace bold ideas, to build novel and sometimes uncomfortable coalitions, and to seek hope and vision from unexpected quarters. I hope they would certainly find inspiration in the essay collection,” said Katie Kirchner, vice president, Field-Building Programs at the Roosevelt Institute. “This collection carries forward that spirit—rooted in rigor, imagination, and the belief that young people can and should shape the future of policy.”