MPA Capstone

THE MPA CAPSTONE

The Capstone is the culminating experience for students in the Master in Public Administration (MPA) program. The course integrates students’ experiential and classroom learning into a single project. MPAs work directly with a public sector or community-based partner (‘Client’) on an organizational challenge to complete a complex, semester-long project that is of direct practical use to the client organization. This experience presents students with a real-world client management exercise to further develop and hone their analytical, communication and project management capabilities. By participating in the Capstone course, clients have an opportunity to receive pro bono strategic consulting services on a key issue - all in service to the organization's core mission. Find out more about the MPA Program.

GUEST PANELISTS

We extend our warmest thanks to our special guest panelists for generously giving their time to assess and give feedback on our students' capstone projects.

About the Organization

Center for NuLeadership on Human Justice & Healing (CNHJH) is an independent research, training and advocacy think tank that employs a Human Justice framework to achieve community well-being, empowerment and safety. CNHJH uses "human"—not "criminal"—as a starting point to elevate the full humanity and potential of all people, which is the foundation of a working democracy and thriving society.

Client Representatives

Fatima Ashraf

Co-Founder

Green Squash Consulting

Javier Lopez

Founder and Principal

Real Time Response

MPA Capstone Team

Walter Arzu

Molly Baran

Djenabou Barry

Juliet Bravo

Olinda Marin

Ariel Montrose

Christopher Moreno

Kasiani Nesturi

Lucy Zumwalt Tuchman

Project Summary

The Center For NuLeadership on Human Justice and Healing engaged Human Justice Consulting, LLC, an MPA Capstone group at City College of New York, to examine the correlation between City funding and outcomes related to quality of life. Three predominantly BIPOC neighborhoods and three predominantly White neighborhoods in Brooklyn were chosen as case studies for the purpose of this project. By analyzing indicators related to crime, health, wealth, housing, and education, HJC determined whether City agency funding improved outcomes for low-income neighborhoods. The analyses of this project are the first step towards providing working-class communities of color with hard evidence needed to fight for control of public money, create infrastructure and processes to determine the use of public funds, and elevate peoples’ consciousness and analysis of what public funding is designed to do versus what it actually does.

About the organization

The Bronx Cooperative Development Initiative (BCDI) is a community-led planning and economic development organization based in the Bronx. We are growing a network of community and labor organizations, anchor institutions, and small businesses to build an equitable, sustainable, and democratic local economy that creates shared wealth and ownership for low-income people of color--what we call economic democracy.

Client Representative

Michael Partis

Executive Director

Bronx Cooperative Development Initiative

MPA Capstone Team

Phillip Beard

Debbie Dodoo

Suzanne Jlelaty

Tiffany Keitt

Morgan Peters

Stacy Singh

Cassia de Souza Melo

Amy Sprecher

Celina Vasquez

Project Summary

The Bronx Cooperative Development Initiative (BCDI) is working to shift the power of health and wealth back into the South Bronx. The presence of many highways and factories has specifically caused this borough to have one of the highest rates of asthma morbidity and mortality in the entire nation, which became particularly evident during the Covid-19 pandemic. This project used qualitative and market research, driven by BCDI’s intention to use its Bronx Innovation Factory (BXIF), to explore options for BCDI to design, build, and own a device that improves indoor air quality. The analysis reviewed public sector funding opportunities that might support prototypes for air quality monitoring and filtering devices. Several public and private foundations offer grants promoting economic democracy, environmental justice, youth education, and racial equality that are in alignment with BDCI’s goals. BCDI can use the available capital to finance the design and production of monitoring/filtering devices and the dissemination into the community.