The Jacksonville University Public Policy Institute announced Aug. 27 that Rhiley Hodges, Whitney Lewis and Dennis Parrish are the recipients of a 2024 Master in Public Policy Nathaniel Glover Fellowship.
Each will receive a full-tuition scholarship for an MPP degree, internship opportunities within the city of Jacksonville and a stipend.
• Hodges received a bachelor’s in environmental science from the University of Central Florida. Her post-graduation experience includes policy development as a senior aide in Orlando/Orange County and teaching middle school science.
A Jacksonville native and former city Civil Rights Task Force member, Hodges is an advocate for environmental policy and justice, sustainability, education and equity.
• Lewis is a Jacksonville native and 2022 Florida State University graduate in environmental science and Spanish. She works as an environmental scientist at JEA, specializing in environmental incident response.
Active in the Greater Jacksonville Section of the National Council of Negro Women Inc., Lewis has a leadership role in the Young Adult and Collegiate Committee.
She aspires to be a chief sustainability or resiliency officer.
• Parrish, born and raised in Trenton, New Jersey, has served as a first responder for more than 18 years.
Starting at Baptist Hospital in 2005 and later at St. Vincent’s Ambulance as a paramedic and training supervisor, he joined Jacksonville Fire and Rescue Department in 2015 and now is a lieutenant at Station 76.
Parrish has a Bachelor of Applied Science in Public Safety Management from Florida State College at Jacksonville and instructs at their Fire Academy of the South.
“Named after former Jacksonville Sheriff and former Edward Waters University President Nat Glover, the MPP Nathaniel Glover Fellowship Program seeks to educate, train and prepare a new generation of diverse leadership for North Florida and beyond and instill the Institute’s core values of integrity, civility, accountability, courage, and stewardship,” Rick Mullaney, executive director of the Public Policy Institute and Robert T. Shircliff Chair in Public Policy, said in a news release.
The JU Public Policy Institute established the first MPP degree program in Florida in 2013.
Chuck and Cami Wodehouse established the Glover Fellowship Program.
Applications for the 2025 MPP Nathaniel Glover Fellowships are now open. Those interested may visit www.ju.edu/publicpolicy to learn more and apply.