August 12, 2025
Stephanie Pfenning
Students address crisis of addiction in 2025 Public Policy Analysis Challenge
From harm reduction strategies to gaming regulations, Lake Forest College students tackled the multifaceted crisis of addiction during the 2024-2025 Public Policy Analysis Challenge.
This year’s competition theme, “Addressing Addiction,” invited students to explore complex topics including substance use disorders, social media addiction, compulsive gambling, video game addiction, and more. Working in interdisciplinary teams, students crafted evidence-based policy proposals intended for implementation at various levels of governance.
“The Public Policy Analysis Challenge epitomizes the four pillars of Lake Forest College’s public policy program: promoting interdisciplinary collaboration, cultivating global citizens, providing supportive mentorship, and creating experiential learning opportunities that enable students to apply their knowledge from inside and outside the classroom to a critical public policy problem of their choice,” said Danielle Cohen, director of the public policy program and professor of politics and history.
The final round featured three teams selected from a preliminary group of 14, which included 32 students representing 25 academic majors and minors and 15 countries. Each team was guided by a faculty or staff mentor.
Meet the finalists
First place
“Protecting players: The case for dynamic loss limits in games”
Jayden Scott-Long ’28 Majors: Economics, Data Science | Hometown: Eswatini
Zofia Marjanska ’28 Majors: Economics, Data Science, Minor: Mathematics | Hometown: Warsaw, Poland
Theone Purev ’25 Major: International Relations, Minor: Chinese | Hometown: Glenview, Illinois
Jayden Scott-Long ’28 Majors: Economics, Data Science | Hometown: Eswatini
Zofia Marjanska ’28 Majors: Economics, Data Science, Minor: Mathematics | Hometown: Warsaw, Poland
Theone Purev ’25 Major: International Relations, Minor: Chinese | Hometown: Glenview, Illinois
Mentor: Benjamin Swerdlow, assistant professor of psychology
Second place
“The price of vaping: How tax policies can shield youth from e-cigarettes”
Isis Yari Correa Tume ’27 Majors: Computer Science, Economics | Hometown: Piura, Peru
Jenna Rose Thomas ’27 Majors: Psychology, Philosophy | Hometown: Kingston, Jamaica
Mentor: Zachary Cook, associate professor of politics
Third place
“Analysis of harm reduction: The efficacy of overdose prevention centers”
Peyton Shinohara ’27 Majors: Education, History | Hometown: Wilmette, Illinois
Samantha Pindiak ’27 Majors: Education, English, Minor: Gender, Sexuality, and Women’s Studies | Hometown: Skokie, Illinois
Mentor: Enrique Treviño, professor of mathematics, chair of mathematics and computer science
The three final-round teams were evaluated based on an executive summary and white paper submitted in advance to the judges, as well as a live presentation. Teams had 10 minutes to present, followed by a 10-minute Q&A session with the judges. The teams competed on April 27, 2025 for cash prizes from a pool of $10,000.
“Winning the Challenge was definitely one of the academic highlights of my freshman year at Lake Forest College, and I look forward to applying the knowledge and skills I’ve gained throughout the rest of my college career. While the final presentation and the announcement of the results was an exciting culmination point for our team, I found the preceding research and preparation process equally rewarding, thanks to its richness in new ideas, exciting interpersonal connections and self-growth,” said Zofia Marjanska ’28.
The topic for the 2025-2026 Public Policy Analysis Challenge is “Governing the Environment.”
Meet the emcee: David Castagnetti ’84
Renowned public policy expert David Castagnetti ’84 emceed the event. Castagnetti serves on the board at John McCormack Institute at the University of Massachusetts, Boston. Before joining the private sector, Castagnetti served as Chief of Staff to two committee chairmen, Senator Max Baucus (D-MT) of the Senate Finance Committee, and Congressman Norm Mineta (D-CA) of the House Transportation & Infrastructure Committee, contributing to some of the most important policy advancements in the areas of trade, tax, transportation, and technology.
Guest judges
Judge Gabriel Conroe
Judge Gabriel Conroe serves as an Associate Judge on the Nineteenth Judicial Circuit of Illinois. Prior to receiving his appointment as an Associate Judge in July 2024, Judge Conroe worked as an attorney in the Lake County Public Defender’s Office for 17 years. As an Assistant Public Defender, he was assigned to the Therapeutic Intensive Monitoring Courts, encompassing the Drug Court, the Mental Health Court, and the Veterans Treatment and Assistance Court programs. Throughout his career, Judge Conroe has focused his advocacy on helping the most vulnerable people. He has a particular interest in the interplay between mental health and the law. He also worked in the Felony Trial Division at the Public Defender’s Office.
Dr. Seleeke Flingai
Dr. Seleeke Flingai is an Assistant Instructional Professor at the University of Chicago’s Department of Public Health Sciences. As an educator, Dr. Flingai’s work focuses on the intersection of racism and capitalism with urban spatial processes, economic inequity, and health. Before his academic career, Dr. Flingai was an applied policy researcher in governmental and non-profit public policy organizations such as PolicyLink, the Vera Institute of Justice, and the Metropolitan Area Planning Council, where he worked alongside policymakers, leaders in grassroots organizations, and other city and regional government staff to support data-informed, health-promoting, historically grounded policy conversations and advocacy.
Chelsea Laliberte Barnes, LCSW
Chelsea Laliberte Barnes is a licensed clinical social worker and is a nationally recognized mental health and substance use disorder advocate, policy strategist, and nonprofit leader. She co-founded Live4Lali, a harm reduction organization inspired by the loss of her brother to an overdose, along with the Lake County Opioid Initiative and the Illinois Harm Reduction and Recovery Coalition. Over the last 16 years, Ms. Laliberte Barnes has worked across sectors to influence drug policy reform, expand access to treatment, and promote public health approaches to the overdose crisis. She has advised lawmakers, delivered keynotes nationwide, and contributed to transformative legislation. Her work emphasizes compassionate, trauma-responsive solutions. Ms. Laliberte Barnes currently serves as the Chief Clinical Officer and therapist at Wolf Pack, a behavioral healthcare organization dedicated to supporting people and systems through change processes.