Paige Allen was born and raised in Racine, Wisconsin. She relocated to Missouri and graduated from Saint Louis University in 2024 with a Bachelor of Science degree in Health Sciences and a double minor in Biology and Political Science. While at SLU, she was actively involved with the Student Government Association, Model United Nations team, community-service based organizations centered around food insecurity and healthcare access, and the student voter engagement team.
During her undergraduate years, she also worked as a public health fellow for a nonpartisan thinktank and as an intern for the Wisconsin General Assembly. Most recently, Paige worked as the statewide intern for the League of Women Voters of Missouri, where she researched the issues of reproductive rights, paid family sick leave, and minimum wage, as well as Health Literacy Media, a nonprofit focused on the accessibility of health information.
Attending the Sanford School of Public Policy is a dream come true for Paige, where she hopes to add a concentration in health policy. She is passionate about bridging the gap between public health and public policy. She also looks forward to getting involved with initiatives in the Durham community. In her free time, she loves to read, cook, spend time with friends and family, and try new coffee shops.
Marjan Ata is a public policy professional committed to advancing effective, equitable governance through evidence-based decision-making and strategic innovation. She holds a Bachelor of Arts in Economics and Political Science from Sewanee: The University of the South, where she was inducted into Phi Beta Kappa and honored with awards for academic excellence and leadership in the social sciences.
Marjan currently serves as a Senior Strategy Specialist at TennCare, Tennessee’s Medicaid agency, where she leads the design and implementation of hospital quality initiatives and value-based purchasing programs to improve healthcare outcomes. Prior to this, she was selected as a Governor’s Management Fellow for the State of Tennessee, where she contributed to statewide policy efforts in aging, child welfare, and public health. Her work as a Governor’s Management Fellow included managing federally funded initiatives under the American Rescue Plan and facilitating operational reform across cabinet-level departments. Her experience spans cross-sector collaboration, performance management, and legal policy. With training in LEAN Six Sigma and data analysis, Marjan brings a data-informed, equity-focused approach to solving complex policy challenges.
Maddie grew up in Grantham, New Hampshire and attended the University of Richmond in Virginia for her undergraduate education in Biochemistry & Molecular Biology, with minors in Healthcare Studies and Dance. Following graduation she served in the National Health Corps (AmeriCorps) in Pittsburgh, PA as a Patient Navigator at the Birmingham Free Clinic, helping patients to navigate the complex system of insurance, pharmaceutical companies, and specialty care referrals with a focus on underserved populations, social drivers of health, and health equity. She just finished her second year of medical school at Duke which solidified her clinical interested in primary care and psychiatry, and is passionate about the integration of physical and behavioral health in a preventive setting. In the future she is hoping to focus her clinical practice on women of reproductive age, people facing housing insecurity, and people with a history of incarceration in the re-entry period. In her free time she enjoys spending time with her friends exploring nature (hiking, kayaking, and skiing), trying new breweries, and cooking.
Aja Bullock was born and raised in Fayetteville, North Carolina. She earned her Bachelor’s Degree in Communication Studies from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. Driven by a commitment to social justice and equity, Aja is pursuing an MPP to gain the skills and knowledge necessary to effect meaningful change in public policy. They aspire to work in a role that prioritizes policy solutions that are both evidence-based and grounded in the lived experiences of the communities they serve. Aja is transitioning from a full-time role at the NC Counts Coalition to part-time in order to focus on their graduate studies. They have served as the Regional Operations Manager for Southeastern North Carolina and will now be transitioning to a role focused on supporting the organization’s policy and equity work. As a Regional Operations Manager, Aja played a pivotal role in closing the vaccine equity gap for historically marginalized communities during the COVID-19 pandemic. Aja also has experience working on digital equity campaigns, LGBTQ+ equity programming, and various civic engagement projects. These experiences have sparked her interest in pursuing an MPP with a concentration in either health or social policy. Aja volunteers their time with several grassroots social justice-oriented collectives throughout North Carolina. In their free time they enjoy crocheting, spending time outside, trying new recipes, going to the library, playing video games, and so much more.
Hira is a Fulbright scholar from Pakistan, passionate about creating impact through work in the development sector. In the past three years, she worked closely with the Health Ministries in three provinces of Pakistan as a consultant to implement reforms in primary health care services. This included introduction of technological tools and use of geospatial data to improve childhood immunization rates, upgrade of primary facilities to provide 24/7 labor room services for safe deliveries and launch of a safe birth checklist to build capacity of health workers to provide high quality services. This work helped reveal the power of good data to make better decisions for millions of citizens. By pursuing the MPP degree at Duke Sanford, Hira aspires to enhance her grip on using data and technology for improved decision-making across key aspects of international development, including health and education reform. She hopes to work closely with senior leaders in governments, bureaucracies, and international organizations to implement these reforms on a large scale. In her free time, Hira likes to read, paint, or enjoy a light-hearted TV show. She loves to travel and hopes to see the world someday.
Jillian is a dual-degree JD/MPP student from Cary, North Carolina. Prior to beginning her dual-degree program, Jillian received her bachelor’s degree in political science from Wellesley College. Jillian’s policy interests include health equity and improving access to care for marginalized populations in the South. Jillian is excited to work at the intersection of law and policy as an advocate for underserved communities. In her free time, Jillian enjoys cooking, wine-making, weightlifting, and reading sci-fi books!
Hannah Gilson (MPP ’27) graduated summa cum laude from Denison University in 2022 with a Bachelor of Arts in Political Science and Economics. While at Denison, she worked as a research assistant for the Lugar Center’s Congressional Oversight Hearing Index (COHI), specializing in the Senate Hearings from 2020-2022. As a 2022-2024 Fulbright grantee (ETA) to Bulgaria, Hannah taught English and collaborated with local Fulbright and US Embassy partners on community development efforts. Following the completion of her Fulbright grant, Hannah returned to her hometown of Cleveland Heights, OH to provide English instruction and translation support services to middle school ELL students in the CHUH School District before joining the Duke Sanford School.
Kathryn Gluesenkamp is from Wildwood, Missouri, and earned her Bachelor of Science in Economics and Bachelor of Health Science in Public Health from the University of Missouri–Columbia in 2023. Before joining Sanford, Kathryn worked as a Research Associate in the Health Care Programs Research department at NORC at the University of Chicago, supporting federal and state policy projects for clients including the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS). Her work focused on Medicaid, particularly EPSDT and financial management reviews, with an emphasis on data analysis, program evaluation, and policy reporting.
Kathryn’s passion for health policy began with an early interest in infectious diseases and evolved into a broader commitment to addressing healthcare affordability, access, and equity through data-driven policymaking. Her experiences span the public and private sectors, including internships with the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, Elevance Health, and the Missouri Eliminate Tobacco Use Initiative.
At Sanford, Kathryn is excited to strengthen her quantitative skills, build lasting connections, engage with interdisciplinary research, and prepare for a career advancing fiscally responsible, equitable healthcare systems. In her free time, she enjoys reading fiction and experimenting in the kitchen.
Lucero was born and raised in Lima, Peru. She earned a Bachelor’s degree in Economics from Universidad del Pacifico and a Bachelor’s of Science degree in Agronomy from Universidad Nacional Agraria La Molina. She holds a Master’s degree in Economics from Universidad del Pacífico. She worked at a consulting firm as a project analyst where she conducted cost-benefit analysis, social and economic evaluations for projects related to modernization of the state, agriculture, health, security and transportation. At Sanford, she will develop her analytical and quantitative skills for evidence-based policymaking and project evaluation in developing countries. In her free time, Lucero enjoys traveling, cooking, gardening and hiking.
Originally from the metro-Detroit area, Katie received her Bachelor of Arts from the University of Michigan in 2015 with a double major in Political Science and French. Upon graduating, Katie worked for a public affairs firm on multiple local, state and national political campaigns, with a focus on increasing women’s representation in elected office. Katie truly began to deepen her interest in health policy as an AmeriCorps member with the Community Opioid Response program where she was a part of a statewide initiative to help local communities implement strategies to reduce opioid misuse. For the past five years, Katie has worked at a local public health department in Colorado as a tobacco prevention policy specialist, and as a part of the COVID-19 emergency response team.
In her free time, you can usually find Katie outside: running, camping, hiking, skiing and, recently, growing an overwhelming number of tomatoes in her garden.
Christina Luke is a first-generation graduate student born in Haiti and raised in Florida. She graduated from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill with a Bachelor of Arts in Communications and Sports Administration in 2016. Her passion for advocacy began at Carolina, where she served as a resident and multicultural advisor for Carolina Housing and volunteered as a student affairs consultant to address campus concerns surrounding the Unsung Founders Memorial. After graduation, Christina returned to Florida and began working in emergency services and community engagement. Her desire to foster more equitable and inclusive environments led her to facilitate sensitivity training with the Hillsborough County Sheriff’s Office while volunteering with the Council on American-Islamic Relations (CAIR). In her free time, Christina began performing standup comedy and found that gaps in understanding could be bridged through humor. This realization led her to autonomously produce two online series celebrating Black History and Women’s History during their respective months. The series allowed her to discuss polarizing topics, news, and history through an inclusive lens. The success of these series led her to become a research consultant and content creator with UNC Chapel-Hill’s School of Medicine Behavioral and Technology Lab. In this role, she helped disseminate complex research material into digestible information for the general public. Her digital media and advocacy work facilitated her entry into the Diversity Equity Inclusion Council for AdventHealth Carrollwood, where she pioneered the inaugural Black History Month campaign and helped draft the materials for the Women’s History and Ramadan campaigns. The success of these campaigns led to an invitation to the corporate headquarters for AdventHealth’s West Florida Division to share her ideas on media projects to promote equitable and inclusive work environments. Christina is overjoyed to join the Duke community. She plans to use her Master of Public Policy to empower the public by demystifying the political process and working in legislation to ensure that the policies being drafted accurately address the needs of a country as diverse as its people. Outside of her work, Christina enjoys performing comedy, creating content, reading historical novels, writing poetry, watching movies, going on adventures outdoors, and spending time with loved ones.
Tej is a dual degree MPP-JD student from Alpharetta, Georgia. Tej graduated from Davidson College in 2023 with a B.S. in Psychology. Tej also played Division 1 soccer at the University of Maryland and Davidson College. During his time at Davidson, Tej was a team lead for the College Crisis Initiative. He led a team of data collectors on various projects studying and analyzing educational systems responses to emergency/crisis situations like COVID, flu, and natural disasters. Tej has also worked in a healthcare systems and real estate investment firm where he experienced the interconnected nature of law and policy and how an intimate knowledge of both is critical in creating systems-level impact. Given these experiences, Tej’s primary policy interests are in healthcare, education, and business, but he is eager and excited to learn more about the other policy areas studied at Sanford. Tej enjoys playing and watching sports, traveling with family, and cooking in his free time.
Pauline Wakudumo is a first year MPP student. She is Namibian-American, having moved to the United States when she was 8 and grew up in Maryland and North Carolina. Pauline is passionate about reproductive freedom and is excited to continue her education in health policy at Sanford. She worked at Reproductive Freedom for All (formerly NARAL) for over two years doing state policy on reproductive freedom. Prior to that, Pauline worked at AbortionFinder.org, researching and verifying abortion clinics. Pauline received her undergraduate degree in Economics from Brown University. In her free time, Pauline enjoys reading, exploring new restaurants in Durham, thrift shopping, and walks to get iced coffee, no matter the season.
Lucas graduated from Cornell University in 2022 with a major in Industrial and Labor Relations and Minor(s) in business—and separately—in healthcare policy analysis & management. Thereafter, Lucas enrolled in the dual degree program held co-jointly by UNC-Chapel Hill School of Law and Duke University’s Sanford School of Public Policy.
Lucas is an avid and passionate fisherman (and spear-fisherman) whose love for the sport continually lures him back to the most remote corners of the world. He travels to locations where only the most extreme anglers are known to venture in search of some of the largest fish to ever exist: from Costa Rica, Bermuda, the Bahamas, to the Canary Islands, and more!
