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25HKS-Jacob Winn-Rappaport_009A

Jacob Winn

25HKS-Jacob Winn-Rappaport_009A

Jacob Winn

Organization

Rappaport Institute for Greater Boston

Program

Rappaport Public Policy Fellow

Year

2025

Rappaport Public Policy Fellows spend 10 weeks each summer serving within the highest levels of state and municipal governments in the Greater Boston Area. The program includes students from graduate and professional programs at local universities.

Graduate School: Harvard Kennedy School

Fellowship The Lab @ MassDOT

Project Description:  Jacob Winn was a Public Policy Fellow at The Lab @ the Massachusetts Department of Transportation (“The Lab @ MassDOT”) focusing on Autonomous Vehicles. Over the course of the summer, he completed a research project designed to build a prototypical public policy foundation for an “AV-Ready Massachusetts”, namely, looking at the laws, regulations, and practices that MassDOT, the state government, and the State Legislature could adopt to be prepared for any introduction of Autonomous Vehicles to Massachusetts roadways. His final product was a detailed research report with a nationwide scan of state-level AV policies, a stakeholder analysis, and recommendations, alongside an executive briefing memo. As a Fellow, Jacob also organized and hosted a series of four virtual Lunch Talks, inviting speakers from across the country to speak to state and municipal employees (transit planners, data managers, first responders, etc.) about AVs and their potential impacts.