CHLPI Welcomes Health Law and Policy Clinic 2018 Summer Interns

The Center for Health Law and Policy Innovation at Harvard Law School is pleased to welcome the following interns working in the health clinic for the summer!

Elaine Hsieh

Elaine Hsieh is a rising 3L at the University of Oklahoma Law School. Hsieh (Ph.D., University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, 2004) is also a full professor of Health Communication at the University of Oklahoma. She has received NIH funding to examine challenges to quality care when providers and patients do not share the same language. As a 2015-2016 Fulbright Scholar, she explored health disparities faced by South East Asian immigrants in Taiwan. She has over 80 research publications, including a single-authored book published by Routledge in 2016, on health disparities and inequalities experienced by immigrants and marginalized populations. As a faculty member, she frequently led undergraduate students to provide health interventions in local communities, including homeless shelters and elderly homes. Recognizing that public policy and health laws are essential to improving individuals’ access, process, and quality of care, she aims to build synergy of her expertise in health communication and legal research/advocacy to address challenges faced by minority and marginalized populations. She hopes to continue and expand her career in providing meaningful solutions in health practices and health policies through evidence-based investigations.

Nur Kara 

Nur Kara is a rising 2L at the University of North Carolina School of Law. She graduated from the University of Chicago in 2014 with a B.A. in Political Science, spending her summers interning in the human rights and global health spaces. Thereafter, she worked as Program Coordinator at the University of Chicago Center for Global Health and went on to conduct a survey-based study on menstrual hygiene management among adolescent schoolgirls in New Delhi, India as a Fulbright Student Researcher. In 2017, Nur graduated with a dual MSc. in Health Policy, Planning & Financing from the London School of Economics and the London School of Hygiene & Tropical Medicine. Now at UNC, Nur serves as the President of the Carolina Health Law Organization and continues her passion for public service via healthcare, family law, and Title IX pro bono projects. Post-graduation, she hopes to pursue a career in international health law through litigation, regulatory, and/or policy-advocacy work.

Matthew Stephen Reynolds

Matt is finishing up his MPH at Tufts this summer before continuing on in the MD program in the fall. Matt will be joining us to work on the Food is Medicine State Plan for his capstone project- a near perfect intersection of Matt’s interests in using public health and nutrition approaches to complement our standard healthcare efforts and improve patient outcomes. Matt was raised in New England, but prior to attending Tufts he received a degree in Medicine, Health and Society at Vanderbilt University in Nashville, Tennessee.

 
Erin Sclar

Erin is a rising 2L at the University of California, Hastings College of the Law. Prior to law school, Erin founded Community Partners Consulting Services, a consulting firm that worked with health care organizations on advocacy projects. Erin focused on issues related to access to health care, Medicaid, and health equity. Erin also worked in Legislative Affairs at America’s Essential Hospitals in Washington, DC, an organization representing more than 300 hospitals that care for low-income patients. Her work included managing The Partnership for Medicaid, a coalition of more than 20 health care providers, plans, and local government officials committed to supporting Medicaid access and quality.

Erin earned a Master’s degree in Social Work from Washington University in St. Louis, where she focused on social and economic development and health care policy. She holds Bachelor’s degrees in Political Science and Peace Studies from the University of Notre Dame.

After law school, Erin hopes to continue working in health policy and advocacy, focusing on improving health care access and health equity.