Wayne Koehler is currently in his fourth year of undergraduate study as a Rutgers College Class of 2008 student at the Edward J. Bloustein School of Planning and Public Policy. In addition to pursuing a major in planning and public policy, he is also completing a minor in geography. Wayne was a founding member of the Edward J. Bloustein Public Service Association (EJBPSA) Undergraduate Student Organization, which was established during the fall of 2006. He currently serves as the President, after serving as the Treasurer during the organization’s first year. Wayne also serves as the Vice President of the Rockoff Hall Apartment Board, the Treasurer of the Roosevelt Institution, and is an active member for the Rutgers University New Student Orientation and Rutgers Undergraduate Geography Society. During the summer of 2006 Wayne interned for Edison Township in the Construction Code Enforcement Office and the Planning and Zoning Department. He currently has an internship with New Brunswick Development Corporation, which he began in January 2007. Wayne’s interests focus on smart growth, transit-oriented development, and urban revitalization. He plans on pursuing a Master in City and Regional Planning and his career goals center on working for a development company.

Sophonie Joseph, Douglass College Class of 2008, is a planning and public policy major and a women’s and gender studies minor. She has interned at the New Jersey Immigration Policy Network in the Haitian Outreach Program and as a legal assistant at the Hamilton Township Department of Law. She has also worked as a writing tutor at the Rutgers Student Support Services Program. Sophonie is a member of Delta Sigma Theta Sorority, Inc. and the RU-Women’s Political Caucus. Currently she interns at Isles, Inc. as a Research and Planning Associate focused on community planning and research concerns for the Greater Trenton area. Sophonie’s future endeavors include obtaining graduate degrees in urban and regional planning and completing research that pushes the boundaries between theory and practice.

Kristamarie Collman is a fourth year undergraduate at Douglass College, where she is a public health major at the Edward J. Bloustein School of Planning and Public Policy and a minor in biology. Krista, the Public Relations Chair for the Edward J. Bloustein Public Service Association (EJBPSA) Undergraduate Student Organization, also serves as the Public Relations Chair for the Minority Association for Pre-Health Students (MAPS), and is involved in Phi Sigma Pi, a national honor fraternity. Over the past summer, Krista participated in the Weill Medical College of Cornell University Summer Travelers Research Fellowship Program, where she was able to further learn about addressing major gaps in research, health care, health policy, and preventative measures. Her interests focus on disparities, health policy, and health administration.

Nina Arutyunyan is a senior who is enrolled in the 5 year BS/MPH program at the Edward J. Bloustein School of Planning and Public Policy and UMDNJ-School of Public Health and. She is also a history double major. Her Henry Rutgers Scholars senior thesis researches the topic of women's reproductive health in the Soviet Union. Women's health is a topic of interest for Nina and something she would like to pursue in her public health career. Currently she does work study at the UMDNJ-Women's Health Institute. Last fall, Nina had an internship with Women Helping Women, a nonprofit organization that provides various services such as counseling to women. In the past, she was a secretary for Rutgers University Math Association at Douglass (RU MAD) who spreads awareness of women in the health and sciences professions and actively participates in the community. Nina is also Treasurer for EJBPSA, where she initially served as Secretary when the organization was established last fall.

Tracy Briscese is currently in her fourth year at the Edward J. Bloustein School of Planning and Public Policy and is pursuing a major in Public Health with a minor in Political Science from Rutgers College. Due to her outstanding academic record, she is also enrolled in the Five-year B.S. /M.P.H. program offered jointly by the Bloustein School and the UMDNJ-School of Public Health, and is concentrating in Health Systems and Policy. For the past three years, Tracy has been employed as a Student Assistant/Receptionist at the UMDNJ Environmental and Occupational Health Sciences Institute Clinical Center, where she works alongside healthcare professionals to provide clinical services for the UMDNJ employee population as well as for specialized groups such as ground-zero workers through the World Trade Center Medical Monitoring Program. This semester, Tracy will be conducting undergraduate research for Dr. Mark Robson, the Director of the New Jersey Agriculture Experiment Station. Outside of her Public Health studies, Tracy is involved in the greater Rutgers community as President of the Rutgers University Queens Chorale, a women’s choir whose performances include official University ceremonies. Upon completion of her M.P.H. coursework, Tracy hopes to pursue a career as a health administrator or policy maker in order to advocate for and improve access to specialized health services for disadvantaged populations in New Jersey.

Jim Kline is currently a fourth-year student at the Edward J. Bloustein School for Planning and Public Policy. He is also majoring in political science, and is an Eagleton Institute of Politics Undergraduate Associate. His academic interests are in the fields of social policy, inequality and poverty, as well as the political formation of policies. This past summer, James completed courses at the Woodrow Wilson School for Public and International Affairs as a Public Policy and International Affairs (PPIA) Fellow, where he studied policy analysis, microeconomics, and statistics, as well completing a workshop on juvenile justice reform. Since his first year at Rutgers, James has interned at New Jersey Governor Corzine’s Office of Policy, and has interned for United States Senators Frank Lautenberg and Bob Menendez. His most recent internship experience was with the New Jersey Commission on Higher Education, where he worked closely with the Governor’s School and the State Employment and Training Commission (SETC). On campus, James is currently the first Chairman of the new student government, the Rutgers University Student Assembly (RUSA), where he represents all Rutgers-New Brunswick students. He has been a member of the Rutgers College Governing Association, served as an Apartment Assistant in Residence Life, and is a Scarlet Ambassador with Undergraduate Admissions. James intends to take a few years off after college, and plans on attending graduate school in public policy in the future. His ultimate goal is to work for social justice in low-income communities and fight for children’s issues.