EJB Talks: Rutgers Bloustein School Experts

In this special election episode of EJB Talks , Stuart Shapiro sits down with Bloustein School Associate Teaching Professor Debra Borie-Holtz to explore what a major election shift can—and can’t—tell us about the country’s political mood. A public policy scholar and polling expert, Debbie draws on her experience to discuss how economic pressures, voter concerns, and grassroots organizing may have...

This week on EJB Talks Dean Stuart Shapiro talks with Professor Andrea Hetling , the newly appointed director of the Heldrich Center for Workforce Development. A Bloustein faculty member for almost 20 years, Andrea explains how her research on social policy connects to workforce development and families’ economic security. Drawing on her work on TANF, she highlights the links between employment an...

In our second episode of EJB Talks this season, Dean Stuart Shapiro speaks with alumna and Bloustein Advisory Board member Courtenay Mercer AICP, PP, MCRP '02 about her path from political science into urban planning, and her work across multiple professional environments including the New Jersey Department of Agriculture and the Regional Plan Association. Courtenay now runs her own consulting...

In our first episode kicking off season 15, Dean Stuart Shapiro interviews Professor Nicholas Longo , director of the Rutgers Democracy Lab , about his journey from growing up around local politics in Yonkers to dedicating his career to “citizen politics” and democratic engagement. Longo explains that the Democracy Lab is designed as a “rehearsal space for democracy,” where students learn and prac...

As we wrap up our 14th season of EJB Talks Dean Stuart Shapiro talks to Bob Sommer GSNB ’84, a Bloustein School alumnus, lecturer, and member of the school's Advisory Board. As Bob talks about his journey from an accounting major to a career in public policy, he discusses his transition from working on a congressional campaign to roles in government and lobbying. His early career included a stint...

Janine Barr , a researcher at the Bloustein School's Environmental Analysis and Communication (EAC) Group , joins Dean Stuart Shapiro this week on EJB Talks to discuss the center's work on climate change impacts. A self-proclaimed Jersey girl, Janine traces her path to environmental policy back to an internship with the U.S. Department of State's Bureau of Oceans and International Envi...

In this episode of  EJB Talks ,  ⁠ Peter Tabbot ’91 MPH ‘97, CPM ⁠ , longtime local health officer in Rockaway, NJ and a Bloustein School public health lecturer, shares his path into public health with Dean ⁠Stuart Shapiro⁠ , and what it means to lead at the community level. He explains the wide-ranging role of health officers, from managing essential services to working with governments and resid...

This week on EJB talks, Dean Stuart Shapiro talks to Bloustein alumnus  Katie Brennan  MCRP '12, now an Assemblywoman in New Jersey's 32nd District. Katie reflects on how her early exposure to housing instability, volunteer work, and her undergraduate policy studies shaped her belief that “everything is a housing issue.” She recounts her experiences in Cincinnati's Over-the-Rhine neigh...

EJB Talks returns for Season 14 with Dean Stuart Shapiro speaking with Laura Peck , one of our newest Public Policy Associate Professors and a Principal Faculty Fellow with the Heldrich Center for Workforce Development . Laura discusses her journey from undergraduate activism to policy analysis, a PhD, tenure at Arizona State, and more than a decade at Abt Associates. She shares how that work shap...

As we close out our 13th season of  EJB Talks,  Dean Stuart Shapiro asks Public Policy Program Director, Professor Julia Rubin , about why New Jersey has long been considered one of the most politically corrupt states. She explains how a consistent pattern of high-profile cases have contributed to this perception, citing the influence of the state's longtime political machines and the now-abol...

Dean Stuart Shapiro talks to alumnus  Barkha Patel, MCRP '15  this week on EJB Talks. Initially a sociology undergraduate at Rutgers, Barkha discusses how a chance visit by Dean Shapiro to one of her classes led her to urban planning, as she realized she could tackle social problems through the built environment. She explains how starting as a transportation planner, even though it wasn’t her focu...

This week on EJB Talks, assistant professor Carmelo Ignaccolo shares with Stuart Shapiro how his path into urban design was both inevitable and accidental. A native of Sicily, he explains how its complex political and geographic history contributed to his appreciation of how cities form. At the same time, his educational and professional journey through architecture, engineering, and planning guid...

Dean Stuart Shapiro welcomes William Tuttle , a Senior Fellow in the Bloustein School’s Health Administration program, to EJB Talks this week. With nearly four decades of healthcare administrative experience, Bill explains how his journey began with his decision to transition from medicine to hospital management. He discusses his 38 years at Baptist Memorial Hospital in Memphis, where he advanced...

With just a month until New Jersey’s gubernatorial election, Dean Stuart Shapiro sits down with Kristoffer Shields , Director of Eagleton Institute’s Center on the American Governor , for a special pre-gubernatorial debate episode of EJB Talks . They discuss how the race between Mikie Sherrill (D) and Jack Ciattarelli (R) has so far unfolded cautiously, the slowly-growing appearance of negative ad...

Dean Stuart Shapiro and the EJB Talks podcast have returned for season 13 with associate teaching professor Katie Pincura . Katie’s path into public health began as a counselor in Vancouver, Canada, where she first witnessed how the social determinants of health such as housing, poverty, and access to care shape health outcomes. Her later work in Georgia, helping transition people with intellectua...

In our final episode of EJB Talks for this semester, Dean Stuart Shapiro speaks with Professor Melinda Rushing , a new faculty member in the school's health administration program. They discuss her winding journey from social work to public health and how her passion for research, particularly around sickle cell disease and healthcare access, shaped her academic journey. Melinda's research...

For our penultimate episode of EJB Talks for the spring 2025 semester, Bloustein School Young Alumni honoree and Advisory Board Member Sara Meyers MPP '09 shares her unconventional path into public policy, beginning with a background in music and German before being inspired by political events to pursue change from within government. She talks to Dean Stuart Shapiro about her extensive experi...

This week on EJB Talks dean Stuart Shapiro and Associate Dean of Research Clint Andrews discuss the vital role federal-funded university research plays in complementing education, driving innovation, and solving real-world problems. Clint highlights why government funding is essential, as much research benefits society beyond what private entities can support. He also explains how cuts to indirect...

This week on  EJB Talks , Dean Stuart Shapiro speaks with Bloustein School alumna and Bloustein Advisory Board member, Leah Furey Bruder, MCRP '06 about her journey into urban planning and her experiences working in municipal and redevelopment planning. Leah explains how her background in international studies shifted to local planning after working on community development in Camden, NJ. She disc...

This week on EJB Talks, new Bloustein School Assistant Professor Zoe Lindenfeld talks to Dean Stuart Shapiro  about her research on substance use disorders, particularly the opioid crisis, and its ties to healthcare access and policy. She explains how her interest in the field was sparked by the opioid epidemic’s emergence as a public health crisis. A particular area of interest in her work is clo...

In our first episode of EJB Talks for 2025, Stuart Shapiro  and  Will Irving  discuss his journey from Rutgers MPP student to faculty member and economic forecaster. Will talks about his current role with the  Rutgers Economic Advisory Service  (R/ECON), which uses a complex model of historical relationships among variables like employment and construction to predict economic trends for New Jersey...

As 2024 comes to a close and EJB Talks concludes another season, Stuart Shapiro discusses the new book by University Professor and Bloustein School Dean Emeritus James W. Hughes and Distinguished Professor David Listokin, “Rutgers Then and Now.” If you missed the book release event held on Thursday, December 12, today’s podcast is your chance to hear more about the events that led to the creation...

We return to our regularly scheduled EJB Talks this week with Bob Gordon , a Senior Policy Fellow who joined the Bloustein School earlier this year. Dean Stuart Shapiro asks Bob, a former New Jersey legislator and BPU Commissioner, about his path to public service. Bob talks about his early days as a policy analyst and how he discovered he wanted to be less behind the scenes and move into the poli...

In a special post-election episode of EJB Talks, Dean Stuart Shapiro and Elizabeth Matto , Director of the Eagleton Institute of Politics , offer post-election insights on the impact of Donald Trump's 2024 presidential win. They explore the reasons for the former President's victory, and whether the Harris campaign could have done anything differently.  Dr. Matto emphasizes the continued importanc...

In this episode of  EJB Talks , host Stuart Shapiro speaks with Kati Angarone RU '98, MPAP '04 , currently the Chief Strategy Officer at the New Jersey Department of Environmental Protection (NJDEP). Kati discusses her career journey from studying natural resource management to her pivotal roles at NJDEP, including her work on climate policy, watershed and land management, and local environmental...