Harbage Fellowship

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Program Purpose: 

Every year, the Peter Harbage Fellowship provides one exceptional young person a year-long experience to deepen learning and leadership capabilities in health care policy in California. The fellowship is the vision of Peter Harbage, who was a leader and innovator in California’s health policy field for decades until his untimely death from cancer in 2015. Peter had a gift for bringing together diverse stakeholders to solve problems and develop innovative policy. In the process, he became a friend and resource to many colleagues and a mentor to many young people entering the health policy field. Whether they were relocating to California from Washington D.C. or transitioning from another field into health issues, Peter provided guidance, connections and many times, a job. To continue building leadership in the California health policy community, Peter funded a fellowship program that will make it possible for new health policy graduates to work in a special role at an organization focused on improving health in California.

Program Description and Benefits: 

SUPPORTING NEW TALENT IN HEALTH POLICY, the fellowship is an opportunity for students completing graduate degrees in the fields of public policy or public health to apply for a one-year fellowship with a host organization under the mentorship of a seasoned and talented health policy veteran. Peter envisioned young people having the opportunity to learn from some of the most effective and strategic leaders in the health policy field acquiring knowledge and skills in their fellowship year that might otherwise take them years to develop. The fellow will be placed with a mentor with a reputation for making positive impacts on the health policy field. The fellowship will provide salary and benefits for the one-year position.

The fellow will have the opportunity to meet innovators in health policy, including current and past secretaries of health, state and county directors of health services and public health, the current director of Covered California, legislative leadership and staffers, health plan CEOs, health care association leaders, and leaders within the advocacy community. These meetings will further shape understanding of all the dimensions of the California health care landscape, resulting in a new leader more positioned to impact health care policy.

Mentors have included Kiran Savage-Sangwan, Executive Director at California Pan-Ethnic Health Network (CPEHN); Anthony Wright of Health Access California; Mayra Alvarez and The Children’s Partnership; and Kevin Prindiville and Justice in Aging.

Application Process: 

Video Interviews with Candidates

Applicant Profile: 

The fellow will be passionate about health policy, dedicated to improving health care for all Californians and work collaboratively and strategically with others. The fellowship will seek individuals with experience contributing to the health policy field in some way, as well as those just starting out for whom the fellowship would afford a unique opportunity to enhance learning and leadership.  Applicants from diverse backgrounds and those with a commitment to California’s communities of color are strongly encouraged to apply.

Eligibility: 

Peter Harbage Fellowship will be looking for candidates who are about to graduate from or recently graduated from a public policy or public health graduate level program at universities in California and the University of Michigan (Peter’s alma mater).

Program Deadline: 

Application deadline is generally early in the Spring semester.

How To Apply: 

Information on this program is offered for the benefit of our students. The Fellowships Office does not work with applicants to this program.