This spring, eight inaugural fellows of the Inclusive Growth Fellowship collaborated with New Haven city agencies to develop economic growth projects benefitting all local residents.
Malcolm Cardona-Spence ’24: Mid-Size Business Growth Cardona-Spence, who previously worked with underserved minorities in business, found the fellowship aligned perfectly with his goals. He and fellow Hannah Adams ’25 focused on creating an independent marketplace to support local businesses by reducing overhead costs and mitigating risks.
Rachel Harmon ’25 and Thomas Merizalde Martinez ’25: Affordable Housing They addressed New Haven’s pressing housing crisis, suggesting strategies like reducing minimum parking requirements to lower development costs and rent.
Michael Yanagisawa ’25 and Clara Usandizaga ’25: Mass Timber Construction Exploring sustainable building materials, they recommended incentivizing mass timber construction in city policies, contributing to New Haven’s leadership in affordable housing projects using this method.
Laurence Spekterman ’24 and Renee Osagiede MPH-HCM ’25: Local Procurement Investigating how local institutions like Yale can support community businesses, they proposed frameworks to train local vendors for contracts with institutions like Yale New Haven Hospital.
Impact and Future Goals Carlos Eyzaguirre, New Haven’s deputy economic development administrator, praised the fellows for their professional-quality contributions. The fellowship, embodying Yale SOM’s mission, aims to combine business acumen with social impact to benefit the community.
Yanagisawa highlighted the broader mission: “It’s about ensuring access to quality, affordable housing and making decisions that benefit the community as a whole.”
Read more here.
