Connecticut governor's fellowship program

APPLICATION DEADLINE EXTENDED! This fellowship opportunity will support Connecticut's Department of Social Services to monitor, analyze, and execute time-sensitive, high-priority policy and process updates for the Medicaid and SNAP programs. Apply now! The application deadline is Sunday, November 9, 2025 at 11:59pm EST. 

For more information on this opportunity and for application instructions, review the Recruitment Flyer and the Fall 2025 DSS Fellow Request for Qualifications.

Picture of governor's fellows with Governor Lamont in his office

What is the governor's fellowship program?

The governor’s fellowship program is an opportunity for early career professionals to gain skills and experience in state government. The program is a  partnership with the Connecticut Office of the Governor, Connecticut Department of Administrative Services, Yale University Tobin Center for Economic Policy, and Social Impact Partners.

Each fellow is placed at an executive branch agency within Connecticut state government and will work on policy and strategic initiatives. Fellows have the opportunity to participate in professional development opportunities, including a weekly speaker series, fellows' day at the State Capitol, and opportunities to present to leadership within state government.   

Program background

The governor’s fellowship program started in 2020 to support Connecticut with its response to the Covid-19 pandemic. The program has since developed into a program to support the governor’s office and executive branch agencies with strategic projects and initiatives. Here are examples of a few projects that previous fellows have accomplished: 

  • Drafted and led the passage of legislation including Public Act 22-49, An Act Reducing Lead Poisoning, which brings Connecticut in-line with CDC guidance on allowable lead levels in CT’s children and makes a $30 million investment in removing lead from homes in CT’s most vulnerable communities.  

  • Developed plans for the strategic allocation of over $3.9 billion in Federal COVID recovery dollars from the American Rescue Plan Act with a focus on: defeating COVID-19, investing in CT’s future, creating a more affordable Connecticut, inclusive economic growth, and modernizing state government. 

  • Led the design and stand-up of an Evaluation and Evidence-Building unit to facilitate the development of program evaluation plans and coordinate access to state data resources while focusing on providing ‘hands-on’ assistance to agencies as well as collecting and synthesizing evidence relating to program effectiveness. 

  • Founded and chaired the Governor’s Afghan Evacuee Taskforce, an interagency-public-private-nonprofit working group focused on bringing a coordinated approach to providing a safe haven and hope for all who are resettled in Connecticut.  

  • Developed and managed Connecticut Communities Challenge, a competitive grant program to spur investment in CT's main streets and vibrant neighborhoods through high- quality, transit-oriented development.

  • Designed, developed, and launched the Connecticut Campus Mental Health Program, which allocated $2.7 million in federal funding to support Connecticut’s colleges and universities implement mental health programs and supports for students.

For questions about the program, please contact Melissa.Conway@ct.gov

How to apply 

We will accept applications again in late 2025.

How it works 

Fellows are contracted with the state for yearlong fellowships and are assigned to specific state agencies based on fellow skills and related experience. The state recruits for fellows approximately two times per year, usually in the spring and fall.  

2024/25 governor's fellow biographies

Alex Amari
Alex Amari
Department of Administrative Services

Alex is a Governor's Fellow in the Department of Administrative Service, embedded in the Bureau of Information Technology Solutions, focusing on identifying and implementing AI use cases across state government. Prior to joining the fellowship, he worked as a data scientist and machine learning researcher at IBM, Deloitte, and the New Jersey Department of Education. Alex is passionate about making the latest AI technology accessible and practical for public service. He holds a BA from Rice University, an MSc from Oxford University, and an MBA from Yale University.

Bobby Daly
Bobby Daly
Office of Workforce Strategy

Bobby is a Governor’s Fellow with the Office of Workforce Strategy, where he supports initiatives to strengthen Connecticut’s talent pipeline and expand equitable access to high-quality careers.

Before joining the Governor’s Fellowship, Bobby served as a Peace Corps Volunteer in Uganda and as a Teach For America educator in New Orleans—experiences that deepened his commitment to education and workforce equity. He later worked as a data analyst, applying data-driven insights to enhance power reliability across electrical grids in multiple states.

Bobby is passionate about helping individuals connect their talents to meaningful work and about using evidence-based approaches to drive opportunity and inclusion across Connecticut’s workforce system. In his free time, he enjoys running, reading, and writing.

Emily Davis
Emily Davis
Office of Health Strategy

Emily is a Governor’s Fellow in the Office of Health Strategy. Prior to joining the fellowship, Emily practiced as a physician assistant for ten years, in primary care and then endocrinology.

Emily holds a Masters of Public Health from the University of Massachusetts. She has a passion for treating chronic conditions with lifestyle changes and focusing on the social determinants of health to provide optimal care. Emily enjoys running, cooking and spending time with her family.

A person poses for a portrait in front of a plant
Lily Engbith
Office of the Governor

Lily Engbith is a Governor's Fellow in the Office of the Governor. Prior to joining the state, she spent three years researching, writing, and publishing case studies on government interventions implemented in response to financial crises. From 2018-2020, Lily taught literary analysis and composition to undergraduate English majors at the Chinese University of Hong Kong. A lifelong New Haven resident, Lily earned her MBA from the Yale School of Management and her BA in political science from Yale College. She enjoys hiking, journaling, and horseback riding.

Eniola Fasola
Eniola Fasola
Department of Economic and Community  
Eniola was a lecturer at Eastern Connecticut State University and a Fellow at the World Bank Group and supported the Social Protection and Jobs Global Practice in implementing activities and conducting impact evaluations for a program in Liberia designed to increase income-earning opportunities for vulnerable populations and expand livelihood support to poor and food-insecure households.

Eniola holds a Doctorate in Agricultural and Resource Economics and a Master’s in Economics from the University of Connecticut, along with a First Class Honors Bachelor's degree in Economics from the University of Ibadan, Nigeria. 
 
Ben Hensley
Ben Hensley
Office of Workforce Strategy

Ben Hensley is a Governor’s Fellow in the Office of Workforce Strategy, advancing work-based learning and promoting industry/education alignment. Prior to joining the state, he led strategic planning and development at Capital Workforce Partners, a regional workforce development board, with a focus on employment initiatives serving disconnected young people, returning citizens, and low-income households.

Ben holds a master’s degree in public administration from UConn’s School of Public Policy and a bachelor’s degree in history and English from Wofford College.

Chinenye Ifebirinachi
Chinenye Ifebirinachi
Office of Policy and Management

Chinenye is a Governor’s Fellow with the Office of Policy and Management’s Data and Policy Analytics Division (OPM-DAPA), where she is leading the development of a contractor database to support the creation of new spending allocation goals and improve access to contracting data across Connecticut agencies. She also contributes to projects focused on state workforce data and reporting analytics.

Before joining OPM, Chinenye worked with the World Bank’s Development Research Group as a WBG Africa Fellow and currently serves as a Consultant with the Bank’s Global Transport Team, supporting the development of data tools for the transport sector. Her previous experience includes data science roles at Microsoft and Apple, as well as digital product analytics at Guaranty Trust Bank in Nigeria. She holds a Ph.D. in Data Science and Analytics from North Carolina A&T State University and a Bachelor’s degree in Mathematics (Distinction) from the University of Benin, Nigeria.

Ben Kasdan
Ben Kasdan
Department of Social Services

Ben comes to the Department after working at the United States Agency for International Development (USAID) as a public health advisor on development programming in Eastern Europe, Sub-Saharan Africa, and Southeast Asia. Ben received a BA from George Washington University in International Relations and his MPH in Global Health with a concentration in Maternal and Child Health from the Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health.

Ben brings experience in collecting and analyzing health data across Sub-Saharan Africa and using the findings to drive programming, most notably for HIV and COVID-19 activities. He is excited to use these skills to support equity and improve social services for those most in need across the state

Sudiksha Mallick
Sudiksha Mallick 
Office of the Governor

Sudiksha served as a Racial Justice Data Analyst Intern at the State of Connecticut Department of Children and Families, where she worked on analyzing disparity and disproportionality pathway data. She has also spent time working with different educational non-profits, as well as the Rhode Island Department of Education. 

She recently graduated from the UConn School of Public Policy MPP program and has a BA in political science and human rights. 

Shawn M. O'Brien
Shawn M. O'Brien
Office of Early Childhood
Shawn is a strategic health advisor and biostatistics specialist with over 25 years of cross-sector experience in public health, data analytics, and innovation. He currently serves as a Fellow in the Connecticut Governor’s Fellowship Program, placed at the Office of Early Childhood, where he works with early education workforce projections and data research to inform state policy and investment.

Shawn is also the founder of CivicLens Consulting, LLC, an advisory practice advancing data-driven solutions at the intersection of health and education. He serves on the Science Advisory Board of the American Public Health Association and the Accreditation Board for Southern Connecticut State University’s Exercise Science Program.
Olufemi Olamijulo
Olufemi "Femi" Olamijulo
Department of Transportation

Femi is a Governor’s Fellow at the Connecticut Department of Transportation, where he is leading the creation of a centralized knowledge management program to strengthen institutional knowledge sharing and improve internal communication across the Department.

He holds master’s degrees in public policy and urban planning from Harvard University and has worked across the robotics, policy, and housing sectors. His experience includes roles with the United Nations Headquarters, the Lincoln Institute of Land Policy, and Harvard University, where he contributed to climate policy initiatives, operations management, and geospatial analysis for urban planning.

Katarina Rodriguez
Katarina Rodriguez  
Department of Aging and Disability Services
Katarina's  previous roles include working for non-profit organizations, universities, and the State. Most recently, she served as the Program Manager of Performance & Quality Improvement at Child & Family Agency of SECT, Inc., where she deployed and maintained surveys; updated policies related to the security of protected health information; revitalized documentation to reflect the diverse client community and employee workforce; and oversaw the quality assurance department.

The highlight of her career was helping develop the Department of Children & Family's ChildStat. This data management process system measures success and disparities in care, during her final year at UConn's School of Public Policy. 
Tim Sowa
Tim Sowa
Department of Administrative Services
Tim is a Governor's Fellow at the Department of Administrative Services' Bureau of Information Technology Solutions, providing strategic leadership on policy development and responsible use cases of Artificial Intelligence-based systems across government operations.

His previous experience includes serving as a team leader at the Center for AI and Digital Policy (CAIDP), designing AI systems for enhancing public service delivery for the Finnish government, and leading the digital transformation of NYC school operations during COVID. As a Fulbright recipient, he conducted research in the Nordic region on design maturity, knowledge management, and sustainable technology development.

Tim holds a master's degree in Digital Sustainability and Ethical Business from Tampere University (Finland) and a bachelor's degree in Economics from Bowdoin College. He is passionate about the outdoors, swimming, and lifelong learning. For over ten years, he has continued teaching swimming lessons to all ages.
Sanno Srivastava
Sanno Srivastava
Department of Children and Families

Sanno Srivastava is a dedicated public policy professional with over 14 years of experience advancing equitable education and early childhood development across South Asia and the Asia-Pacific region. Recently graduated with a Master's in Public Administration at the Harvard Kennedy School as an Edward S. Mason Fellow, Sanno brings a deep commitment to social justice, systems change, and international development.

Before Harvard, Sanno served as a Senior Consultant with UNICEF India, where she led the design and implementation of early childhood care and education (ECCE) frameworks reaching over 620,000 children across a state in India. She has worked at the intersection of government, civil society, and international organizations, building partnerships and shaping policies in India, Bhutan, the Philippines, and Malaysia.

Josephine Wang
Josephine Wang
Department of Social Services

Josephine previously worked at NYU Langone Health, supporting efforts to evaluate dietary interventions for patients with type 2 diabetes and helping design a community program to improve access to affordable and nutritious food. Her work centers on promoting whole-person health and addressing the interconnected needs that allow individuals and families to thrive.

She recently earned her MPH from the Yale School of Public Health and holds a BSc in Nutrition from McGill University.

Outside of work, Josephine enjoys running, gardening, and both eating and dancing salsa.