Every year, we choose fellows for the Floyd Jones fellowship, honoring a man who grew up in dire poverty as a sharecropper in Arkansas, yet moved to Washington and became an extremely astute and successful financial investor.

Floyd did not sit on his wealth. He put it to work for the benefit of others, in both big and small ways. As one example, in 2014 Floyd gave $10 million for an endowment for the ACLU, particularly to fund work to end mass incarceration and create pathways for actual rehabilitation. In 2016, Floyd contributed $10 million for the construction of the Stanwood YMCA. In planning his legacy, Floyd designated multi-million gifts to 20 non-profit organizations in the region, including EOI.

Floyd’s son, Steve, funded this fellowship in memory of his father.

The Floyd Jones Fellowship is a graduate-level policy position within the Economic Opportunity Institute, with a focus on one of our policy areas – health care, progressive taxes, funding public services, improved work lives, etc.

This year, we welcome Sara Bekele and Hannah Rapp.

Sara Bekele recently graduated from the University of Washington, with a BA in Economics and Political Science.

During her undergraduate career, Sara’s academic focus was in international political economy, international development, and ethnic politics.

Outside of her academics, Sara was as a board member at both the University of Washington Black Student Union and Economics Undergraduate Board, serving as a voice for those who are traditionally underrepresented and marginalized.

In her time as a Floyd Jones Fellow at the EOI, Sara will be working on higher education access by assessing the impact of College Promise Programs throughout the US.

Hannah Rapp is a master of public health student at University of Washington. She holds a bachelor’s degree in Medical Anthropology from Scripps College.

Prior to joining EOI, Hannah worked at a large non-profit health system where she integrated mental health care services into primary care.

As a Floyd Jones Fellow, Hannah will be researching how Cascade Care, Washington’s first public option health plan, will impact health care access for Washington consumers.