Story from Dartmouth News

Students in the Class of 1964 Policy Research Shop notched a first in the program's 16 years of working with legislative policymakers by presenting testimony on a total of four different policy papers before house committees in two states—New Hampshire and Vermont— on the same day.

Two groups of Class of 1964 Policy Research Shop students recently testified before committees in New Hampshire and Vermont remotely over Zoom.

The first Zoom testimony occurred on May 22 when PRS students Sam Selleck, Katie Smith, and Jacob Zarkower presented their findings in “Juvenile Justice System Spending in New Hampshire and across the United States,” PRS Policy Brief 1920-09, to the NH Juvenile Justice Working Group and the NH Office of the Child Advocate.

Their team began work on this project in the fall as they met as a group weekly to discuss their work. This spring they moved to working remotely. Jacob Zarkower said, “At our weekly zoom meetings, the four of us discussed flaws to be targeted the following week, in addition to checking in on each other. This was truly a team effort, and I am excited to see the impact our work can have on the youth and families of New Hampshire.” After the committee meeting, which was attended by over 30 people, Sam Selleck shared, “It was definitely rewarding to have the chance to present our research today to the people at the forefront of juvenile justice reform in New Hampshire.”

On Monday evening, March 2, 2020, The Nelson A. Rockefeller Center at Dartmouth College hosted the first field hearing of the New Hampshire Service Year Workforce Commission, chaired by New Hampshire Rep.

On Monday, March 2, 2020, Class of 1964 Policy Research Shop students Andrew Culver '22, Paul Hager 22', and Tyler Work '20 traveled to Concord to testify before the New Hampshire House Committee on Science, Technology, and Energy, chaired by Rep. Robert Backus.  The students have spent the past several months researching the implementation of California regulatory standards for zero emission vehicles (ZEVs) and hybrid vehicles in several states to provide evidence to the committee on the possible impacts of H.R. 1444, a bill to adopt the California Clean Cars Program in New Hampshire. Andrew, Paul, and Tyler, spent more than an hour presenting their findings to the members of the committee and responding to a wide variety of questions from virtually all of the committee members.  Their policy brief, “Considerations for the Implementation of the California Clean Cars Program in New Hampshire,” PRS Policy Brief 1920-03, was circulated to the committee prior to their testimony.  The team also provided printed copies of their Powerpoint slides to committee members.  Chairman Backus thanked the team members for their hard work and for their excellent presentation.  As H.R.

The Vermont state legistlature recently passed a House concurrent resolution honoring Dartmouth College undergraduate students Nicole Beckman, Hanna Bliska, and Eliza Jane Schaeffer for their research report entitled "Medication Assisted Treatment Programs in State Correctional Facilities in Vermont."

On Thursday, February 22, 2018, Class of 1964 Policy Research Shop students Nicole Beckman ’20, Hanna Bliska ’20, and Eliza Jane Schaeffer ’20 travelled to Montpelier to testify before the Vermont House Committee on Corrections and Institutions.  The students spent the fall and winter terms researching and drafting their report, “Medication Assisted Treatment Programs in Vermont State Correctional Facilities,” (PRS Policy Brief 1718-03) at the request of Committee Chair Alice Emmons and Vice Chair “Butch” Shaw.