Capstones

The capstone projects in the YIP Fellowship represent the culmination of an intensive eight-week program, embodying the essence of inquiry-driven learning. These projects, crafted by fellows at the program's conclusion, are a testament to their intellectual growth and understanding of complex policy issues. Each capstone is a unique reflection of the skills and insights gained, demonstrating a synthesis of research, analysis, and innovative thinking. Serving as both a personal and academic milestone, these capstones highlight the fellows' readiness to engage with real-world challenges, marking a significant step in their journey as emerging policy leaders.

See Capstones

Capstones may reflect individual viewpoints and do not represent YIP's nonpartisan stance.

All Fellowship Capstones

The Sacrifice Zone Pipeline: Environmental Permitting and the Political Economy of Exclusion in Florida

Capstones - Spring 2026

Sami Haddadin

The fundamental telos of this brief comprises an analysis of how current legislation and corporate lobbying continue to magnify these harms and widen structural disparities, while outlining targeted, bipartisan policy interventions that can be integrated into existing legislative frameworks to mitigate them.

Digitalization

Capstones Fall 2025

Alexandra Landman

This capstone proposes that federal and state education agencies invest in both equipment and digital publishing literacy initiatives, prioritizing Title I schools, to empower youth to be not only consumers of culture but also its creators and stewards.

Science for Whom? Water, Colonias, and the Research Gap in Texas

Capstones - Spring 2026

Vivian Liu

In 2024, arsenic, uranium, and nickel were found in 100 percent of colonia homes tested in the Rio Grande Valley. Texas has spent over $740 million on colonia water, but never on protecting the families drinking it today. This brief proposes the Colonia Safe Water Act: test every home, filter every contaminated one, and train colonia students and residents to monitor their own water.

Emergency Medical Services For All: A Case for Publicaly Funded EMS

Capstones - Spring 2026

Jaden Glogg

Emergency Medical Services (EMS) in the United States operate under a fragmented funding system that relies heavily on patient billing, insurance reimbursements, and inconsistent local funding sources. As ambulance transport costs continue to rise, many Americans, particularly those from low-income communities, face significant financial barriers to accessing emergency medical care. This policy brief examines the consequences of the current fee-for-service EMS model, including delayed emergency response utilization, health inequities, and financial instability among EMS providers. Drawing upon historical developments, current funding challenges, and existing policy initiatives, the brief argues that EMS should be recognized and funded as an essential public service comparable to fire and police protection. The analysis evaluates three policy options: federal designation of EMS as an essential service with dedicated block-grant funding, expanded Medicare and Medicaid reimbursement reform, and state-level public EMS authority models. While each option offers potential improvements, federal designation combined with sustained public funding provides the most comprehensive solution for eliminating patient billing and ensuring equitable access to emergency care. By restructuring EMS financing around public investment rather than individual payment, policymakers can improve health outcomes, strengthen emergency response systems, and ensure that all Americans receive emergency medical assistance regardless of their ability to pay.

The Cost Of Corporate Tax Avoidance

Capstones - Spring 2026

Siddharth Shah

This policy brief will discuss the primary means through which corporations avoid taxes in the United States, and it will address solutions to hold them accountable.

Gender and Cultural Challenges for Female Entrepreneurs in Asia

Capstones - Spring 2026

Michelle Tay

Despite significant economic growth across Asia, women entrepreneurs continue to face barriers including limited access to funding, gender bias, restricted professional networks, and unequal access to business education. This policy brief examines the challenges women entrepreneurs encounter and proposes solutions to increase their participation and success in the business sector. The brief recommends expanding mentorship programs, improving access to financial resources, and promoting entrepreneurship education for women and girls. By addressing these barriers, governments and organizations can foster greater gender equality, economic growth, and innovation throughout Asia.

Policy Strategies to Achieving Equity in Indigenous Healthcare

Capstones - Spring 2026

Kendall McGuire

Indigenous communities continue to face major healthcare disparities due to a long history of displacement, underfunding, and limited access to quality medical services. This policy brief explores the roots of these challenges and examines policy options to improve healthcare outcomes. After comparing several solutions, this paper argues that increasing long-term federal funding for tribally operated healthcare systems is the most effective way to expand access to care and move toward healthcare equity for Indigenous populations.

Zoned Inequality: Housing Policy in Educational Access and Economic Mobility

Capstones - Spring 2026

Jadon Kim

This policy paper looks at how New Jersey's past policies created today's inequities in educational opportunity, and makes the case for reforming how we fund education alone to resolve historically based disparities caused by where people reside. It reviews major court decisions regarding housing policy, such as Abbott v. Burke, as well as the Mount Laurel Doctrine, and compares them to Connecticut's Sheff v. O'Neill litigation regarding representation of children in racially mixed districts who attend school outside of their residential communities. It provides examples of current policy efforts and describes their shortcomings. It proposes three separate, yet related reforms: (1) expand inclusionary zoning with mandatory proximity to high performing schools; (2) adjust district boundary line configurations to better reflect racial demographics of districts; and (3) reset New Jersey's School Funding Reform Act to include an additional weight for children from historically redlined neighborhoods to address housing-related disadvantage. Collectively these suggested reforms seek to enable children to achieve their economic and educational success independent of where they live.

Bridging the Golden Divide: Addressing the Wealth Gap & Affordability Crisis in California

Capstones - Spring 2026

Lediya Kajer

Economic inequality is on the rise in California and it has been fueling the affordability crisis, affecting childcare expenses, the homelessness epidemic, and healthcare costs. This policy brief proposes measures like expanding California's Child Tax Credit, providing Permanent Supportive Housing to unhoused individuals alongside Preventative Assistance for renters, and instituting a Single-Payer Healthcare System to mitigate the cost-of-living crisis.

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All Fellowship Capstones

The Sacrifice Zone Pipeline: Environmental Permitting and the Political Economy of Exclusion in Florida

Digitalization

Science for Whom? Water, Colonias, and the Research Gap in Texas

Emergency Medical Services For All: A Case for Publicaly Funded EMS

The Cost Of Corporate Tax Avoidance

Gender and Cultural Challenges for Female Entrepreneurs in Asia

Policy Strategies to Achieving Equity in Indigenous Healthcare

Zoned Inequality: Housing Policy in Educational Access and Economic Mobility

Bridging the Golden Divide: Addressing the Wealth Gap & Affordability Crisis in California