Humphrey School alumni among 18 recently announced Bush Fellows

Two Humphrey School graduates and a former employee are among 18 newly selected to receive prestigious Bush Fellowships from the Bush Foundation. Fellows receive funding of between $25,000 and $75,000 over a two-year period to carry out their proposals to build their leadership capacity to mobilize others in their community and find solutions to the tough problem/issue they’ve identified.

These 18 new fellows join the ranks of more than 2,200 Bush Fellows named since 1965. The Bush Foundation’s focus on building the capacity of individuals to solve problems in their communities sprang from founder Archibald Bush’s belief that providing opportunities for people with energy and ideas would turn into something bigger.

Pakou Hang, Saint Paul, Minnesota
(Formerly with the Humphrey School's Center for Democracy and Citizenship)

While a major contributor to farmers markets in the Twin Cities and other parts of Minnesota, Hmong farmers are virtually absent in the local foods and sustainable agriculture movement. I will use my Bush Fellowship to investigate the challenges Hmong farmers in Minnesota face in participating in the local foods and sustainable agriculture movements as they sweep the country and the state. As someone who has been farming with my family for over 20 years, I believe I am in a unique position and have the social capital to explore and seek solutions to this issue.

Neeraj Mehta (MPP '01), Minneapolis, Minnesota

In my neighborhood of North Minneapolis, new collaborations are emerging, public resources are better focused and many are working on revitalization. I want to contribute to and build on these strengths by understanding how the development of a community’s social networks and social capital can support neighborhoods in realizing better, more sustainable results for its residents. My Bush Fellowship will focus on uncovering and learning from community-building efforts in North Minneapolis (and beyond) where strong social capital and social networks are successfully creating the foundation necessary to effectively address issues like housing, education, public safety and more.

Michelle Vigen (MPP '08), Minneapolis, Minnesota

Energy is a universal issue, but it is especially affecting us on a community level in terms of local economic resilience and environmental quality. Addressing local energy issues holds the additional opportunity for communities to gain more than energy resiliency or independence. I will work with communities to explore ways to raise awareness of the benefits of energy efficiency that not only save energy and the associated costs, but also provide distinct and tangible leadership-building and learning opportunities for communities. Approaching a problem, such as energy costs and its environmental consequences or other issues, with a community-based social marketing approach can address these problems while increasing the ability for communities to address future challenges.