My name is Kenny Fennell and I am a second year Master of Public Policy student at the University of Michigan’s Ford School of Public Policy. I received my bachelor of science in civil and environmental engineering across the river from my home town of Cambridge from Northeastern University in Boston, Massachusetts. I have five years of experience working on economic development and infrastructure projects in Afghanistan, Haiti, Poland, and Honduras. This past summer I completed my Ford School internship by facilitating renewable energy projects in Jakarta, Indonesia with the U.S. Government’s Millennium Challenge Corporation.

My policy focus is economic development and post-graduation, seeking to combine my civil engineering experience and policy degree in a project management role focused on community led economic development and inclusive revitalization projects.

Q – Public policy isn’t one of the most obvious career paths. Describe the path that brought you to it.

In my civil engineering career I’ve had the opportunity to work on a variety of projects from capacity building initiatives in Afghanistan to managing a group of volunteers for an Engineers Without Borders water resources project in Honduras. However, through these experiences I found was more interested with economic development strategy rather than engineering specifically. I enrolled at the Ford School to acquire the skills I need to engage the economic development process at a strategic level. Here at Ford I’ve gained the necessary skills to pivot my career not only because of the classes I took through Ford but because of the ability I have to take classes from schools across the Michigan campus. When I graduate, I will have taken classes from the Schools of Information, Business, Urban Planning, and Natural Resources and the Environment.

Q – What’s on your reading list this week? What are you doing for homework?

Lately I’ve been preparing for the continuation of my team’s Dow Sustainability Fellowship project. Since February we’ve been working in Detroit with the non-profit Focus: HOPE to identify barriers residents face when accessing car-sharing and ride-sharing technologies. Now that the fellowship is ending, we’re competing in the School of Public Health’s Innovation in Action and the College of LSA’s optimize incubators to develop our project of using human centered design principles to design shared-use mobility services to improve low resource communities’ access to jobs, food, education, and medical care. It seems every day we’re reaching into the network we’ve established inside and outside of Detroit to explore potential partnerships, funding, and legal structures for our project.

Q – What’s most important in life or what inspires you?

My parents inspire me. Because of them, I never realized how difficult we had it when I was young until I went to college. College was where I realized having teenage parents wasn’t considered normal and that they had worked hard to ensure I could have the opportunities to do what I want in life. It was through them I learned the traditional lessons of hard work and perseverance but also that what’s most important in life is to live in a way that creates positivity in the world.

Q – Favorite quote? 

I have a number of favorite quotes; however, my most applicable one in any event whether you’re making a major life decision such as applying to graduate school or a smaller decision such as whether or not to participate in class is “Never let your fear decide your fate.”

I am a third-year MPP/MBA student originally from the Philadelphia suburbs. I got my undergraduate degree in economics from Tufts University, and then I spent several years working in policy research and evaluation in DC. I focused mainly on education and health policy, both in my work and at the Ford School. I’ve had two internships while at Michigan: in 2015, I interned with an education-focused nonprofit through Education Pioneers. In 2016, I had a private-sector consulting internship with Bain & Company. I plan to return to consulting after I graduate.

Public policy isn’t one of the most obvious career paths. Describe the path that brought you to it.

Public policy actually felt like a natural fit for me. I love problem solving, and working in public policy lets you tackle some of the most interesting and complex problems that our society is facing. I was fortunate enough to work with some awesome MPPs during an undergraduate internship in education policy. The experience really solidified my interest in public policy because I was doing challenging work with a tangible impact for kids.

What’s on your reading list this week? What are you doing for homework? 

I’m reading a few different things right now! I’m taking a class on financial crises and economic policy, so I’m reading Timothy Geithner’s book about his experiences as Treasury Secretary during the 2008 crisis. I’m also in a class on the role of business in society, so I’ve been reading a lot about corporate social responsibility efforts. In my spare time, I’m also reading a fiction novel (Fates and Furies) for a book club that I’m in with some fellow students.

What’s your favorite place, at U-M, or in Ann Arbor or Detroit, to take an out-of-town guest? Describe it.

During the Fall, I always try to bring out-of-town guests to football games. My undergraduate institution was much, much smaller than Michigan, so this is a totally new experience for me! It’s a lot of fun, and a great reminder of the amazing Michigan community that extends every beyond the Ford School. I’ve run into fellow Wolverines everywhere from San Francisco to New York to Puerto Rico, which is pretty incredible.

I grew up just outside of Washington, D.C. and was always passionate about politics and public service. I also always dreamed of going to Michigan and attended here as an undergraduate, where I majored in political science.  After college, I returned to the D.C. area and had the opportunity to work for Congressman Chris Van Hollen, my home state representative from Maryland.  I spent more than 5 years working for him in a number of capacities, including as the Director of Outreach for his House Leadership office, and as a Senior Legislative Assistant where I advised him on a range of issues, including national security, immigration, and judiciary policy. In 2015, I decided to return to the University of Michigan to pursue a dual Master of Public Policy and Master of Business Administration degree to learn more about public management and policy analysis.

As a student at Ford, I am very interested in the intersection of public policy and business and have focused my policy interest on economic development.  After I graduate, I would love to help a city or a region smartly invest in business to help stimulate the economy in a way that helps people across the spectrum.

Q – Favorite Ford School class or professor? Why?

My favorite class was microeconomics and the applications it had for public policy.  Learning how to construct a CBA, how to measure externalities, and how to develop frameworks to solve complex policy problems was incredibly helpful for what I want to do after I leave Ford.

Q – Best thing about the Ford School?

The people!  It is so satisfying to come to class everyday and be surrounded by people who are passionate about public service and helping the community.  In addition, everyone at Ford has an insatiable intellectual curiosity and as a result, I am constantly learning not only from my classes, but from my peers.

Q – What’s your favorite place, at U-M, or in Ann Arbor or Detroit, to take an out-of-town guest? Describe it.

Aside from the Big House (Go Blue!) I love visiting the arboretum.  I try to visit at least once every season to see the change in the scenery.  Plus there are so many trails that I have never taken the same path more than once.

Q – Favorite quote? 

“Efforts and courage are not enough without purpose and direction.” – JFK