Penn IUR Welcomes 2022-23 Fellows in Urban Leadership

As a rising junior at Wharton minoring in urban studies, Tani Madichetti applied to the Penn IUR Fellowship in Urban Leadership because “although Penn's curriculum and faculty are amongst the most respected in the world, sitting in a classroom cannot compare to learning from real-world experiences.” Madichetti will get her chance to connect in person with city leaders in Philadelphia, New York, and Washington, D.C. as she joins 15 other Penn students who are members of the fellowship’s fifth cohort this year.

The Penn IUR Fellowship in Urban Leadership program provides an exceptional group of Penn undergraduates with the unique opportunity to engage with established urban leaders in dialogues and site visits. Each month, the fellows hear from featured speakers, such as Michael Nutter, former Mayor, City of Philadelphia; Matt Bergheiser, CEO, University City District; and Rebecca Rhynhart, Controller, City of Philadelphia, among others. Through these no-holds-barred discussions, fellows gain insight into the role of visionary leadership and action in urbanization that is both equitable and sustainable.

“Through monthly meetings with innovators throughout the year, the fellows learn how urban leadership is truly spread across the public, private, and nonprofit sectors,” says Penn IUR Co-Director Eugénie L. Birch. “The opportunity to connect with an array of local leaders helps prepare students for their own futures as leaders in an increasingly urban world,” says Penn IUR Co-Director Susan M. Wachter.

In addition, the fellows will travel to New York and Washington, D.C, where Penn IUR Advisory Board Chair, Mark Rosenberg, Principal, MHR Fund Management LLC, and Penn IUR Advisory Board Member, Melanie Franco Nussdorf, Partner, Steptoe & Johnson, will curate a series of site visits and learning sessions with local leaders. “The field trips allow the fellows to see a variety of different approaches to urban issues and see these issues through a national lens,” says Nussdorf.

Rosenberg notes, “By increasing these connections to leaders in Washington, D.C. and New York, the fellows will have greater exposure to the issues facing cities and the people addressing them. While each city’s issues may be unique, there is much to be gained by broadening the focus to compare and contrast specific approaches and outcomes from multiple cities.”

The 2022-2023 Penn IUR Fellows in Urban Leadership are:

Christin Clyburn is a junior majoring in economics and minoring in sustainability and environmental management. She has performed her social justice and environmental poetry on the TEDx stage and at the World Bank and received two New York Emmy Awards nominations for her work with an educational youth news program. At Penn, she’s a Black Wharton consultant, Robeson Cooper Scholar, Admissions Dean Advisory Board member, and Director of Operations for Ase Academy - a mentoring program for inner-city students. Recently, she worked with PwC doing consulting for an urban education non-profit.

David Garnick is a senior studying urban studies and political science at Penn. Since his first year at Penn, David has been fascinated by grappling with issues of urban (in)equity and development and thinking about solutions to build future sustainable, inclusive, and innovative cities. David collaborated with SEPTA's strategic planning team on the trolley modernization and bus revolution projects in the spring of his junior year. And, during summer 2022, David traveled to Jerusalem to research the Jerusalem Light Rail and its impact on the lives of Israelis and Palestinians. 

Adam Goudjil is a junior from Staten Island, N.Y. majoring in urban studies and minoring in urban education policy. As a member of the Netter Center for Community Partnerships’ Student Advisory Board, he has supported capacity-building efforts to expand ABCS courses. He participated in Penn IUR’s Undergraduate Urban Research Colloquium, where he researched the impact philanthropies have on revitalizing small legacy cities. This summer, he was a research intern at the Urban Institute’s Center on Nonprofits & Philanthropy. 

Emily Huynh is a senior from the DC Metropolitan Area. She majors in health and societies, and minors in bioethics. Emily previously worked at the National Hospice and Palliative Care Organization and in a policy and economics lab researching end-of-life care. Currently, Emily is a consultant at BerryDunn supporting Hawaii's Medicaid Division. She is the president of Penn Benjamin's Peer Counseling and a member of the HSOC Student Advisory Board. As an avid fan of biking and sustainable urban living, Emily is a strong advocate for improving the bikeability and public transportation of communities. 

Joey Jung is a junior in the College of Arts and Sciences majoring in urban studies and political science, minoring in public policy and data analytics. He grew up in Tallahassee, Fla., and is interested in urban development, public policy, history, and data science. He is conducting research on gentrification measurements through the Undergraduate Research Colloquium with Yeonhwa Lee. This summer he was in Seoul for Penn Global's International Development Program, interning at a small M&A firm dealing primarily with education technology and software companies. He would like to work in real estate, public finance, or a startup focused on urban issues in the future.

Tessa Kong is a junior in the College of Arts and Sciences studying visual studies, with a minor in architecture. Passionate about sustainability and bio-architecture, Tessa took a gap year between her sophomore and junior years at Penn to work for Julia Watson, a nature-based designer and author of "Lo–TEK: Design by Radical Indigenism". Before her year off, she held the Marketing Chair position for the Spire Social Impact Business Accelerator and was a senior board member of the Penn Social Entrepreneurship Movement. This year, she hopes to focus her studies on sustainable and creative urban development in architecture, infrastructure, and design.

Elijah Levine is a junior raised in Park City, Utah at the Wharton School of Business. He has been a member of the Wharton Undergraduate Real Estate Club, Penn Mock Trial, Quaker Finance Group, First Generation Investors, Akpsi, and other professional organizations and interned at Sotheby's International Realty in Park City. In 2020, he took some time off from school to work full time at Bridge Investment Group and several start-up companies and funds. Elijah is passionate about real estate, finance, proptech, politics, urban and city planning, as well as sports such as hiking, surfing, skateboarding, and lacrosse.

Rain Liu is a senior from New York, N.Y. in the College of Arts and Sciences majoring in economics and political science and minoring in statistics. At Penn, his academic interests lie in sustainable urban development through financial and public policy tools. Previously, Rain has interned within different local governmental offices in the New York City Council and State Assembly and has served as Consulting Director of 180 Degrees Consulting on campus. This past summer, Rain joined BofA Securities in its public finance investment banking division.

Tani Madichetti is a junior at Wharton concentrating in business economics and public policy (BEPP) and minoring in urban studies. She is very passionate about educational justice and equity, and she hopes to one day pursue a career in education policy. On campus, she is the VP of Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion for Wharton Women, she serves as a National Advising Fellow Leadership Team member for Matriculate, and she dances on an all-girls Bollywood fusion dance troupe called PENNaach. This summer, she worked for the DC-based Partnership for Public Service's Leadership Development Team as well as Ashoka's research team.

Katrina Murray is a senior from Seattle, Wash. She is majoring in health and societies (with a concentration in public health) and earth sciences (with a concentration in environmental science). She has participated in research projects surrounding COVID-19 and HPV vaccination hesitancy, interned in the Environmental Lab at Philadelphia's Public Health office, and participated in other health-related activities and research projects. She is passionate about public health, specifically disease, environmental exposure, and gender equality in urban environments. She hopes to eventually work in law and policy with the goal of making Americans healthier.

Connor Nakamura is a sophomore from California, pursing a major in urban studies in the College of Arts and Sciences. Stemming from his experience in the community land trust and food sovereignty movements in the Bay Area and Philadelphia, he is interested in alternatives to traditional conceptions of urban planning. He recently completed a summer fellowship at the Othering & Belonging Institute where he wrote a case study on cities that are incorporating affordable housing into their local reparation programs. At Penn, he writes for 34th Street magazine where he covers local activism on campus and in the broader Philadelphia community.

Thrusha Puttaraju is a junior from Hopkinton, Mass. majoring in neuroscience and minoring in healthcare management. As an outreach coordinator for the American Lung Cancer Screening Initiative (ALCSI) non-profit, she conducts monthly webinars on cancer screening awareness with town Departments of Health and represents ALCSI on the Massachusetts and Connecticut State Cancer Work Group. She previously worked as a phlebotomist at Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center and as a Health Policy Fellow for the Michigan Democratic Party. At Penn, she is a part of SHOP as a volunteer and a member of their Policy and Outcomes Committee.

Jonah Schenk is a senior, concentrating in finance and real estate at Wharton. Growing up in downtown Chicago shaped his interdisciplinary interests in politics, economics, and urban real estate. At Penn, Jonah is on the Real Estate Investment Team in Wharton Investment and Trading Group, he's served as a representative in the Undergraduate Assembly, he is a writing tutor in the Marks Family Writing Center, and he is a leader for Pennquest. This past summer, Jonah interned at Blackstone in their Real Estate Acquisitions group, which he will rejoin full-time next year after graduation.

Justine Seo is a senior from New Jersey studying philosophy, politics, and economics. She has a deep interest in the environment and hopes to pursue sustainability management or environmental law after graduation. After doing research with Professor Simon Richter on sea-level rise mitigation in the Netherlands, she became interested in learning more about how cities are adapting to the effects of climate change, specifically through the intersection of sustainability and technology. This past summer she interned at 4EN, a Seoul-based green tech company.

Victoria Sousa is a senior at Penn where she studies politics, philosophy, and economics, with a concentration in public policy and governance. As a Philadelphia native, Victoria is passionate about education equity and local change making. She spent the summer in Buenos Aires as a student reporting fellow for the Pulitzer Center on Crisis Reporting, where she reported on the impact of COVID-19 on education systems in the region. She is a currently a news editor for The Daily Pennsylvanian and has previously served as deputy news editor and a politics reporter at the newspaper. 

Jack Starobin is a junior from Olney, Md. pursuing majors in political science and economics and minoring in Hispanic studies. He has a strong interest in the influence of media on public opinion and political outcomes, as well as an interest in voting rights and voting access. Last summer, Jack worked for the High School Voter Project to support West Philadelphia high school students in organizing their peers to vote. He is currently working to launch a Youth Advisory Board at Penn’s Netter Center for Community Partnerships to center West Philadelphia youth voices in the development of university-community partnerships.