Emory MDP graduate Betsy Root was selected as a 2014 Georgia Women’s Policy Institute (GWPI) Fellow.

This innovative public policy training program, sponsored by the YWCA of Greater Atlanta, brings together women from diverse backgrounds to participate in a 15-month curriculum. They learn how to develop and support legislative proposals that impact the lives of women and girls in Georgia, and then work together on specific issues, defining and advocating for specific proposals during the following state legislative session.

“Direct service work is incredibly powerful, but positive social change also requires policy work to make change at the structural level,” said Root. “In the MDP program, we talked about the importance of structural change in making sustainable improvements in people's lives. The Georgia Women's Policy Institute is giving me tools to work toward structural change by advancing policies that will benefit women and girls in Georgia.”

This year’s group of 14 GWPI fellows are focusing on justice for senior women who are victims of financial abuse and a Safe Harbor bill that protects minors who have been victims of human trafficking.

“In Georgia, I don’t always feel like our state government represents my views, concerns and priorities,” said Root. “I wanted to learn how I can create change within the system. The GWPI has given me tools to express myself through advocacy. The program has demystified the policy advocacy process in Georgia and shown me that I do have a role to play and can make a difference.”

Root is currently a Global Citizenship Fellow with the U.S. Fund for UNICEF in the Southeast Regional Office in Atlanta. In that role, she is responsible for community engagement and mobilization efforts in support of UNICEF’s programming and for implementation of national campaigns at the local level. She works with constituents in Georgia on state-level advocacy, particularly around the issue of human trafficking.

The next class of the Georgia Women’s Policy Institute will begin in February 2015. Application information will be available soon from the Advocacy and Public Policy Department of the Greater Atlanta YWCA.