Alumni chats

Time: 3:00 - 6:00 p.m. PT
Location: Pasadena Copa Vida 70 S. Raymond Ave., Pasadena, CA 91105 626-213-3952v
Register here

Hosts

• Aloka Narayanan, MPP '20
  Aloka Narayanan is a Project Leader at the Harvard Kennedy School Government Performance Lab where she supports governments launching and expanding unarmed alternatives to police. In previous roles, Aloka led the implementation of a better service connection model for child welfare-involved families in Connecticut and built program evaluation frameworks for early childhood and youth development programs in Detroit and San Francisco. Aloka holds a BA from UC Berkeley (2015) and an MPP with a concentration in Social Policy and certificate in Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion from the Ford School at the University of Michigan (2020). At the Ford School, she was an active member of the Student Affairs Committee and Students of Color in Public Policy. Go Blue!

Time: 6:00 - 7:00 p.m. ET
Location: Steptoe & Johnson, LLP (1330 Connecticut Ave NW). Washington, DC 20036
Register here
 

Hosts

• Dustin Castro
  Dustin Castro is the senior recruitment officer for the Ford School of Public Policy.
• Scott Sinder, MPP/JD '87
  Scott Sinder represents trade associations and companies, as both a legislative advocate and a litigator, on a wide range of issues in state and federal trial and appellate courts, in state legislatures and Congress, and before regulatory agencies. He also serves as outside general counsel for several prominent trade associations and charities.
• Callie Furmaniak, MPP '20
  Callie is a Presidential Management Fellow at the Office of Consumer Policy
• Guy Packard, MPP '20
  Guy is the Business Development Lead at X-energy
• Michael Manansala, MPP '17
  Michael is a Foreign Affairs Officer at the U.S. Department of State
• James Hiebert, MPP '23
  James is a current Riecker Michigan Delegation Fellow at the United States Senate
• John Guerriero, MPP, '17
  John is a Cybersecurity Manager at Lafayette Group

Time: 12:00 - 1:00 pm ET
Location: Bluestone Lane Times Square Coffee Shop (11 Times Square, New York, NY 10036)
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Host:

• Dan Messner, MPP '19
  Dan graduated from the Ford School in 2019 with a Masters in Public Policy. While initially focused on health policy, Dan developed a love of environmental policy while at the Ford School. He first worked at a charter school network in New York City in a compliance and data-management capacity. After two years in that field he took a job as a Policy Analyst with STX Group, a renewable energy firm that works to support the development of renewables and carbon-reduction across the world. Dan is a lifelong resident of New York City and enjoys board games, sports, and live music in his spare time. He loved his time at Ford and is excited to chat with admitted students to share his experiences.

Unfortunately, this session has been canceled. If you would like to connect with a Fordie in Minnesota, please reach out to fspp-admissions@umich.edu and we will make that connection for you.

Time: 12:00 - 2:00 p.m. PT
Location: King County Council King County Courthouse - 10th Floor Council Chambers (516 3rd Ave, Seattle, WA 98104) - Entrance through 4th Avenue entrance, go through security, then take elevator to 10th Floor.
Parking Details: Parking at Goat Hill parking facility (415 6th Ave Seattle, WA 98109) - Bring parking ticket stub with you so we can validate for you Food: We are planning to cater from Salumi (Famous Seattle sandwich place). We can coordinate your lunch selection when you RSVP.
Register here

Hosts

• Andrew Kim, MPP '13
  Andrew Kim is a Policy Analyst for the King County Council in Seattle, WA where he currently works on a broad array of policy areas including budget, fiscal management, civil rights, and equity and social justice. Prior to King County, Andrew was the Director of Legislative Affairs and Policy for the Macomb County Board of Commissioners in Michigan. Andrew also interned as a Mayoral Fellow with the City of Chicago as part of his summer internship requirement for the Ford School. Prior to public service, Andrew worked as a management consultant in the Health and Life Sciences industry. He graduated from the Ford School in 2013 with an MPP and received his bachelor's at Cornell University.
• Rebecca Mendelsohn, MPP '22
  Rebecca Mendelsohn is a Policy Analyst for King County Councilmember Sarah Perry. In this role, she supports the management of Councilmember Perry’s policy portfolio and key emerging issues, including transportation, land use, natural resources, behavioral health, and climate. Prior to King County, Rebecca worked at the U.S. Government Accountability Office in Washington, D.C., and completed her Ford School summer internship with the Arab Community Center for Economic and Social Services. She graduated from the Ford School in 2022 with an MPP and received a bachelor’s at Macalester College.

Time: 10:00 - 11:00 a.m. CT
Location: Dom’s Kitchen & Market (Old Town location: 1233 N Wells St). Chicago, IL 60610 (cafe)
Register here

Hosts

• Hannah Zlotnick, MPP '19
  Hannah Zlotnick completed her MPP at the Ford School in 2019, where she focused primarily on education policy and economics. Upon graduation, she began her Ph.D. in Social Policy and Demography at Princeton, where her dissertation focused on education policy and urban inequality. She moved to Chicago to partner with Chicago Public Schools to evaluate various initiatives with their Social Services Innovation & Integration team, including Medicaid enrollment and COVID-19 vaccination strategy and outreach. She is currently an Associate at JPMorgan Chase, where she works at the intersection of strategy and data analytics on the Consumer Bank’s internal consulting team. Outside of work, some of her favorite things to do include running marathons, reading, and exploring Chicago’s restaurants.

Due to weather this has been switched to a Zoom event. Please join here. 

Hosts:

• Claire Davidson
  Claire Davidson is the program manager of the Leadership Initiative for the Ford School of Public Policy
• Carmen Ye, MPP '18
  Carmen Ye is the Director of People and Culture at Action Network, which creates technology for the progressive movement. Previously she led People Operations at Make School in San Francisco and LaunchCode in St Louis, both non-profits creating alternative educational pathways to technology for underrepresented communities. During Carmen’s time at LaunchCode, the organization was a 2019 and 2020 honoree in the St Louis Women’s Foundation Women in the Workplace scorecard. This distinction recognizes employers who are committed to gender equity and initiatives to support women in the workplace. LaunchCode was also featured in Forbes’ 2019 Best Startup Employers. Carmen holds a Master of Public Policy from the Gerald R. Ford School of Public Policy at the University of Michigan, and a Bachelor’s degree from the University of California, Berkeley. She was also a 2011 Public Policy and International Affairs fellow. Her policy interests include diversity, equity, and inclusion, leadership development, and identity formation among Asian Pacific Americans. Her personal interests include traveling, baking, and learning new languages, with fluency in Cantonese, Spanish, and Mandarin.https://www.linkedin.com/in/carmen-ye-13795359/

Time: 6:00 - 7:00 p.m. ET
Location: Zoom
Register here

Hosts:

• Dustin Castro
  Dustin Castro is the senior recruitment officer for the Ford School of Public Policy
• Megan Nestor, MPP '19

  Megan Nestor is an independent consultant, supporting organizations to make connections and find solutions that strengthen communities and improve outcomes for children and families. With a mix of experience in direct service, policy and data analysis, and community engagement, Megan enjoys using data and research in tandem with community voices to connect policy and practice across disciplines.  

  Megan began her career in youth-serving organizations, spending close to a decade working with non-profits in New York City to combat systemic inequities facing historically underrepresented students. After completing her MPP at the Ford School, Megan moved to Pittsburgh and worked at Fourth Economy Consulting, focused on the intersections between economic development, education, and child care. She then served as the inaugural Deputy Director of Allegheny County’s Department of Children Initiatives until early 2023.  

  Outside of work, you can usually find Megan spending time outdoors (in any season) and exploring Pittsburgh with her husband and their toddler.

• Jackie Barocio, MPP '16

• Andrew Bracken, MPP '13
  Andrew Bracken earned his MPP from the Ford School in 2013 with a focus on international policy analysis. He worked in international development in Washington, DC for nearly seven years. In 2020 Andrew joined the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) at its Washington, DC headquarters as a Program Analyst with the Public Assistance program, FEMA's largest grant program, which helps communities recover from disasters ranging from hurricanes to wildfires to the COVID-19 pandemic. He contributes to policy proposals, serves as the audits and action items liaison for his branch, analyzes data for various stakeholders, and creates talking points and briefing materials. He previously supported the Lost Wages Assistance program and coordinated branch responses to President Biden's transition team. In his disaster role he is an Infrastructure Assets Group Supervisor with the National Response Coordination Center (NRCC).