About Us
The NU Public Interest Program is a one-year fellowship that helps to train a new generation of leaders for social change through paid public interest work, professional development seminars and mentorship opportunities with Northwestern alumni. NUPIP aims to be a catalyst for transformative change in both the Northwestern student body and alumni community.
The Northwestern University Public Interest Program was started in 2005 by two undergraduate students and a faculty advisor. Currently, the program is managed by three undergraduate student coordinators, and our Faculty advisor. This unique, student-led model allows the program to foster new leadership and commitment to social change for young people during their college years, as well as in the years after they graduate.
In addition, NUPIP's flexibility and commitment to a culture of engagement allows us to meaningfully involve past and current fellows in all dimensions of the program. Student coordinators facilitate Fellow Committees, which give current fellows the opportunity to assume an integral role in shaping their personal experience as an NUPIP fellow as well as the future of the program as a whole.
Student Coordinators
Maddie Orenstein (SESP '10)
Maddie Orenstein is a Social Policy major. She is involved in many PIP related activities on campus, including the Freshman Urban Program, and the Northwestern Community Development Corps. She is from St. Paul, Minnesota.
Stephanie Arias (SESP '11)
Stephanie Arias is a sophomore in the School of Education and Social Policy, studying Human Development and Psychological Services. She is originally from Chicago, Illinois.
Jake Rosner (SESP '12)
Jake Rosner is a freshman in the School of Education and Social Policy, and is studying Social Policy and African American Studies. He is involved with Political Union and Asterik a cappella. He is from just outside of Washintgon, D.C., in Silver Spring, MD.
Seminar Coordinator
Courtney Spalding Meyer (c.spaldingmayer@gmail.com)
Faculty Advisor
Paul Arntson
Professor Arntson's research interests include consensual interdependence in diverse contexts and how new communication technologies can help develop low-income communities. He is a a senior faculty researcher at the Asset-Based Community Development Institute at Northwestern's Institute for Policy Research. He conducts seminars and workshops throughout the world on health communications, disease prevention, community development, and leadership issues.
Past Program Coordinators
Jon Marino
Lauren Parnell Marino
Kelly Kirkpatrick
Sam Schiller
Student Co-Founders
When the program began in 2005, these two talented and dedicated students laid the framework for what NUPIP is today. Without them, the Northwestern University Public Interest Program may have never gotten off the ground, nor would it be infused with the same entrepreneurial and grassroots vision that coordinators today value so highly. Both have also been NUPIP fellows. We thank them for all they have done and will continue to do for the program.
Jon Marino
Jon Marino graduated in 2006 from the School of Education and Social Policy. As an undergrad, Marino led the External Relations Committee of the Associated Student Government, started the Northwestern Community Building Initiative, NU Public Interest Program, and Global Engagement Summit, and served on the board of Connections for the Homeless in Evanston. Since graduating, Marino has coordinated programs for the Chicago Public Schools Service-Learning Initiative on a NUPIP Fellowship and started the ENGAGE Uganda study abroad program at Northwestern. For the past year, he has been in Uganda on a Fulbright Scholarship to study education opportunities in displaced communities.
Lauren Parnell Marino
Lauren graduated from the School of Education and Social Policy with a degree in Social Policy and History in 2007, and was a PIP Fellow at the Interfaith Youth Core. While at NU, Lauren loved working on student activities including the Northwestern Community Development Corps, the Global Engagement Summit, and University Christian Ministry.
Congratulations to Jon and Lauren, who were married in June 2008. We wish them the best of luck in the future!
NUPIP in Northwestern Magazine
Check out the Spring 2008 edition of Northwestern Magazine. The article talks a about some of our program's succeses, profiles a few of our past and current fellows, and discusses some ways that alumni can be a part of the program. More News
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