Sabrina Lopez, CSP class of 2025, is participating in the Leon E. Panetta Institute Policy Research Fellows Program. This fall is the first year that UCSC students are participating in the Fellows Program, and Sabrina is one of only a handful of UCSC graduate students selected. The program thus far has only been open to Law School students from Stanford and Santa Clara University.
The Leon E. Panetta Institute Policy Research Fellows Program is a small, highly competitive semester-long experience that supports the development of leadership and public policy skills of participants. It is led by highly accomplished staff and elected public officials of local and national stature, including Leon Panetta.
The purpose of The Panetta Institute for Public Policy Fellows Research Program is to provide students with an educational and experiential opportunity to study public policy, engage in strategic planning and build consensus through negotiations. The overall goal of the program is to introduce fellows to a multi-disciplinary approach to the study of public policy which allows fellows to gain a sophisticated understanding of the nuances behind policy making (such as setting agendas, using analytic tools to implement legislation and gauging political realities and constraints); develop policy discourse skills; and strengthen their analytical judgment and evaluation of key policy issues.
The course is complemented with targeted discussions on putting policy into practice. In this approach, the Institute’s professors guide fellows in the techniques of policy analysis and advocacy and the application of these techniques to recent and current public policy issues. This is a tremendous opportunity for selected UCSC students to gain career altering experience that is otherwise not available at UCSC.