12 May 2025 < minute read
Nichele Olivia-Lanett Washington, C'2025, is a political science major, philosophy minor from Silver Spring, Maryland by way of Noblesville, Indiana. At Spelman, she serves as a John Lewis Scholar in the Social Justice Program and is a member of the Ethel Waddell Githii Honors Program.
Washington's fascination with the public utility of policy coupled with her desire to improve the material conditions of Black mothers drives her interest in maternal health policy and has led her to become a W.E.B. Du Bois Scholar at Harvard University, a teaching assistant for and co-creator of Spelman College’s first Maternal and Child Health course, the founder and president of the intercampus initiative CARE (Collegiate Advocates for Reproductive Equity), a United Nations Academic Impact Millennium Fellow, a recipient of the Yale Undergraduate Liman Fellowship, and more. Recently, Washington had the privilege of being inducted into the Epsilon of Georgia Chapter of the Phi Beta Kappa Honor Society as well as the Pi Sigma Alpha National Political Science Honor Society.
Upon graduating from Spelman, Washington will attend the University of Oxford in pursuit of a Master of Philosophy in Evidence-Based Social Intervention and Policy Evaluation. Following this degree, she intends to obtain her JD in Health Law. Washington hopes to continue transforming her theoretical understanding of maternal health equity into practical experience so that she might one day pen holistic maternal health policy.