Sydney Johnson is an MPP candidate at the University of California, Berkeley, where she plans to study social policy relating to matters of health care and economic inequality. She received a BA from the School of Public and International Affairs at Princeton University in 2021. Her policy areas of study were Race, Ethnicity & Discrimination, and Poverty & Inequality, and her thesis evaluated proposed policy solutions to substance use disorder in the United States.

Sydney has worked in health care policy across the non-profit, private, and public sectors in Washington, D.C. since 2021, sharpening skills in research methodologies and advocacy. Most recently, she served as a social science research analyst in the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, Office of Inspector General. In their Office of Evaluation and Inspections, Sydney was the lead analyst on a congressionally requested review of vertical integration in Medicare, impacting over 50 million enrollees. At the Association for Community Affiliated Plans, where she was a Medicare Program Associate, Sydney advocated for the comprehensive care of 12.5 million beneficiaries dually-eligible for Medicare and Medicaid, generating deliverables for various audiences related to ACAP’s healthcare alignment act, introduced by the House Ways and Means committee.

During graduate school, Sydney hopes to deepen her understanding of policy analysis, political strategy, and the design of equitable systems that support marginalized communities. She believes an MPP will hone her leadership skills and ability to translate complex ideas into policies that people can believe in and fight for.

Sydney grew up in Deptford, New Jersey. She enjoys volunteering as a Civic Leadership Fellow with the D.C. Tutoring and Mentoring Initiative and as a Non-profit Strategy Consultant with Compass Pro Bono. In her free time, Sydney likes to crochet, attend musicals, and play ultimate frisbee with friends.