Inside the Chuck Green Fellowship 

From meeting state politicians to biking around St. Paul to investigate fresh produce availability, this year’s Chuck Green fellows had a busy and productive summer. 

The Chuck Green Fellowship offers 12 Macalester sophomores and juniors a unique opportunity to turn their ideas into action. During the six-month program, students take part in a spring political science seminar, and then develop a partnership with a community-based organization. Fellows receive a stipend to work full-time with that partner over 10 weeks to complete a project they have researched and designed. 

Unlike traditional internships, students act as consultants, living out Chuck Green’s belief in the knowledge and abilities of students. The fellowship honors Professor Green’s legacy of inspiring students to move from detached observers to engaged citizens.

We caught up with five fellows to learn more about their projects and experiences.

Olivia Johnson ’25 (Milwaukee, Wis.) worked with the International Institute of Minnesota, which supports new Americans through programs in workforce development, education, and anti-trafficking. She assisted with outreach to increase citizenship rates in the Minneapolis metro area and helped clients with citizenship applications. She also developed a new cultural orientation program for refugees and collaborated with Premier Wireless on a pilot project to set up phones with crucial resources for refugees. “This fellowship has deepened my understanding of the resettlement process and immigration issues and has reinforced my passion for human rights,” Johnson said. “It gave me the autonomy to shape my experience and projects.” 

Hamza Mahamud ’26 (Eden Prairie, Minn.) worked with HOME Line MN, a Bloomington-based nonprofit focused on advancing tenant rights. He contributed to a project on crime-free ordinances in the seven-county metro area.  “Crime-free ordinances are city laws that regulate how tenants in rented buildings must behave on the premises,” he said. He researched the impact of these ordinances on communities and helped update HOME Line’s policy stance on this issue. Mahamud also participated in coalition-building, helped write legislative agendas, and attended policy writing workshops. “I had expectations for my summer work while I was in Chuck Green, and my time at HOME Line blew those expectations away,” Mahamud said. “I was part of a team that had confidence in my work and gave me the resources to make that research a reality.”

Willow Albano ’26 (Pevely, Mo.) partnered with the American Civil Liberties Union of Minnesota, a nonprofit focused on protecting civil rights and liberties through legal pathways and policy advocacy. 

“One of the first things my supervisor said was that most of my work would be driven by my own initiative,” Albano said. “I truly felt like a fellow in that moment, which kickstarted my focus on addressing anti-transgender initiatives in school districts.” They drafted an amendment to prevent parents from opting their children out of all LGBTQ+ materials based on outdated laws. Albano surveyed over 20 school districts to inform policy, found a representative to sponsor the bill, and will return to advocate for it during the legislative session.

They also profiled district house races, creating a 36-page research document that shaped voter engagement strategies.

Kampe Rushoka ’26 (Kigali, Rwanda), partnered with the Global Rights for Women, an international nonprofit based in Minneapolis that advocates for improved responses to violence against women. She contributed to a North Dakota assessment on Indigenous survivors, modeling data on the impact of the Child Protection System on Native mothers for a report to the state’s coalition on sexual and domestic violence. Rushoka also created a guidebook to enhance the nonprofit’s outreach to African feminist activists, drawing from research and interviews with feminists in Rwanda, Tanzania, and Morocco. In her recommendations for collaboration, she points to themes such as power dynamics and the need for cultural awareness. She will host a podcast episode featuring the activists she interviewed. 

“The Chuck Green Fellowship was life-changing and reaffirmed my commitment to pursuing a career in gender activism,” Rushoka said. 

Jordan Galloway ’26 (Portland, Ore.) partnered with Urban Roots MN, a youth development organization on Saint Paul’s east side that employs local youth in programs such as Cook Fresh, Market Garden, and Conservation. 

In the Cook Fresh program, Galloway worked with Macalester and Chuck Green alum Astrid Berger ’23. 

“My first project was an ArcGIS story map showing Urban Roots’ farm-to-table food system,” he said. “This map chronicled the story of our food as it was seeded, grown, cooked, and eaten within 1.5 miles of our office and kitchen.”  Galloway also created a community food map of Saint Paul’s east side. Setting off on bike, he cataloged markets, restaurants, and community gardens to see if they were open, accepted EBT, had fresh produce, and so on. He added this data to the Urban Roots website.

The fellows expressed gratitude to their community organization supervisors; Dr. Lisa Mueller, political science professor and fellowship facilitator; and to the other cohort members.