Roosevelt Relief: Hurricane Katrina

The University of Michigan Chapter of the Roosevelt Institution, a student think tank, completed a semester project titled Roosevelt Relief: Hurricane Katrina in May 2007.
The project was three tiered: it included research and policy solutions in the fields of economics, education, environment, civil liberties, international relations, and health care, as well as campus outreach and community education, and implementation on the ground in the gulf coast region. The think tank's topic oriented policy centers joined together in an effort to produce a comprehensive book of policy that addresses ongoing issues in the region and provides innovative solutions to a community in need.
The successful product of the project was the Roosevelt Relief: Hurricane Katrina policy publication which included 9 pieces of policy solutions to post-Katrina problems, contributed by over 40 student members of the Roosevelt Institution at the University of Michigan campus. The policy publications were distributed across the campus community, to elected officials in Michigan and the Gulf Coast region, and to advocacy groups and charities assisting those persons suffering from the effects of the storm. Additionally, the University of Michigan Chapter of the Roosevelt Institution Chapter headlined the Gulf Coast Civic Works Project's Summit Week, and raised over $1000 to donate to charities assisting the immediate needs of those in the Gulf Coast region, prior to Michigan Roosevelt's policy's being implemented. Finally, the work and findings of the Roosevelt Relief: Hurricane Katrina project were featured in a week-long summit event at the University of Michigan campus, which featured a keynote speech by Katrina-relief hero, General Russel L. Honoré, were presented at a Gulf Coast Policy Symposium at the Tulane University campus in New Orleans, LA, and were the focus of a presentation made at the Roosevelt Institution's National Policy Expo in Washington, D.C.
The project's importance was documented in various news sources and by numerous institutions. For further information or viewpoints on the project, visit:
*i) Michigoss's article titled, "The New Institution" at www.michigoss.com/archives/jganz/01anewinstitution.html
*ii)The University of Michigan project evaluation at http://www.ns.umich.edu/htdocs/releases/story.php?id=3243
*iii) the article in Solutions to Solving Poverty Weekly at http://solvingpoverty.blogspot.com/2007_04_01_archive.html
*iv) an evaluation at Civil Rights. org at http://www.newreconstruction.org/remote-page.jsp?itemID=30215649
*v) an article at http://www.newreconstruction.org/remote-frame.jsp?base/&id30215649&hostID=28811647
*vi) an article in the Michigan Daily at *http://media.www.michigandaily.com/media/storage/paper851/news/2007/04/11/NationalInternational/Inside.A.City.In.Crisis-2834278.shtml
*v) The Roosevelt Institution's website at
*vi) the PDF version of the publication, posted at
The project was led by University of Michigan Roosevelt Institution co-presidents Hilary Doe and Stephanie Somerman, and was contributed to by policy directors—Shweta Jayaprakash (Civil Liberties), Alena Levine (Education), Shahryar Minhas (Economics), Kenneth Chen (Environment), Andrew Pritchard (Health Care), and Jane Coaston (Foreign Policy)-- and members: Brandon Hemmings, Katlyn Leight, Brent Pencak, John Geise, Juliann Schwartz, Halley Kim, Avishek Bonnerjee, Emily Foley, Katherine Oshman, Lesley Plimpton, Andrew Ratanatharatorn, Katen Kapadia, Jessica Teng, Jonathan Hill, Chris Woodrich, Jason Gould, Nora Feldhusen, Dara Yaskil, Chase Estrin, Jamie O'Malley, Hannah Baek, Chris Reade, Kaitlin Towner, Joshua Ward, Jerrit Z. Tan, Kurston Cook, Erika Gonzalez, Chris Reade, Christine Rhee, Jessica Tang, and Dheeraj Thapliyal.

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