The Hart Fellowship funds recent graduates to engage in 10-months of research and action with organizations addressing complex social, political, and humanitarian issues.
Four seniors have been awarded the Hart Fellowship for 2026-2027, a prestigious postgraduate fellowship for recent Duke graduates that supports leadership learning through research and service.
After graduation, these four Hart Fellows will travel across the globe to engage in 10-months of community-based research, forming deep connections in a community outside their own and partnering with a local host organization to conduct meaningful research on social, political, and humanitarian issues facing our world today. Beginning this year, one Hart Fellow each year will concurrently be awarded the J. Kirk Felsman Fellowship to support documentary work with children in adversity.
The Hart Leadership Program exists to prepare students to practice the art of ethical leadership in public life. By providing students and recent graduates with opportunities to conduct research and action in partnership with community organizations, the Hart Fellowship develops skills of mindful reflection, purposeful collaboration, and applied learning.
“These Hart Fellows are a group passionate, thoughtful students committed to digging deep into complex topics and providing meaningful service to their community partners,” said Andrew Nurkin, Hart Associate Professor of the Practice and Director of the Hart Leadership Program. “We look forward to supporting their research and their learning about leadership and ethical engagement over the next year.”
Since its inception in 1995, 125 Hart Fellows have served community partner organizations in over forty countries across six continents.
The 2026-2027 Hart Fellows
Anastasia Crowley (she/her)
Anastasia Crowley (T’26) is from Durham, North Carolina and will graduate from Duke with a major in Public Policy, a minor in African and African American Studies, and a certificate in Markets and Management. With an interest in global development, Anastasia has volunteered for Oxfam and the Women’s Microfinance Initiative in Uganda in addition to conducting research for the UN Food and Agriculture Organization and Center for Global Development. On campus, she works as a Public Policy research assistant and teaching assistant, and is involved with Duke’s nonprofit consulting group, the undergraduate law review, and a student dance group. During her fellowship year, Anastasia will return to East Africa to investigate how corporate land grabs tied to natural resources and farmland affect rural populations. In studying the implications of export-oriented national development models for local communities, she hopes to elucidate barriers to remedy-seeking amongst these communities as well.
Ana Ramirez (she/her)
Ana Ramirez (T’26) is from Bogotá, Colombia and Houston, Texas. She is graduating from Duke with a degree in Political Science and a minor in Cultural Anthropology. Ana has served as the President of Duke PorColombia and participated in both DukeEngage Boston and the Transformative Systems Project. Currently, she is writing a thesis on the political beliefs of middle schoolers in America. Off-campus, Ana works at the Public School Forum of North Carolina and volunteers as a tutor at a local elementary school. In her free time, Ana enjoys weight-lifting, thrifting, and photography. Ana will spend her Hart Fellowship in Puerto Rico exploring how youth define themselves within political peripheries. She is also looking forward to learning how communities come together to create safe spaces for their young people.
Michael Ramos (he/him)
Michael “Mike” Ramos (T’26) is from the borderlands of San Diego, California. Mike majored in Public Policy and International Comparative Studies with a focus on Latin America during his time at Duke. Mike spent his time on campus advocating for immigration related change through Beyond Borders, where he served as president. In Durham, Mike’s activism was fostered through engagement with the Latine centered community organizations Siembra NC and Somos Durham. Mike enjoys, running, working out, basketball, puzzles, and dancing. Through the Hart Fellowship, Mike hopes to explore the history and preservation of Yaqui culture. The Yaquis, an indigenous group from northern Mexico, have historically been displaced to Southern Mexico and sought refuge in the Southern United States. Building on his studies surrounding immigration, Mike wonders what homelands mean within such movement contexts and how memory is preserved within indigenous communities.
Tyné Kidd (she/her)
Tyné Kidd (T’26) is from Richmond, Virginia and will graduate from Duke with a major in Political Science and a minor in Neuroscience. Her love for people is grounded in a deep belief in community, care, and connection. In Durham, Tyné has worked with Student U as a tutor and mentor, supporting students both academically and through the social-emotional challenges that shape their growth. These experiences have shaped her commitment to mentoring young people and creating spaces where they feel seen and supported. On campus, Tyné is a member of Nakisai African Dance Team, where she finds joy in movement and shared cultural expression. Outside of formal roles, she values building community in small and intentional ways, often bringing people together through conversation and good game nights.
As the J. Kirk Felsman Fellow, Tyné plans to explore adolescent well-being in the context of global crises, with a particular focus on the mental health challenges faced by children experiencing displacement. She is especially interested in how neuroscience-informed approaches, combined with art-based and narrative practices, can serve as tools for learning and resilience. Through community-based care work, mentorship, and social-emotional programming, she hopes to gain a deeper understanding of the challenges young people face globally while contributing to spaces that center empathy.
As part of the Hart Fellowship program, the J. Kirk Felsman Fellowship is awarded to one Duke graduate each year to explore and develop effective approaches to caring for vulnerable children and youth through direct programming and documentary methodologies. By merging documentary, service, and policy, Felsman Fellows seek to serve and advocate for vulnerable children globally.
The Felsman Fellowship is inspired by the work of Dr. J. Kirk Felsman (1950-2011), who founded the Hart Fellowship program. Dr. Felsman was a clinical psychologist, a longtime Duke faculty member, a Fulbright Research Scholar, a Lyndhurst Prize recipient, and a Global Health Fellow at USAID. For over 30 years he worked tirelessly with unhoused children, child soldiers, refugees, immigrants, and children affected by HIV-AIDS, wars, and natural disasters. Kirk’s expertise was so valued by USAID that he was placed in Southern Africa to lead efforts on the care of children affected by HIV/AIDS until his sudden death in May 2011.
The Hart Leadership Program is grateful to Kirk’s friends and family who established this fellowship in his memory.
To learn more about the Hart Leadership Program and the Hart Fellowship, visit our website.