Brandeis ENACT Students Meet with Massachusetts State Senators, Representatives, and Legislative Staffers at State House
February 10, 2026
Senator Becca Rausch ‘01 kicks off the meetings between students and legislators at the Massachusetts State House.
Thanks to Brandeis alum State Senator Becca Rausch ’01, students in ENACT Director Melissa Stimell’s course “Advocacy for Policy Change” (LGLS 161b) had the opportunity to meet with the Massachusetts state senators, state representatives and legislative staff who are working in the bills the students will be advocating for this semester.
For several years Senator Rausch and her staff have made this special opportunity possible, facilitating these meetings and tours of the State House.
The experience set students up for the work they will be undertaking this spring. Students were able to ask questions about the content of the bills and the status of the bills in the legislative process. They were also able to discuss strategy, to determine how they can best engage with the legislative process during their time in the class.
Senator Jamie Eldridge meets with Brandeis ENACT students.
“I never imagined a class would take me inside the State House to meet directly with legislators,” said Gianna Crisha Saludo ’28. “Our conversation with Representative Lipper-Garabedian, Senior Policy Advisor Brittany Webb, and their staff about the Massachusetts Data Privacy Act, the policy we're advocating for, was genuinely thought-provoking. We left with more questions than we arrived with! Beyond the policy discussion and cool historical facts, I came away with a real sense of the culture and dynamics that shape how decisions get made on Beacon Hill.”
During a tour of the Massachusetts State House, Brandeis students pose with a bust of University namesake Louis Brandeis, which is on display outside the entrance to the House of Representatives chamber.
