Each year since 1982, a handful of outstanding University of Delaware students are selected from a competitive pool of applicants to serve as Legislative Fellows with the state legislature. This year marks the 43rd anniversary of this partnership with the Delaware General Assembly and the largest cohort of students selected for this prestigious program.

All 16 Fellows are current UD students, and 13 of those students are currently pursuing coursework in the Joseph R. Biden, Jr. School of Public Policy & Administration. The Legislative Fellows Program is a paid fellowship that offers selected students the opportunity to witness the political decision-making process first-hand while contributing their research and writing skills to support legislators in addressing public policy issues during the six-month legislative session. As seen below, the Legislative Fellows serve with caucuses in the Senate and House of Representatives and the Division of Research:

Senate Majority Caucus

• Justin Abreu, a senior public policy and political science double major

• Grace Donohue, a graduate student in the 4+1 Master of Public Administration program with an honors bachelor of arts degree in public policy, political science, and English 

• Mary Ladely, a senior history and political science double major

Senate Minority Caucus

• Destiny Carmona, a senior public policy and political science major in the 4+1 Master of Public Administration program 

House Majority Caucus

• Kate Bowman, a graduate student studying public policy

• Emma Crowell, a senior honors political science and public policy double major

• Justin Duca, a graduate student in the 4+1 Master of Energy and Environmental Policy program with an honors bachelor of arts in political science and a bachelor of science in energy and environmental policy

• Tyron Herring, a graduate student studying public administration with a bachelor of arts in government

• Wyatt Patterson, a graduate student in the 4+1 Master of Public Administration program with an honors bachelor of arts in public policy and women and gender studies 

• Hannah Rigoglioso, a graduate student in the 4+1 Master of Public Administration program with a bachelor of arts in honors public policy

• Anna Squiers, a graduate student in the 4+1 Master of Public Policy program with a bachelor of arts in political science and public policy 

• Meliha Tokay, a senior international relations major

House Minority Caucus

• Rachel Gaebel, a senior honors history major and public policy minor

• Angela Hoyle, a graduate student in the 4+1 Master of Public Administration program with a bachelor of arts in public policy, English, and women and gender studies

Division of Research

• Gabrielle Lane, a senior honors political science major

• Shubreet Kaur, a graduate student studying public administration with a bachelor of arts in psychology and a bachelor of science in statistics 

About the Legislative Fellows Program 

Begun as a partnership between the University of Delaware’s Institute for Public Administration (IPA) and the Delaware General Assembly in 1982, the Legislative Fellows Program celebrates 43 years of service to the state legislature. Now sponsored in cooperation with Delaware State University, the program expanded in 2014 to include placements within the Division of Research in Legislative Council. The program is expanding again in 2024 to include one additional placement in each of the Senate and House Majority Caucuses. The program is managed by IPA’s Lisa Moreland Allred, a 1998 graduate of the Master of Public Administration and Legislative Fellows Programs.