Meet Rachel Pleet
My name is Rachel Pleet. I will be working at the Rodel Foundation as a policy fellow for the 2016-17 academic year, while I pursue my master’s degree in public administration (MPA) from the University of Delaware. As an undergraduate student at UD, I received my Bachelor of Arts degree in public policy and declared minors in both anthropology and public health. After graduation, I plan on moving to Israel.
While I am enthusiastic about all sorts of policy topics (especially in the social domain), my special areas of interest include food policy and public health. I envision myself working in a public agency or local government that targets the collective health of citizens. With enhanced social awareness and a public health minor, I recognize the misunderstood blame that gets placed on individuals for poor health-related decision-making. Concurrently, I see the overwhelming need to address the public policies (or lack thereof), the media, and the food “culture” in society that have conditioned individuals to lead unhealthy lifestyles. I am very inspired by the idea of taking part in effective policymaking to address challenging issues like these.
As a student, I’ve had the privilege of working in several research centers on UD’s campus, including my position as a public administration fellow at the Institute for Public Administration and public policy fellow at the Disaster Research Center. Also at UD, I served as the first legislative researcher in the Government Relations Office. This experience sparked my interest in state and local government, and my role of tracking and analyzing legislation exposed me to countless fascinating issues that governments face.
From wanting more experience in local government and hoping to advance my professional goals in Israel, I spent last winter interning in the Office of Gender Issues of the Tel Aviv-Yafo Municipality. Not only did I have an extremely meaningful and productive experience, but I also began networking with professionals in other municipal departments and beyond the bounds of the city government. Recently, I had another great internship in Israel. I worked for Insights.US, a company that designed a digital decision-making platform that enables executives to garner strategic advice directly from their stakeholders. I hope that making great connections abroad and striving for future work opportunities related to my policy interests will help prepare me for a career in Israel.
As I continue to pursue my MPA degree and live in the states, I am eager to take advantage of the great opportunities that will expand my mind and strengthen my professional skills. Working at the Rodel Foundation will certainly be one of these experiences. While I don’t have much background in education policy, I understand that a strong education is conducive to healthy personal development and is fundamental in shaping students’ future success. From its importance and my interest, I’m very excited to be part of the Rodel team and to learn about the education system in Delaware.