Washington and Lee Names New Elrod Fellows
Washington and Lee University’s Shepherd Poverty Program has named six members of the Class of 2012 to John and Mimi Elrod Fellowships.
The fellowship gives recent W&L graduates the opportunity to develop a lifelong commitment to civic engagement and to prepare for civic leadership. The competitive program connects young alumni with innovative public service organizations that address poverty and significant social issues in the fields of health care, law, education, economic development and housing.
In terms of one or two years with partner organizations, Elrod Fellows acquire valuable professional skills and connections while working on significant public interest issues.
Washington and Lee alumni in Baltimore, Houston and Washington, D.C., are key to the Elrod Fellowship program, developing and maintaining relationships with partner organizations who hire program fellows. They also assign mentors to fellows and hold a speaker series that enriches the fellowship experience.
The new Elrod Fellows and their assignments:
- Dory Blackey is an English major and art minor from Versailles, Ky. She will work with YES College Preparatory School in Houston.
- Emily Leary is a psychology and global politics double major and a poverty studies minor from Loveland, Ohio. She will work with Pathways to Housing DC in Washington, D.C.
- Catherine McColloch is an economics major and poverty studies minor from Dallas. She will work with KIPP (Knowledge is Power Program) in Houston.
- Alex Shabo is a psychology and business administration double major from Hingham, Mass. She will work for BUILD in Washington, D.C.
- Jordan Wilson is a global politics major and poverty studies minor from Midlothian, Va. He will work for the Democratic Governors Association in Washington, D.C.
- Shiri Yadlin is a religion major and a poverty studies minor from Irvine, Calif. She will work at Pathways to Housing DC in Washington, D.C. Yadlin’s fellowship has been deferred a year, since she has won a U.S. teaching assistantship in Austria for the 2012-13 academic year.
Since Washington and Lee began its Elrod Fellowship program in 2005, nearly 30 Elrod Fellows have been placed with organizations in New York, Baltimore, Houston and Washington, D.C.
The Elrod Fellowship is based on the model established by the Princeton Alumni Corps (formerly Princeton Project 55) and other affiliates of The Alumni Network (TAN), a consortium of alumni-driven public interest organizations at institutions including Washington and Lee University, Harvard, Dartmouth, Georgetown, Bucknell, Stanford and the University of Virginia. Association with TAN offers Elrod Fellows access to a broader pool of opportunities and a network of like-minded fellows.
News Contact:
Jeffery G. Hanna
Executive Director of Communications and Public Affairs
jhanna@wlu.edu
(540) 458-8459
