2023-2024 Health and Aging Policy Fellows and HAPF Deputy Director at the Capitol in Washington, DC

2022-2023 Health and Aging Policy Fellows at their Spring Symposium in Washington, DC

THE PROGRAM

The Health and Aging Policy Fellows Program aims to create a cadre of leaders who will serve as change agents in health and aging policy to ultimately improve the health care of older adults. The year-long fellowship offers a rich and unique training and enrichment program that is focused on current policy issues, communication skills development, and professional networking opportunities to provide Fellows with the experience and skills necessary to help affect policy.

PROGRAM TRACKS 

The Residential track includes a year-long placement in Washington, DC or at a state agency. Residential Fellows are immersed full-time in a policy-focused placement that is determined in the initial phase of the fellowship. Placements may include working as a legislative assistant in Congress, as professional staff in executive agencies, or with 'think tank' organizations, for example. 

The Non-Residential track allows Fellows to remain at their home institutions and requires that they dedicate at least 20% of their time to a "virtual" placement and/or project with federal agencies, Congressional offices, or health and aging policy organizations. This may involve short periods of travel throughout the year to relevant sites. Non-residential Fellows may focus on a health policy project that is global, federal, state, city, or community-based. 

The VA Track is a specific non-residential track for VA staff to represent the Department of Veterans Affairs as a VA/Health and Aging Policy Fellow. VA/Health and Aging Policy Fellow participate through the non-residential track of the fellowship.

Special call for applicants in Western New York & Southeastern Michigan

The Caregiver Policy Track funds Fellows based in and serving Western New York (Allegany, Cattaraugus, Chautauqua, Erie, Genesee, Monroe, Niagara, Orleans, Wyoming County) and Southeastern Michigan (Livingston, Macomb, Monroe, Oakland, St. Clair, Washtenaw, or Wayne County) to gain direct experience in the process of development and implementation of policies at the state and federal levels to improve the lives of older persons and caregivers in the targeted area. Please contact the HAPF National Program Office at hapfell@nyspi.columbia.edu for more information about this track.

Applications for this track are due on June 1, 2024.

Fellows can engage at many levels of policymaking – global, federal, state, community – through The Health and Aging Policy Fellows Program. The fellowship experience is enhanced by our partnerships with the Department of Veterans Affairs (VA), the National Institute on Disability, Independent Living, and Rehabilitation Research (NIDILRR), University of Washington, Northwestern University, and most recently with The Robert N. Butler Columbia Aging Center at the Columbia Mailman School of Public Health. By participating in the fellowship, Fellows will not only expand their own professional networks - they will also serve to strengthen the network of professionals in that community working in the field.

IMPORTANT NOTE: Both residential and non-residential Fellows are required to attend the 6-week Orientation in Washington, DC at the beginning of their fellowship, from the end of October to the beginning of December. Nothing is scheduled during the week of Thanksgiving. Fellows are also brought together periodically over the course of the fellowship year for HAPF Program events.   

WHO SHOULD APPLY?

The program has a broad interdisciplinary focus, and Fellowship cohorts have included physicians, nurses, social workers, psychologists, food scientists, city planners, healthcare administrators, epidemiologists, economists, and lawyers from academic and practice settings, spanning career stages from newly minted PhDs to senior professors and community leaders. Applicants must have a strong commitment to health and aging issues, and should specify how the program would meet their particular career goals. Applicants must also be U.S. citizens or permanent residents of the U.S. who have career plans that anticipate continued work in the U.S. after the fellowship period. Candidates from underrepresented groups are especially encouraged to apply.

APPLICATION KEY DATES

• General application deadline: Monday, April 15, 2024
• Caregiver track application deadline: Saturday, June 1, 2024
• Notification of finalists to be interviewed: Mid-May 
• Interviews and selection of Fellows: Mid-June to Mid-July
• Fellowship begins October 1, 2024

Information Sessions for the 2024-2025 Fellowship Year

If you are interested in becoming a Health and Aging Policy Fellow and have questions, we are holding information sessions via Zoom on various dates from now through March 2024. 

The remaining schedule is as follows (in EST):

• Wednesday, March 13, 2024 from 12–1 PM
• Wednesday, March 27, 2024 from 1–2 PM

Click here to register for a session.

To arrange a call with the Program Director or Deputy Director, or to discuss applicant eligibility or the application specifically, please contact the Program Coordinator at hapfell@nyspi.columbia.edu.

The fellowship is made possible with the commitment and generous support of our funders. Over the years, we have deepened our collaboration with The John A. Hartford Foundation, who partnered with Atlantic Philanthropies to broaden and extend the fellowship program; and with West Health, who has been essential to establishing and expanding our alumni program. At the same time, we have been able to further develop our partnership with the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs (VA), the National Institute on Disability, Independent Living, and Rehabilitation Research (NIDILRR)-funded programs at University of Washington and Northwestern University, The Ralph C. Wilson Jr. Foundation, and The Robert N. Butler Columbia Aging Center, among others.