UB social welfare PhD student receives Health and Aging Policy Fellowship
PhD candidate Mary Milnamow presents her research — focused on the challenges that caregivers of older adults can face in the workplace — during a past Student Research Poster Session for School of Social Work doctoral students. Photo: Onion Studio.
By Catherine Donnelly
Published October 5, 2026
Mary Milnamow, MSS, a PhD in Social Welfare candidate in the University at Buffalo School of Social Work, has received a 2026-27 Health and Aging Policy Fellowship, funded by The John A. Hartford Foundation, West Health and the Ralph C. Wilson, Jr. Foundation.
She plans to work as an aging and caregiving researcher and policy advisor focused on supporting employed family caregivers who are tending to older adults, people living with dementia and people with an intellectual or developmental disability.
“I am so honored to receive this award because it directly ties to my dissertation research. I am using an intersectionality framework to consider ways to support family caregivers who are working outside the home while juggling the care of their loved one,” says Milnamow. “I hope that I can help to draft policies to encourage workplaces to become more compassionate and flexible.”
Milnamow came to the UB School of Social Work in fall 2021 as a nontraditional student after two decades working in public health evaluating interventions addressing behavioral health and substance use disorders in under-resourced communities. During the pandemic she had an opportunity to evaluate how her career could evolve and returning to school for her PhD in social welfare became a possibility.
“My sister and I were the primary caregivers for our brother, Tommy, after our mom passed away,” she says. “Tommy was born with Down syndrome, and as he aged, he developed early-onset Alzheimer’s disease. After he passed, my sister encouraged me to use the lessons we learned as a family to improve the lives of others.”
Milnamow was impressed with UB for several reasons but most importantly its diverse population of students and faculty focusing on research topics important to her. When she received an Arthur A. Schomberg Fellowship from UB, it confirmed her decision to move to Buffalo.
“When I started to consider returning to school, I visited many university websites. UB stood out with photos of people of all ages. It made me think that I could fit in there too,” she says. “And then I met Dr. Louanne Bakk. She focuses on supporting older adults, caregivers and service providers with her research on virtual reality interventions and encourages more social workers to consider gerontology.”
As a student, Milnamow also received a 2024 Chief Evaluation Office Summer Fellowship with the U.S. Department of Labor, where she assessed the impact of flexible work hours on work productivity loss, absenteeism and presenteeism. She also published a paper in the Journal of Technology in Human Services evaluating the use of virtual reality for people living with dementia.
During the next year, Milnamow will live in Washington, D.C., as a full-time residential fellow. The program begins with an intensive four-week orientation conducted by the Health and Aging Policy Fellows program. At the conclusion of the onboarding process, she will find a placement as fellow in a congressional office or committee, an executive branch agency or a nonprofit.
“I truly hope that I can work in a congressional office, but fellows have been placed in a wide range of agencies or other organizations,” Milnamow says. “Since I was accepted into the caregiving policy track, I will be learning and engaging in how to develop effective caregiving policies wherever I end up.”