The Nelson A. Rockefeller Center for Public Policy is pleased to announce that JJ Dega ‘26 has been appointed as a Postgraduate Policy Fellow for the 2026-2027 academic year.
Dega graduated magna cum laude this spring with a degree in History, Modified with Economics and Institutions and a minor in Public Policy. His four years at Dartmouth were defined in large part by his engagement with the Rockefeller Center, notably through the Policy Research Shop, Judicial Fellows Program, and Dartmouth Leadership, Attitudes, and Behavior (D-LAB) Program.
As the first appointee to the newly established Postgraduate Policy Fellow role, Dega brings a record of policy work that has already reached legislators and courts, and an institutional fluency with Rocky’s programs built across four years of deepening involvement. His work draws on a record of undergraduate policy research that includes briefs formally adopted by the New Hampshire Supreme Court’s Access to Justice Commission and the Vermont Legislature, affecting tens of thousands of individuals annually.
The role will enable him to extend his work under the mentorship of Government Professor Jason Barabas ‘93, Director of the Rockefeller Center, at a critical moment in the political and civic landscape, and in his development as a researcher and future practitioner.
Dega will focus on courts and elections. With Professor Barabas, he will help conduct public opinion surveys and policy analyses as the country heads into the electoral contests in 2026 and beyond. He will also help develop simulation-based learning of both electoral forecasting and policymaking, building on studies showing that students who take part in legislative simulations come away with higher levels of civic knowledge.
As part of the role, Dega also helps to lead the Justice Policy Project (JPP) alongside Dr. Elizabeth Pfeffer, a Postdoctoral Fellow at Rocky and Principal Investigator on the JPP. The project examines how legal institutions make decisions and adapt to change, which are topics sitting at the heart of debates about access to justice, judicial capacity, and criminal justice policy reforms in the federal judiciary. Dega and Pfeffer are currently conducting a nationwide survey of all federal district court judges. The initial findings of the federal court programs survey will be presented at the American Political Science Association annual conference in early September 2026.
Dega will contribute to the full range of the Center’s work: supporting scholarly research, assisting in the classroom, developing programming and curricular materials, and advancing Rocky’s mission of preparing students for effective public service.
The Director of the Rockefeller Center, Dr. Jason Barabas, said of the new appointment, “JJ Dega had a stellar academic career at Dartmouth.” He added, “We are very much looking forward to having JJ in this new role, which builds on his undergraduate degree by bringing him into research projects, classroom learning modules, and public events for the entire community.”
Reflecting on what draws him to this work, Dega said, “Public service has always been about the people for me, and there is no system where you can see that impact more directly than the legal system. Seeing the parties in a case, understanding what is at stake for them, and working to ensure that underserved people can access justice: these pillars directly connect to my involvements at Dartmouth. The experiences gave me a real sense of the power of legal institutions to uphold our democracy and the lives of the people it serves. Now I want to deepen my knowledge and skills to eventually become a practitioner who can work from the inside to strengthen those institutions and make them work better.”
After the fellowship, Dega plans to work in electoral politics before attending law school.