NYC Emergency Management Announces 2026-2027 John D. Solomon Fellowship For Public Service Cohort

NEW YORK CITY EMERGENCY MANAGEMENT ANNOUNCES 2026-2027 JOHN D. SOLOMON FELLOWSHIP FOR PUBLIC SERVICE COHORT

12 Graduate Students Begin Nine-Month Fellowships with City Agencies and Nonprofit Partners as the Program Marks Its 15th Year

NEW YORK - New York City Emergency Management (NYCEM) today announced the 12 graduate students selected for the 2026-2027 John D. Solomon Fellowship for Public Service. The fellows begin nine-month, paid placements this month with City agencies and nonprofit partners. The 2026-2027 class marks the 15^th year of the fellowship, the first student fellowship in the City devoted specifically to emergency management.

Fellows commit 15 to 20 hours a week in person at their assigned agency or organization and receive a $10,000 stipend on successful completion of the program. This year's fellows are enrolled and will support organizations and agencies such as the Fire Department of the City of New York (FDNY), New York City Police Department (NYPD), Metropolitan Transportation Authority, and American Red Cross in Greater New York. Their assignments cover emergency planning, community preparedness, severe weather readiness, climate resilience, operational coordination, public information, and continuity planning.

"Our agency is very proud of this fellowship, which honors John D. Solomon and the work he did. Over the past 14 years, we have benefited from the hard work and dedication of more than 130 fellows who have given more than 56,000 hours of service," said NYC Emergency Management Commissioner Christina Farrell. "This year's class of 12 distinguished graduate students joins agencies that plan for coastal storms, extreme heat, flooding, and everything else this city absorbs in a year. They will do real work, and the city will be better prepared for it."

"The John D. Solomon Fellowship offers students a meaningful opportunity to apply their knowledge, build practical emergency-management experience, and develop as the next generation of public servants," said NYC Emergency Management Assistant Commissioner for Strategic Partnerships Ira Tannenbaum. "It also offers New York City the benefit of their fresh perspectives, skills, and commitment to strengthening preparedness and resilience. By welcoming these fellows into the work of City government, we honor John D. Solomon's enduring legacy of service and his belief that well-informed, engaged people can help build safer and stronger communities."

"Astonishing is the word for the John D. Solomon Fellowship Class of 2026-2027, and for the program's 15th year," said James Solomon, John's brother. "My brother would admire these Fellows - and their mentors, the partner agencies, and the program's administrators at NYC Emergency Management, led by the fellowship's co-founders, Commissioner Christina Farrell and Assistant Commissioner Ira Tannenbaum. No one could have imagined what this program would become: not the caliber of these 12 Fellows, not the reach of its 131 graduates, and that the Fellowship is worthy of its remarkable namesake is more than our family dared hope."

The John D. Solomon Fellowship for Public Service was established in 2012 by the family and friends of John D. Solomon, a journalist who covered homeland security and public policy and served as an active member of his local Community Emergency Response Team (CERT). He wrote "In Case of Emergency, Read Blog," a citizen's view of preparedness. NYCEM created the John D. Solomon CERT Award for Exemplary Service in Emergency Preparedness Education in 2011, and the Federal Emergency Management Agency established the national John D. Solomon Preparedness Award in 2012. The first fellowship class graduated that same year.

The 2026-2027 John D. Solomon Fellowship cohort includes:

• Misael Azcona, John Jay College of Criminal Justice, NYPD
• Madison Bolart, New York University, FDNY
• Lucy Buckman, Columbia University, NYCEM - Emergency Operations Center Unit
• Laila Durrani, Columbia University, NYC Dept. of Correction
• Liam Heng, New York University, Metropolitan Transportation Authority
• Nathalie Kazzi, Columbia University, NYCEM - Strategic Partnerships Unit
• Jae Kim, Baruch College, American Red Cross in Greater New York
• Christina King, City University of New York, NYCEM - Resiliency and Recovery Planning Unit
• Alya Ruiz, Columbia University, NYCEM - Government Relations Unit
• Aida Saeed, Baruch College, NYC Dept. of Health and Mental Hygiene
• Anakaren Santana, New York University, NYC Housing Authority
• Isabel Tadmiri, New York University, NYC Health + Hospitals

Since the first class in 2012, more than 130 fellows and alumni have contributed over 56,000 service hours to City agencies and nonprofit organizations. More than half of the program's alumni have gone on to careers in New York City or New York State government, and the rest work in nonprofit and private organizations in the United States and abroad.

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