2007 Project 55 Fellows Kickoff their Fellowships
By Kathleen Reilly
Public Interest Program Director, Princeton Project 55
November 6, 2007
Mischa Simmonds ’97, New Jersey Area Committee Member, along with Jade Ku ’07 and Jason Wang ’07 both 07-08 Public Health Fellows chatting at the New Jersey Kickoff Party
In September, the 2007 Princeton Project 55 Fellows gathered in six cities across the country to kickoff their fellowships. Fellows, mentors, and other local Princetonians came together to wish the fellows well and plan for the year ahead.
The Boston launch party, hosted by John Hamilton ’55, and the Chicago opening party, hosted by Kirsten Ekdahl Hull ‘99, were both held on the evening of September 6th. The Washington, DC regional gathering, hosted by Chris and Bill Leahy ’66 and the New York gathering, hosted by Judy and Sam Suratt ’55 were both held on the evening of September 11th. On September 15, the newly formed New Jersey fellowship chapter gathered for a barbecue hosted by Anne-Marie Maman ’84 and her family. The San Francisco kickoff party was hosted by Ms. April Chou ’96 on September 27th.
Each fellowship location hosts educational and professional development seminars, networking opportunities, and social events throughout the fellowship year. The NY fellowship program just hosted a debate on criminal justice at the Offices of the Manhattan District Attorney. On November 3, the NJ fellowship program hosted their first seminar on education reform at North Star Academy Charter School in Newark, NJ. The Boston fellowship program will host their next seminar on environmental issues at Environmental Defense on the morning of November 9. Fellows in Chicago attend weekly issues-based seminars at various public interest organizations every Wednesday morning. The PP55 fellows in DC and the fellows in San francisco will both be attending seminars on education reform in November. Log in to Project 55 Connectto view the calendar of events taking place in your region.
Thank you to all who do so much to grow and support their local Project 55 communities. Best wishes to our 72 Princeton Project 55 Fellows for an exciting, challenging, and substantive year!