Bridget Gibbons Straughan, MPA

Experience

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  ACIJ Asociación Civil por la Igualdad y la Justicia

  Mar 2012 - Jul 2012

  Research Intern

  - Conduct research project on comparative legislations for accommodations for students with disabilities in public schools for legal advocacy group

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  LIFT, Inc.

  Jul 2012 - Feb 2014

  Student Advocate

  - Conduct one-on-one appointments with Philadelphia residents to secure housing, public benefits and employment- Construct resumes, identify needs and complete applications to connect clients to public benefits, assist with tax filing with an emphasis on accessing the EITC

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  Community Legal Services

  Jul 2013 - Jun 2014

  Public Housing Unit Paralegal

  - Conduct intake in English and Spanish and manage a caseload of 60-70 public housing tenants - Prepare cases for representation in Municipal Court through document gathering, summarizing cases, and briefing attorneys- Provide legal representation for tenants at administrative hearings with the Philadelphia Housing Authority (PHA)- Advocate for the successful implementation of the PHA Language Access Policy by participating in monthly meetings with PHA’s Policy Director and other community partners- This work was made possible through the Haverford House Fellowship, a program from the Center for Peace and Global Citizenship of Haverford College. Show less

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  Solutions for Progress

  Jul 2014 - Aug 2015

  Business Analyst

  - Act as a liaison between Policy Researchers and Application Programmers to develop specifications for a software platform that helps low-income clients conveniently apply for multiple public benefits- Consult with partners and executive management regarding project progress and best practices- Assist with Quality Assurance testing in English and Spanish

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  Benefits Data Trust

  Dec 2015 - Jun 2024

  - Develop and implement strategic plans with North Carolina Department of Health & Human Services and Washington State Health & Human Services Coalition to make public benefits systems more dignified and equitable- Provide policy technical assistance to agency leaders to streamline enrollment in SNAP, WIC, and Medicaid, including a cross-program analysis that identified 155 questions that could be reduced- Create curriculum and facilitate virtual peer learning collaborative for State workgroup members - Manage disbursement of $1MM flexible funds available to States, including procurement, contracting, and invoicing- Co-author BDT’s Data Sharing Playbook (a how-to guide for leveraging administrative data to improve program access); coordinate and present public webinar about the Playbook for 200+ attendees- Write strategic communications collateral (blogs, content for BDT newsletters, social media posts) to disseminate best practices for streamlining benefits enrollment Show less - Launch tech-enabled benefits access network with 40+ community-based organizations (CBOs) by building relationships with leadership and caseworker teams, contracting, onboarding, and hosting convenings - Oversee outreach program that contacted 80,000+ low-income households to help them enroll in housing, food, medical, and utility assistance benefits- Collaborate closely with several public sector agencies to develop data sharing agreements, policy improvements, and process changes as part of COVID-19 emergency response - Steward relationship with major funding partner through proposal development, contract negotiation, and regular reporting on deliverablesHire and onboard a small team to support network partners with peer learning, reporting, and gathering user feedback Show less - Coordinate programmatic activities resulting in 14,000+ benefits applications submitted on behalf of older adults in Maryland and South Carolina- Evaluate effectiveness of outreach programs as measured by responses rates, applications submitted by demographic, and benefits enrollment rate- Cultivate relationships with policy, data, legal, and operations teams at State agencies, healthcare organizations, and CBOs to create partnership opportunities- Represent BDT at external meetings, conferences/conference panels, and CBO coalitions- Lead annual response to State SNAP Outreach Plan RFP, including plan development and contracting with State agencies- Supervise Program Coordinator, including training, coaching, and professional development Show less

  • Senior Government Innovation Manager

    Jun 2023 - Jun 2024

  • Government Innovation Manager

    Oct 2021 - Jun 2023

  • New York Engagement Manager

    Nov 2019 - Sept 2021

  • Maryland & South Carolina Program Manager

    Apr 2018 - Oct 2019

  • Program Coordinator

    Dec 2015 - Apr 2018
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  Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health

  Oct 2024 - now

  Research Associate II (MORE WIC! Technical Assistance Team)

  - Provide technical assistance on WIC outreach and streamlining opportunities for State Agencies through MORE WIC! Program