CIVICUS Alumna Katie Dolan, Public Health '18

When current or prospective students worry about declaring—or changing—a major, Katie Dolan, Public Health ’18, might be the first to tell them not to worry; just follow your interests. 

Dolan, who participated in the CIVICUS Living and Learning program during her Maryland days, had a hard time deciding whether to major in government in politics or in public health. While she ultimately went with public health, her interest in matters of social impact, philanthropy and making a difference in the world guided not only her academic path, but her professional career as well.

After graduation, Dolan joined a nonprofit consulting firm based in D.C., offering philanthropy and nonprofit management expertise. Dolan called the experience a “great launchpad,” during which she built a strong operational foundation to run efficient, high-impact projects. 

In 2020, Dolan joined Impactual LLC, a social impact consulting firm. Soon after, she found herself drawing on her experience with CIVICUS and in government and politics classes, as she focused on projects related to the 2020 election cycle.

“It was exciting and meaningful, advising voter turnout and voter registration projects. It was especially important to help people learn more about voting by mail, which helped keep people safe and healthy during the COVID-19 pandemic,” Dolan said. “While it was a challenging political environment, we still saw record-breaking voter turnout.”

While the political landscape remains contentious, Dolan said she is always proud to be a part of the voting process.

“I love elections; my mom was on the town council, and I remember always celebrating elections growing up. There is something so special about contributing to our democratic process, whether it’s casting a ballot, or volunteering, or helping friends make a plan to vote,” Dolan said. “There were so many worries in 2020, but equally dozens of reasons to feel pride in our democratic process. People are really committed to making our democracy work, and delivering a good voting experience is a nonpartisan effort.”

During the 2022 midterms, Dolan continued working with organizations to make sure that voter registration and turnout efforts were as coordinated as possible, and that the registration and voting processes were as easy and accessible as possible to every voter.

Recognizing, thanking and protecting the citizens who make successful elections possible—election officials, judges and volunteers—is especially important to Dolan. She worked with Impactual and with UMD’s Center for Democracy and Civic Engagement (CDCE) to celebrate Election Hero Day in Maryland. 

This year’s Election Hero Day was Nov. 7, and organizations across the nation recognized the importance of poll workers, election administration teams, volunteers, and other people who make elections safe, fair, accessible and successful. Dolan drummed up media coverage, and successfully requested a proclamation from Gov. Larry Hogan to celebrate the day in Maryland.

“It’s rewarding to help create an echo chamber of gratitude for our election workers, and to help people feel energized and feel good as they do their important work,” Dolan said. “The CDCE team was thrilled to have Gov. Hogan as a huge champion of this effort—he was one of the first state leaders to post about it.”

Dolan recalls that she voted for the first time on campus at the University of Maryland. 

“College is an excellent onramp for many people to make a lifetime commitment to civic engagement, even if it’s just promising that you will vote in every election,” Dolan said. “CIVICUS encouraged me to build that lifelong commitment, not only to voting but also to show up and advocate for my community.” 

Bringing her public health background into play, in 2021, Dolan also started working with an organization called Song for Charlie. Song for Charlie is a national family-run nonprofit charity dedicated to raising awareness about “fentapills”—fake pills made of fentanyl—that post a major threat to the public, especially children.

Dolan helped the Song for Charlie team ideate and conceptualize a way to further increase national awareness about the growing problem of illegally made fentanyl in fake pills and street drugs. Together, they launched the first ever National Fentanyl Awareness Day, garnering over 400 nonprofit and corporate partners and securing promotion on Google’s homepage. She is diligently working to promote this year’s National Fentanyl Awareness Day on Tuesday, May 9, 2023.

“I am deeply inspired by the community we’ve built. Thousands have lost loved ones to counterfeit prescription pills and other street drugs that were laced with fentanyl. The National Fentanyl Awareness Day team is committed to increasing public awareness about this issue through accurate, accessible, nonjudgmental information,” Dolan said.

Looking ahead to the future, Dolan hopes to stay connected to the CDCE and other positive projects at her alma mater. Working with students is motivating, she said.

“Young people care about important issues such as climate change and broadening representation. They get excited about bringing fresh perspectives to our democratic and political process. That energy is something that makes me really hopeful for the integrity of elections and about broader social impact efforts,” Dolan said.