This spring, Jackson School undergraduates stepped into the role of real-world policy analysts through one of the school’s most distinctive programs: the Donald C. Hellmann Task Force Program. Designed as a capstone for international studies majors, the program simulates the high-pressure environment making policy recommendations. Over the course of a quarter, students conduct intensive research, write policy reports, and present their findings to academic and professional experts.
This year’s Task Force projects spanned continents and disciplines. Two teams conducted field research at the University of Washington’s Rome Center, while two others tackled global challenges from Seattle. Additionally, each Task Force was guided by a Jackson School faculty member with deep expertise in the project’s topic — Sunila Kale, Megan McCloskey, Stephen Meyers, and Saadia Pekkanen mentored the student teams, offering critical feedback, real-world context, and academic rigor throughout the process.
Centering human rights in humanitarian crises
For Jackson School third-year Sejal Antal, Task Force became more than an academic exercise — it was a call to action. Her Rome-based project, “Ensuring the Human Rights of Older Women in Humanitarian Emergencies,” examined a critical yet often overlooked issue.
Alice Bruil (left) and Sejal Antal (right) discuss their Task Force results at the UW Rome Center on June 4. Photo by Anna Hull
“We looked at the barriers older refugee women face in accessing humanitarian assistance and found a clear pattern of exclusion shaped by intersecting factors such as age, gender, disability, and displacement,” Antal said. “Our report identified key gaps and proposed policy recommendations to support more inclusive, rights-based responses.”
As co-project manager, Antal also developed leadership skills in a dynamic, high-stakes environment.
“Leading this project not only improved my ability to communicate and delegate, but also helped me foster a collaborative environment where everyone felt valued and motivated to contribute,” she said. “These leadership lessons have left a lasting impact on how I approach group work, both academically and professionally.”
Unequal access in the city of seven hills
While Antal’s group examined how humanitarian systems overlook older women in crisis settings, a second Rome-based team turned their attention to everyday inequities in one of Europe’s most iconic cities. Their project, “‘A City for All?’ Action-based Evaluation of Access and Inclusion in Rome,” took a ground-level look at who gets to fully participate in urban life — and who is left behind.
Aurora Manzur Montelongo gives a Task Force presentation June 4 at the UW Rome Center. Photo by Ella Mayer
“Having this project be in Rome was also a huge factor,” Aurora Manzur Montelongo, a Jackson School third-year, said. “If an ancient city like Rome can provide accessibility to all, then no other cities have an excuse to not. Usually preservation is used as an excuse for inaccessibility and exclusion, but it should be the very reason to provide accessibility. Everyone deserves to be able to experience history, culture, and daily life.”
Fieldwork also gave the team a deeper understanding of accessibility policy versus lived reality.
“Since our research focused on accessibility within Rome, it was helpful to actually be able to go to the sites that we were talking about, rather than just writing based on what others said,” Montelongo said. “We got to form our own opinions and see accessibility laws vs accessibility in practice in action.”
Outer space, nuclear risk, and urgent solutions
Back in Seattle, other Task Force teams tackled equally complex global issues. Wendy Bui’s team investigated the rising threat of nuclear weapons in orbit in their project, “Nuclear Politics in Outer Space.”
Wendy Bui presents her Task Force report June 6 in HUB 214. Photo by Kerry Dahlen
“The problem that we’ve been working on proposing solutions to all quarter is essentially, how are we dealing with [Russian nuclear space weapons] both in terms of looking at what’s at stake for the U.S. and perhaps our ally nations, but also looking at if something happens — if the nuke goes boom — what are we left with,” Bui, a fourth-year Jackson School student, said. “What are we doing from that point onwards? And so a lot of our work is really just looking at these different alternative scenarios and really trying to put together a best outcome so that we don’t have to deal with the worst case scenario.”
With new updates coming in weekly from governments, NGOs, and private actors, the pace was intense. Despite starting with no background in security studies, Bui drew on the Jackson School’s rigorous training in research, analysis, and teamwork.
“The stress was another level, but it’s really interesting in that for people who are looking to work in diplomacy or something governmental, where you are kind of working on a deadline — a really tight deadline — this is actually perfect practice to get yourself in the mindset of, ‘We have to come up with a project product now, like ASAP.’”
Redefining urban redevelopment in Mumbai, India
Another Seattle-based group explored issues of justice and urban planning. Eli Laby’s team worked on “Inside the ‘Slum’: Toward Inclusive Urban Redevelopment in Dharavi, India,” focusing on the sweeping redevelopment plans underway in Dharavi, one of Mumbai’s most densely populated slums, and the potential consequences for its residents. At the heart of their research was a central question: how can the rights of a safe and dignified living environment be upheld in the face of redevelopment?
Eli Laby presents his Task Force finding June 6 in Thomson Hall 317. Photo by Kerry Dahlen
“There are obviously adverse impacts for residents of Dharavi in the event of mismanaged redevelopment, but there are also rippled economic, political, and environmental effects outward to the city of Mumbai, and India as a whole,” Laby, a third-year Jackson School student, said.
For Laby, the project was a powerful lesson in teamwork and adaptability. “I think the Task Force program has not only retrained my skills in collaboration, but also in flexibility and leadership,” he said. “When one of my peers faced a setback, we as a group would step forward to ensure that they are not only supported, but that we are all successful in tandem.”
A lasting impact
Across projects, students echoed a shared experience: Task Force pushed them beyond their academic limits and prepared them for real-world challenges; for Antal, the impact was deeply personal.
“Say yes to everything … you never know what doors it might open or who you might meet,” she said. “I feel incredibly fortunate to have been part of this program.”