The Markkula Center for Applied Ethics is introducing a new graduate fellowship at Sutter Health and Palo Alto Foundation Medical Group, the Fellowship in Health Equity and Innovation, in collaboration with Peninsula Healthcare Connection (PHC). This is a groundbreaking fellowship in the field of health care ethics combining real-world clinical experience and in-depth ethical analysis.
PHC, located in Palo Alto, works to improve the health and quality of life for unhoused, low-income, or uninsured individuals through the delivery of primary care and behavioral health services.
Shelby Jennett ’24, was a Health Care Ethics Intern and the 2023-24 Honzel Fellow at the Markkula Center. In June 2024, Jennett graduated from SCU with a neuroscience degree and minor in philosophy. She recently completed her Master's in Bioethics at Harvard Medical School and is now gaining invaluable clinical and patient care experience through this fellowship.
At Santa Clara University, I was drawn to philosophy and bioethics as a way to make sense of what I had observed in the clinic and experienced personally. I began actively exploring the intersection of identity, illness, and autonomy through my coursework and the Healthcare Ethics Internship. Listening to reflections from physicians every week challenged my perspective on medicine, prompting me to re-examine my assumptions. Through shadowing physicians, I observed how patients were guided through advance directive planning and saw how difficult conversations empower patients to make choices that reflect their values. These encounters, and more, broadened my perspective on the complexities of providing ethical care and provided me a framework for creating a more just system. Learning about issues prevalent in medicine, I realized that physicians alone could not dictate medical care but are limited by policies, insurance, and structures, demanding a foundation in bioethics to start implementing change not only at the bedside but at the systemic level.
In the Fall of 2024, I pursued a Master's in Bioethics at Harvard Medical School to grow my understanding and apply it to make change. I studied clinical ethics, health policy, and narrative medicine by simulating consultations and debriefing real cases from Boston Children's and Massachusetts General Hospital (MGH) with world-class experts. At HMS, I also led a quality improvement project on the oncology floor at MGH. Combining my interest in reproductive health, I focused on improving informed consent and patient reproductive and sexual health education.
During my time in Boston, I also wanted to do more to support patients across the full spectrum of reproductive and sexual health. I immersed myself in the community, serving as a rape crisis counselor for incarcerated survivors of sexual assault. Working with this community inspires my commitment to advocate for holistic, trauma-informed medicine that is inclusive and restores each patient's dignity.
After graduating from my program, I was intent on returning home to the Bay Area to serve my community and address the health disparities I observed growing up.
Guadalupe Hayes-Mota, Director of Bioethics at the Markkula Center for Applied Ethics, said, “The Fellowship in Health Equity and Innovation reflects our deep commitment to justice in health care. By engaging directly with vulnerable communities, our fellows learn that ethics is not just about theory—it’s about action, empathy, and systems change. This program equips graduates to become leaders who bridge medicine, policy, and compassion in every decision they make.”
The Markkula Center is proud to offer this fellowship to recent alumni pursuing health care careers and extends its deep gratitude to Sutter Health, the Palo Alto Foundation Medical Group, and the Peninsula Healthcare Connection for their collaboration in making this program possible.