NGO

For nearly a decade, Rohan Dharan (BA '13) led initiatives to ensure all DC Public School students had access to advanced and enriched academics.

During her early years in direct practice, Alexandra Citrin (MPP/MSW '12) had a striking realization: families routinely faced policy barriers that made it difficult for them to care for their own children. The systems designed to help families were ...

Zenia Rogatschnig (MPP ’09) turns ideas into practice at the World Bank, helping developing countries build stronger economies.

While Kevin Naud was born and raised in Ann Arbor, the Ford School alumnus’ offspring will be born and raised in Detroit. Naud, who graduated with a Master’s of Public Policy degree in 2021, and his wife are expecting their first child and just bough...

Stacy Dean (’88, MPP’92), admits that the decision to attend the University of Michigan wasn’t the most thought-out process. Coming from a small town in New York, she simply wanted to go somewhere new. “It was the school that was furthest away from w...

Sandy Su (MPA ‘21) was an experienced non-profit professional working in the humanitarian and development sectors in her home country of Myanmar. With aspirations to work internationally, she needed to expand her resume beyond her localized experienc...

Inés Llorente (MPA '20) was working for a human rights organization when she realized she wanted to go back to school to focus on immigration policy and refugee integration. She is now the outreach and content manager at the International Rescue Comm...

Instrumental in passing Proposal 3, which heavily expanded access to the ballot in Michigan, Sharon Dolente (MPP/JD ‘04) is an expert at creating voting rights policy. “Although Americans identify in our tribes, or our camps, or our political par...

Before she took a position at the Nuclear Energy Institute as the director of stakeholder strategy & engagement, Kristy Hartman (MPP ‘13) served as the energy program director at the National Conference of State Legislatures (NCSL). NCSL’s energy pro...

In February 2019, Hardy Vieux (MPP/JD '97) traveled to Tijuana, Mexico, to better understand the needs of asylum seekers at the United States’ southern border. That trip laid the foundation for a program to help people navigate the process, at the sa...

Zara Ahmed (MPP/MPH '09), associate director for federal issues at the Guttmacher Institute, spent seven years overseas with the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention in Rwanda, Namibia, and Haiti, before coming back to the U.S. to advocate...

Sarah Perrine (MPP/MIRS '06) has been a lifelong advocate for the Roma population in Bulgaria. Her Peace Corps placement in Bulgaria and homestay with a Roma family was formative. "I was shocked and troubled by the level of prejudice and marginalizat...

Alan Cohen (MPP '75) has led an impressive career in social security policy, means-tested programs, and federal budget policy. Working for both the executive and legislative branches, Cohen has transformed aspects of social security, means-tested pro...

Steve Tobocman (MPP/JD '97) has been a leading advocate for immigrant inclusion in Detroit over the past two decades. After serving in Michigan’s House of Representatives for six years–his final term as the second highest ranking legislator–he return...

Since volunteering with a children’s nonprofit in high school, Tannistha Datta (MPA '09) wanted to pursue children’s rights protection work. At the Ford School, this desire was confirmed. "Through policy and international development frameworks, the ...

As the vice president of policy research and analysis at the Congressional Black Caucus Foundation, Dr. Menna Demessie (PhD '10) strives to analyze and synthesize data and equip stakeholders with information to have constructive dialogue about racial...

Claudia Muñoz' (MPP '09) career has focused on improving the national and international defense and security sector. With over 20 years of experience in the public and private sector, Munoz continues her dedication to these sectors as a research...

In many countries, longstanding government practices came to a halt amid COVID-19 restrictions. Ford School alum Meghan Rowley (BA '18), Latin America program associate at the International Republican Institute (IRI), has been helping to implement st...

Serving in Mozambique with the Peace Corps, Jimmy Schneidewind (MPP/MBA '15)  became frustrated by deep-rooted, operational red tape. "You become aware of what you don’t know," said Schneidewind, recalling the information disconnect between field wor...

Because it is easy to transport and produce, wood charcoal is an important cooking fuel in developing countries, particularly in urban areas. Unfortunately, traditional wood charcoal, is often unsustainably produced and consumed, putting severe press...

COVID-19-themed cyberattacks are on the rise due to an exponential increase in telework and an opportunity to exploit fear during the pandemic. Ford School alum John Guerriero (MPP ‘17) and his team at the National Governors Association Center for Be...