Manhattan Borough President names graduate fellows in honor of two former Borough Presidents: C. Virginia Fields and Ruth Messinger

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
August 4, 2026
Contact: Liam Horan, [email protected] | 646-939-1263

NEW YORK, NY – Today, Manhattan Borough President Brad Hoylman-Sigal announced the inaugural appointments of Angelina Smith as the 2026 C. Virginia Fields Fellow in Public Health Policy and Diane Enobabor as the 2026 Ruth Messinger Fellow in Immigration Policy.

Created by Manhattan Borough President Hoylman-Sigal upon taking office, the graduate fellowships are designed to provide two outstanding New York City graduate students with opportunities to pursue their academic interests in areas of policy expertise advanced by former Borough President Fields and Messinger, namely public health and immigration.

Manhattan Borough President Brad Hoylman-Sigal said: “C. Virginia Fields and Ruth Messinger and are former Manhattan Borough Presidents who are widely regarded as experts in two areas that remain extremely relevant to the public policy discussion in New York City today, public health and immigration. By providing support from our office and access to former Borough President Fields and Messinger, I’m hopeful that our 2026 Fields and Messinger graduate fellows, Angelina Smith and Diane Enobabor, will be able to identify areas of research and policy formulation to help further their studies and advance policy discussions to help serve Manhattan, in addition to honoring the legacy of these two distinguished public servants.”

Deputy Manhattan Borough President Miesha Smith said: “Angelina Smith and Diane Enobabor are two impressive, dedicated young women, deeply rooted in the communities they serve. Through their work this summer, I’m confident they will carry forward the legacies of Borough Presidents C. Virginia Fields and Ruth Messinger. This was a competitive process – among more than sixty talented applicants, Angelina and Diane distinguished themselves through both their expertise and their commitment to public service. Angelina brings real rigor to her understanding of public health, drawing inspiration from Borough President Fields’ advocacy for uptown communities affected by diabetes. Diane brings deep knowledge and dedication to supporting Manhattan’s immigrant communities, including building on the work of opening our new immigrant welcome center. I look forward to all that Angelina and Diane will accomplish in service to Manhattan.”

Angelina Smith, 2026 C. Virginia Fields Fellow in Public Health

Angelina Smith, MPH, is the inaugural C. Virginia Fields Fellow. In her time in this role, Angelina is dedicated to researching and proposing innovative city-programming focused on diabetes prevention, health equity, and expanded access to healthcare across the borough. Driven by the core belief that knowledge is power, she aims to use her fellowship to expand health education and awareness of preventative care resources across the city.

Angelina holds a Master of Public Health (MPH) in Health Policy & Management, building upon her previous educational background in global health, social medicine, and medical ethics. She brings a strong foundation in public health practice to this work, having gained experience across many different facets of the field. From Covid-testing children during the peak of the pandemic, to organizing and improving systems at a small food pantry, teaching nutrition education classes through the YMCA, assisting with a campaign to increase diversity throughout the NYC healthcare workforce, to working in community engagement for the NYC Department of Health and Mental Hygiene’s free to low-cost sexual health, immunization, and tuberculosis clinics, and more. Her professional experiences across public health, alongside a background in grassroots community organizing, make Angelina fully equipped to advocate for the health of our city. She looks forward to a lifelong career in public service dedicated to supporting healthier communities and more equitable access to resources.

Diane Enobabor, 2026 Ruth Messinger Fellow in Immigration Policy

Omawu Diane Enobabor is a PhD Candidate in Earth and Environmental Studies at the Graduate Center, CUNY. Her research, supported by Fulbright-Hays and the Graduate Center, examines the efficacy of migrant-focused municipal policies through the lens of long-distance African migrants traveling throughout the Americas, with case studies in São Paulo, Brazil; Tapachula, Mexico; and New York, New York. Her writing has appeared in academic journals such as NACLA and Society and Space. She also holds degrees from the University of Texas and Florida International University.

Diane has spent over a decade teaching, researching, and organizing throughout the Caribbean and Latin America, working with local universities, grassroots organizations, and municipalities to develop comprehensive, migrant-inclusive policies while advancing civil rights. For the last three years, she has worked with various organizations, including Africa Is Everywhere, a feminist grassroots collective she founded, to provide strategic planning for newer grassroots organizations advocating on behalf of New York’s newcomer communities. This work helped accelerate and support New York’s Arrival Strategy Team, organized under City Councilmember Alexa Avilés, from 2023 to 2025.

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