WGSS Graduate Student Karen Chang Selected for a Fellowship on Women & Public Policy

Women's, Gender, and Sexuality Studies graduate student Karen Chang has been chosen as one of twelve participants for the 2022 Fellowship on Women & Public Policy program. The fellowship provides an intensive program to develop participants for careers in public policy. The award-winning program has been preparing women for public service leadership since the early 1980s through academic and experiential learning, supplemented by professional development workshops, mentoring and networking opportunities. The Fellowship draws highly qualified graduate students and mid-level career candidates who have a deep passion for advancing a vision of a world where people of all background participate equally in shaping the future. Women selected to the program have demonstrated experiences and commitment to public service and to social justice. Read the UAlbany news article. 

Karen Chang
Policy Field Placement: NYS Office for Children & Family Services
Field of Study: Women, Gender & Sexuality Studies

Karen Chang is pursuing a master’s degree in Women, Gender and Sexuality Studies at the University at Albany. She holds a Bachelor of Arts in Sociology from Chengchi University, Taipei, Taiwan. Karen conducted research on a wide range of social issues including healthcare, citizenship, and reproductive justice. She also served as a research assistant for projects on COVID-19 governance and nation building, and the religious and labor practice of Muslim migrant domestic workers in Taiwan. As a member of the Collective Justice Centre in Ottawa, she advocated for housing rights such as prevention of mass eviction and gentrification. Karen co-runs a podcast that tackles different cultural topics from a feminist lens. Her current research aims to elucidate how reproductive technology has changed our society and to promote healthcare access for women and children. She is deeply passionate about employing research as an advocacy tool in the movement to eliminate health disparities and advance a health equity agenda.