Public Policy

Ruthanne Haut. Originally from Houston, Texas, Ruthanne is a first year Masters student in public policy. Her academic interests include environmental economics and policy, green building technology and environmental psychology. In the fall of 2003, Ruthanne completed an internship with the U.S. Senate Committee on Environment and Public Works under Senator James Jeffords (I-VT). She has worked for the past two summers (2005/06) at the non-profit organization Houston Advanced Research Center working to develop the Houston local green building material database and performing an environmental economic analysis for the San Antonio Bay and Lower Rio Grande Valley within the Valuing Nature in Texas Program’s Freshwater Inflows Initiative. She received a Bachelor in Psychology with a minor in Economics from Lenoir-Rhyne College (Hickory, North Carolina).

Altaf Rahamatulla is a first-year student in the Master of Public Policy program at the Bloustein School.  He graduated with a degree in Political Science and Spanish from Amherst College in Massachusetts, where he was involved in the student community, including his position as the President of the Tae Kwon Do Club.  He is actively engaged in community service endeavors and has worked in several local Democratic campaigns.  His academic interests include community and social policy and cultural studies.  He is currently a member of Black Students of Public Policy (BSOPP).

Urban Planning

Ira Christopher Lynch is a first year Master’s student in urban planning and policy development. He is interested in the issues faced by disinvested communities.  He is currently doing research at the Institute for Regional and Community Transformation (formerly known as the New Jersey Public Policy Research Institute) and is examining the government’s role and response to New Orleans before and after Hurricane Katrina.  Ira worked at an investment management firm for two years before he began his studies at the Bloustein School.  He received his B.A. in sociology from the University of Virginia.

Raja Murthy is currently a second-year graduate student; he entered the program through the 3-1-1 dual-degree BA/Masters in City and Regional Planning Program following his junior year of undergraduate study at Rutgers College. Raja has previous work experience as a Transportation/Land Development Review intern at the Middlesex County Planning Board, Building Supervisor at the Bloustein School, Rutgers Career and Interview Center intern, Rutgers Student Development and College Affairs intern, Product Development Intern at Macy’s Merchandising Group, and as a Research Assistant at the Civic League of Greater New Brunswick. He currently works at the National Transit Institute where he helps prepare course materials to educate the public transit industry while serving as a Graduate Advisor to the Edward J. Bloustein Public Service Association (EJBPSA), an undergraduate student organization comprised of mostly Planning and Public Health students interested in contributing to the Rutgers and Greater New Brunswick community. Raja is a member of  Cap and Skull class of 2007. Raja’s planning interests are in public transportation systems, transit-oriented developments, property rights, and real estate markets research.

Emily Schelling is a first year MCRP student.  Her academic concentration is housing and real estate.  Before coming to the Bloustein School, she did social work at a not-for-profit in Portland, Oregon where her job was to help low-income seniors into affordable housing.  Before that, she worked at an affordable housing finance company also in Portland.  Emily is an active advocate for social equity issues, and she plans to use her Rutgers degree to help solve problems affecting low-income people.  She has a B.A. in philosophy from the University of Vermont.

Doctoral

Alan Cander is a Ph.D. student in urban planning and policy development. His academic and research interests include growth management, smart growth, and land use with a special interest in intergovernmental efforts to manage growth, share public services, and mitigate the impacts of sprawl. Before coming to the Bloustein School, Alan worked with local governments in the Midwest and Northeast United States on comprehensive planning and development issues for over 15 years in both the public and private sectors. He received a Master of City Planning from the University of Pennsylvania, a J.D. from Boston College Law School, and a B.A. in urban studies from Lehigh University.

Miguelina Rodriguez is a full-time Doctoral student in Urban Planning and Policy Development.  Miguelina's concentration within the doctoral program is community development.  She is particularly interested in Gentrification and the effects the phenomena has on disadvantaged tenants of inner-city New York.  Her research tends to focus on issues of power, race, gender, class and mobility.  Miguelina received a Masters in Public Administration and a Bachelors of Arts in Economics from Binghamton, the State University of New York.  As a student at SUNY Binghamton, Miguelina was very active on campus, joining several academic, social and cultural organizations, including: the Ronald E. McNair Postbaccalaureate Acheivement Program designed to increase the numbers of low-income, first generation and/or underrepresented students of color attending graduate school and receiving their doctorate;  the Caribbean Student Association and the Black Dance Repertoire.