Building New Bridges on Capitol Hill

Bridging the chasm that often exists between knowledge and policy—between health researchers and policy makers–is the main objective of the H. Jack Geiger Congressional Fellowship Program, a pilot program funded by the W.K. Kellogg Foundation. The effort also seeks to expand the numbers of scholars of color working on minority health issues and preparing to take leadership roles in translating their research into policy and practice.

Three Kellogg Fellows and a fourth funded by the Annie E. Casey Foundation began their 6-12 month fellowships in the spring of 2005. Fellows are currently drawn from some 90 alumnae/ni of Kellogg’s three other scholars/fellows programs (Scholars in Health Disparities, Community Health Scholars, and Health Policy Fellows). All the new Geiger fellows have earned PhD’s and worked at the intersections of health and social policy on issues affecting underserved groups.

“We believe the program will speed knowledge exchange from the community and university to the policy development process on Capitol Hill, says Barbara Krimgold, senior project director at the Center for the Advancement of Health, which serves as the program grantee. “It will also help scholars get a sense of the culture on the Hill which is so different from the world of the academy.”