When Maggie Howard arrived at the UT IPS SMART Initiative this summer, she didn’t spend her internship watching from the sidelines. She stepped into meaningful policy work, researching issues, analyzing data, writing policy briefs and supporting efforts to address one of Tennessee’s most complex public health challenges. It was the kind of work she had already begun practicing as a student at the Baker School of Public Policy and Public Affairs.
As a policy intern with the SMART Initiative, Howard has spent the summer researching and updating policy briefs and memos focused on substance use disorder. Much of her work has involved analyzing federal and Tennessee data to better understand how substance use disorder affects incarcerated populations, influences reincarceration and contributes to the stigma surrounding opioid use.
“It’s been crazy to think, ‘I just learned this, and now I’m doing it,’” Howard said. “The Baker School prepared me one-to-one for what I am doing at the SMART Initiative.”
The SMART Initiative, housed within the University of Tennessee’s Institute for Public Service, partners with communities across Tennessee to address the opioid crisis through research, collaboration, and data-informed solutions. The initiative also supports county governments in opioid-related planning and funding efforts.
As the summer progressed, Howard’s responsibilities expanded beyond data analysis. She met with community leaders, including Metro Council member Erin Evans, to learn more about the policymaking process and spoke with law enforcement officers about how communities are responding to the opioid crisis.
One issue consistently stood out: the intersection of maternal health and substance use disorders.
Howard developed an early interest in maternal health. Although she eventually realized medicine was not the path for her, public policy offered a way to combine that interest with her desire to create change.
“Tennessee has historically ranked low for maternal health,” Howard said. “We have one of the highest maternal mortality rates, and substance use disorder is one of the leading causes. When I learned that, it felt obvious that working with substance use disorders was exactly the way I could have an impact.”
Through her internship, Howard collaborated with researchers studying maternal health and substance misuse in Tennessee and contributed to qualitative analysis.
The work allowed her to draw directly on skills she developed at the Baker School. In HBS 101, for example, she learned how to research policy issues and write policy briefs, skills she used throughout her internship.
“We had to write a policy brief, and I have been pinching myself because my job is doing an assignment I have done for school,” Howard said. “It has been really reassuring that I am at the right place in the Baker School because of the preparation it gave me.”
Through opportunities such as attending city council and county commission meetings through the Institute Fellows program, she gained valuable context for understanding how local governments operate. That experience has helped her better understand conversations with SMART Initiative colleagues and county partners.
“One of the biggest things this experience has shown me is that big issues are way more complicated than they seem,” Howard said. “There are so many players involved, and most policy issues are multifaceted.”
She has also seen how collaboration can help communities tackle those challenges.
Through the SMART Policy Network’s monthly meetings, Howard has watched county sheriffs, healthcare providers, pharmacists, overdose prevention organizations and other professionals come together to share ideas and work toward solutions.
“It has been inspiring to see what happens when people from completely different parts of the field come together,” Howard said. “Seeing the SMART Initiative connect people and make a difference has shown me the importance of collaboration in public health.”
As she returns to the Baker School this fall, Howard plans to continue building on the research skills and experiences she gained through the SMART Initiative. She hopes to remain involved with maternal health research, explore grant writing opportunities, and pursue additional public health policy research.
For Howard, the internship reinforced why she chose to study public policy at the Baker School. She came into the summer knowing how to research a policy problem and communicate what she found. She left with a deeper understanding of what it takes to work with communities, professionals and policymakers to address it.