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…

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 differentl…

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, watershe…

Dean Stuart Shapiro hosts health administration Associate Professor Irina Grafova on EJB Talks this week, discussing her transition from labor economics to health economics and her research focusing on medical debt and provider burnout. She explains how medical conditions can impact family situations, often leading to medical debt due to high out-o…

EJB Talks returns for its 11th season! Today Dean Stuart Shapiro interviews Professor Mi Shih, the director of the school's nationally-ranked urban planning program, about her work on urban development globally, with a focus on Taiwan. Mi discusses her interest in urban planning and the tension between populism and expert decision-making. She expla…

Stuart Shapiro welcomes back Amy Cobb MPAP '18 for a political update in the final EJB Talks episode of the spring 2024 season. They discuss the potential consequences of Trump's guilty verdict for falsifying business records in New York, particularly the consequences for the 2024 election. Agreeing that the verdict could hurt Trump's popularity, S…

This week on EJB Talks Stuart Shapiro talks to public health alumnus Christopher Black, Ph.D. Also a member of the Bloustein School Advisory Board who now works Senior Director, Real-World Evidence & Outcomes Research at Merck & Co., Inc., Chris shares his story of pursuing a public health degree after struggling with organic chemistry. With guidan…

In this episode of EJB Talks, Stuart Shapiro interviews Professor Michael Smart, beginning with how he became involved in transportation planning and its impact on poverty and racial bias. Professor Smart shares his background in transportation, discussing how his work with people reentering society after incarceration and the transportation challe…

Our EJB Talks podcast this week features Joel Cantor⁠, Distinguished Professor of Public Policy and Director of the Rutgers Center for State Health Policy and Kathe Newman, Professor and Director of the Ralph W. Voorhees Center for Civic Engagement. They are part of a new Rutgers initiative, the Housing and Health Equity Cluster, which aims to addr…

This week Stuart Shapiro talks to Assistant Professor Emily Parker about her research interests in community health centers and how they originated from her work assisting with Affordable Care Act implementation in New York state. In this EJB Talks episode, she explains what federally qualified health centers (FQHCs) are and their history in servin…

Dean Stuart Shapiro talks about the path to a career in health administration with Assistant Teaching Professor Jane Kaye on EJB Talks this week. Professor Kaye shares her unconventional path to healthcare which began in art history. After working in various policy roles she went on to obtain an MBA, eventually becoming a hospital CFO. She discusse…

Stuart Shapiro returns for our 10th season of EJB Talks with alumnus Brandon McKoy MCRP '13, who was recently named the president of The Fund for New Jersey. An alumnus of the Bloustein School's urban planning program, Brandon talks about his recent career advancement, including an overview of previous role at the Center on Budget and Policy Priori…

We're closing out the semester--and the season—of EJB Talks with a discussion of the tumultuous political events of 2023. Dean Stuart Shapiro and former podcast producer Amy Cobb MPAP '18 reflect on the challenging year, specifically in the House, where unexpected developments have unfolded. They delve into the chaotic dynamics within the Republica…

This week on EJB Talks Dean Stuart Shapiro talks to three Bloustein School undergraduates who participated in the Rutgers Summer Service Washington DC (RSS DC) internships. The students discuss their reasons for participating in the initiative, including its impact on academic and professional growth. Public health major Gwen Matsukawa gained valua…

As we head into a short break during Thanksgiving week, dean Stuart Shapiro interviews Juan Ayala, a professor in the school’s world-ranked urban planning program. Their discussion begins with the distinctions between architecture and urban design, emphasizing the historical separation of individual building design and broader urban landscape plann…

As we continue to bring awareness to the Bloustein School's new Disability Studies minor, dean Stuart Shapiro talks to Professor Cynthia Simon, who is teaching the inaugural course for the minor this semester. Growing up as a child with a disability, Simon shares how her early studies about the civil rights movement piqued her interest in political…

This week on EJB Talks Dean Stuart Shapiro welcomes Professor Ceu Cirne-Neves, who teaches in the Bloustein School's health administration program. Ceu talks about her journey from journalism to healthcare administration, her extensive career in hospital administration, and the significant changes in the healthcare industry that she has experienced…

Dean Stuart Shapiro interviews assistant professor Bernadette Baird-Zars, whose research interests span land use, governance, construction permitting, and the role of community-based organizations in reshaping planning processes. They discuss her interest in planning and how it works in practice, drawing from her experiences working on urban regene…

With our return to EJBTalks this fall, host and Dean Stuart Shapiro talks to Mark Paul, assistant professor and author of the recently released book, The Ends of Freedom. Mark discusses his journey into economics and environmental policy, sharing how his first working experiences in a restaurant witnessing inequality and food sustainability issues …

On our season 8 finale, Stuart welcomes Amy Cobb back to ask questions about the indictment of President Trump They also discuss what other charges may be coming next and talk about the Republican Party response. Then Amy asks Stuart for his early take on the 2024 election.

On this episode of EJBTalks, Stuart welcomes one of Bloustein's new Public Health Professors, Yen-Tyng Chen. The two talk about how the personal impacts of the 2003 SARS outbreak inspired Professor Chen's interest in Public Health. Professor Chen then shares how her experiences during her PhD studies at Emory inspired her personal and intellectual …

On this episode of EJBTalks, Stuart Shapiro⁠ welcomes one of our new professors in the public policy program, ⁠Ruth Winecoff⁠. Professor Winecoff talks about the inspiration behind her research on municipal bonds, and the important role they play in our country. This is particularly true for our towns and municipalities. She discusses Dodd-Frank le…

This week on EJBTalks, Stuart Shapiro welcomes a new professor from the school's undergraduate public health program, Derek DeLia. Professor DeLia explains how he became interested in the field of health economics and talks about his 25-year career in health policy and health services research. He also shares details about his recent research regar…

On this episode of EJBTalks, Stuart Shapiro welcomes one of our new professors in our nationally-ranked Urban Planning Program, Andrea Restrepo-Mieth. Her time in Colombia as a child to her graduate studies and her time in Southeast Asia led to her path working on water issues in the global South. She also describes her current focus on the impacts…

On this week's episode of EJBTalks Stuart welcomes Professor Shar Williams. The two talk about her undergraduate roots at Rutgers' Douglass College and the inspiration that led her on her path to an academic career in public health and biostatistics. Shar shares with Stuart the research she has done in areas of depression, anxiety, suicide and PTSD…

This week on EJBTalks, Stuart Shapiro welcomes Professor Jim Samuel, Executive Director of the school's Master of Public Informatics program Talking about his professional path from architecture to the business and finance sector, Professor Samuel explains how the global financial crisis inspired him to take a deeper look at the Big Data phenomenon…

It's our eighth season opener of EJBTalks! This season we are focusing on our amazing new faculty. For our first episode, Stuart welcomes the new Director of our Health Administration program, Professor Ellen Kurtzman. Ellen talks about her compelling career path, from nurse to health policy educator to health administrator. She speaks to Stuart ab…

For our last #EJBTalks episode of 2022 Stuart Shapiro talks with urban planning alum Gretchen Minneman Kostura MCRP '07. They discuss her journey from a student focused on community development to her professional work in transportation. After starting her career in the Port Authority Leadership Fellows program, she moved to her current position wo…

This week on EJBTalks Stuart Shapiro welcomes Bloustein alum and current Bloustein School Advisory Board member Moses Salami EJB (Public Health) '11. As the Director of Business Development and Marketing at St. Michael's Medical Center in Newark, NJ, Moses describes his path into the health administration and marketing fields. He details how a clas…

On this episode of EJBTalks, Stuart Shapiro welcomes alum Simon Liepold MPAP '05, who came to the Bloustein Public Policy program as part of an exchange program with Konstanz University in Germany. Simon talks about his current role as Senior Director of UN & International Relations for Microsoft. He describes his efforts on global topics like sust…

On this episode of EJBTalks it's time to talk politics! Stuart Shapiro welcomes Amy Cobb back to recap the 2022 Midterms. The two talk about who won, who lost, competitive key races and what the future may hold. Tune in to find out more!!

On this episode of EJBTalks Stuart welcomes Bloustein PhD alum and Drexel University Professor, Andrew Zitcer. Professor Zitcer describes his personal and intellectual journey as a PhD student at Bloustein. He then discusses his dissertation concentration on cooperative ventures and gives details about what types of co-ops exist from food to health…

It's our 75th episode of EJBTalks! For this very special episode, Stuart welcomes our former Associate Dean Dorothea Berkhout. The two talk about our school's namesake, President Edward J Bloustein and why the school bears his name. Dorothea reflects on President Bloustein's innovative leadership, commitment to public service, his reorganization of…

This week we welcome back alumnus and 2022 Alumni of the Year honoree Brandon McKoy MCRP '13. Stuart and Brandon discuss Brandon's exciting career move to, and the current work he is doing at, the Center on Budget and Policy Priorities. They then move to talk about national political issues, from the Inflation Reduction Act to the Child Tax Credit …

It's Bloustein's 30th anniversary, so this season of EJBTalks Stuart will be welcoming our amazing alums! Our first alumna of the season is Stefania Davia, who received her bachelor's in public health from the Bloustein School. Stuart talks with Stefania about the exciting career path she took around the world from her time as a student in Nicaragu…

Welcome back, listeners! For our season seven opener, it's a post-summer political check-in. Amy Cobb talks with Stuart Shapiro about four factors that have changed the prospects for the midterms for the better since May. They discuss Biden's big wins, like the Inflation Reduction Act, student loan forgiveness, and the wise choices made regarding t…

As we wrap up the sixth season of EJBTalks, the midterm primaries are underway and Amy Cobb is back to talk with Stuart Shaprio about the hot topics in national politics. She asks for his take on inflation and the economy, who's to blame (if anyone), and what we face next. The two talk about the history and the possible fate of Roe V Wade, the turn…

On this episode of EJBTalks Stuart welcome Billy Terry, Executive Director of Bloustein's National Transit Institute (NTI), the federally funded training arm for the transit industry's extensive back-office operations. Billy talks about how he started in the transit world, and his path to his role at Rutgers. The two discuss NTI's mission to educat…

On this episode of EJBTalks, Stuart welcomes Marc Pfeiffer, the Executive Director of the Bloustein Local Government Research Center, which serves as an invaluable resource for New Jersey's elected and appointed officials. The two talk about current critical work such as the impact of the digital economy on tax policy for local governments. They ex…

On this episode of EJBTalks, Stuart welcomes Jennifer Senick, Executive Director of Rutgers Center for Green Building. Jennifer discusses many aspects of "green buildings" from the design of the physical space to all of the components of its total operation. The two delve into topics from the New Jersey Zero Energy roadmap and the center's integral…

On this week's episode, Stuart welcomes Elizabeth Cooner, Executive Director of the New Jersey State Policy Lab. Elizabeth talks about the Lab's mission of conducting rigorous evidence-based research that helps inform NJ policy makers on solutions to important policy questions that are effective, innovative, and always have a focus on equity. She a…

SPECIAL EDITION EPISODE 2: The world continues to watch as the Russian invasion of Ukraine disturbingly continues. In this timely, special edition of EJBTalks, Stuart Shapiro talks with Bloustein doctoral candidate Sergei Kostiaev. A native of Russia, Sergei discusses his previous academic research and study comparing political cultures of Soviet a…

SPECIAL EDITION EPISODE 1: The war in Ukraine has stunned western observers. In this timely, special edition of EJB Talks, Stuart Shapiro speaks with two members of the Bloustein community who are personally touched by the war -- undergraduate public health major Solomiya Mykolyk, and public policy professor Andrea Hetling--both of whom have family…

This week on EJB Talks Jeanne Herb, Director of the Bloustein School's Environmental Analysis and Communications Group (EAC), returns to talk to Stuart Shapiro. Jeanne gives the history of EAC and an overview of its vision of community-based environmental planning, its connection to health and equity, and their growing focus on the intersection of …

Jon Carnegie, Executive Director of the Alan M. Voorhees Transportation Center (VTC) at the Bloustein School, joins Stuart Shapiro on EJB Talks this week. VTC is a leader in transportation planning and policy research and education at the national, regional, and state levels. Jon talks about VTC's core strengths related to transportation in the bui…

We are opening our sixth season of EJBTalks with Stuart Shapiro, Interim Dean of the Bloustein School welcoming Kathy Krepcio, Executive Director of the Heldrich Center for Workforce Development. Kathy speaks about the incredible workforce research and scholarship conducted by the center. She describes Heldrich's extensive work on unemployment and …

To close out this season's podcasts, Amy Cobb returns to pose questions to Stuart Shapiro about the year in politics. They discuss President Biden's achievements, including the Build Back Better framework, the administration's more competent COVID response, and the relatively mundane nature of the administration. The pair also delve into the curren…

On this episode of EJBTalks, Stuart Shapiro welcomes back two of our most popular guests. Linda Stamato and Sandy Jaffe founded and ran the Bloustein School's Center for Negotiation and Conflict Resolution while teaching at the school since its founding in 1992. Linda and Sandy reflect on their far-reaching careers and how the fields of planning an…

On this episode of EJBTalks, Stuart Shapiro welcomes South Bronx raised, and fellow Yankees fan, Distinguished Professor Mike Greenberg. They discuss his illustrious career from professor and researcher to the Dean's office at Bloustein. Mike talks about the foundations of the school, how its multidisciplinary, interconnected programs in health, ur…

On this episode of EJBTalks Stuart welcomes Professor Emeritus Bob Lake, who helped shape our world ranked Urban Planning Program and led our doctoral program. Stuart asks Bob to share his vision of Urban Planning. Bob talks to Stuart about his book on John Dewey, and how Dewey's perspective of the Planning City, the continuous process of figuring …