Influenced by their past professional experiences in local and state government, University of Wisconsin–Madison students Annie Heybl and John Hansen spent the fall 2025 semester researching and analyzing policy topics for Dane County.
Heybl, who is a sophomore majoring in history and political science, was drawn to researching opioid harm reduction programs because she studied a similar topic while interning for Santa Barbara County in her home state of California.
“I was always really interested in local government because I realized it targets more specific needs of individuals and more connection, which I thought was really interesting,” said Heybl, who hopes to attend law school after she graduates.
The Dane County Board of Supervisors has partnered with UniverCity since 2017, and starting in 2022, UniverCity has supported the county by pairing a couple of students each semester to work on policy analysis projects. Dane County contributes a per-semester stipend to support the UCA students working on priority policy topics for the county.
For her project with Dane County, Heybl analyzed gaps in a coordinated navigation and linkage-to-care system and identified barriers to treatment access that people experiencing homelessness are facing. During her previous internship in California, Heybl learned about her county’s Project Opioid, which is an initiative aimed at enhancing and expanding treatment programs connecting care with those who need it.
Heybl’s report addresses how similar initiatives could be applied in Dane County, offers recommendations to strengthen continuation of care and to improve coordination and outreach efforts and provide stable and long-term recovery support for residents.
With these experiences in local government, Heybl said she learned that it can be difficult, but not impossible, to implement new initiatives at the local level — especially when a community has committed local leaders.
“The biggest thing I learned is when people really want to get something done, they will jump through those barriers,” Heybl said.
Similar to Heybl, Hansen, who is a senior majoring in economics and political science with a certificate in public policy, had familiarity with the topic he analyzed for Dane County: data centers. Hansen first learned about data centers while interning for Senator Jodi Habush Sinykin, whose district is home to Port Washington’s new data center.
When Hansen saw the opportunity to apply for a policy intern position with Dane County, he said he felt like he was in “a pretty strong position to really have a holistic view of the issue and have access to all of these experts” because of his role in the Capitol.
“Dane County asked for a holistic overview of the issue of data centers from an economic, social, and environmental standpoint,” Hansen said. “I really did learn a lot about how county government interacts with local municipalities.”
The experience made Hansen realize that local government could be a viable career path for him to pursue policy analysis work as a professional. Hansen was also inspired by the “super dedicated professionals” in Dane County who “work to improve lives for Dane County residents.”
“I think that’s really powerful,” said Hansen, who wants to pursue a career where he can do something for other people. “Local government is certainly a way to serve others. I’d love the opportunity to have a career that focuses on creating public policy that positively affects local communities and the people who need it most.”
Both Heybl and Hansen produced reports and presented their findings to the Dane County Executive Committee in December 2025. They shared that their internship experiences also strengthened their professional skills in researching, report writing, citing, public speaking, and answering on-the-spot questions.
“I’ve become a better student and professional in a way that, in a classroom, you can’t really have,” Hansen said. “I just loved the opportunity, and I would highly recommend it. It’s a lot of work, but it’s certainly worth it, both in a personal and professional sense.”
—Abigail Becker