Students |
Radhika Batra
MPA 2010: International Finance and Policy
 Radhika Batra is a second-year MPA student, with a concentration in International Finance and Policy. Prior to joining SIPA she worked at a domestic microfinance organization and at the grassroots level on livelihood development in rural Rajasthan. Her professional experience showed her the ability of credit, as well as the private sector to shape positive change. Radhika intends to pursue finance in emerging markets upon completion of her degree. Text interview |
Nicolas Beauch
MPA 2010: Advanced Policy and Economic Analysis
 Nicolas Beauch is a second-year MPA student from France pursuing a concentration in Advanced Policy and Economic Analysis. In Paris he studied at the Ecole Polytechnique. At the end of his studies there, he was chosen to be part of the ministerial program, which pays him to study. Through this program, he obtained a Masters in Humanities, Management & Finance from Ecole Nationale des Ponts et Chaussees. Now he is pursuing his MPA at SIPA while officially employed by France’s Ministry of Environment, Sustainable Development, & Urban Planning. Prior to SIPA, Nicolas’ training for his future career in the ministry included working in the private sector at BNP Paribas in London and at the Boston Consulting Group in Paris. He has also worked for the French Agency of Development on creating a strategy to support financial systems in Africa. Text interview |
Carrie Campbell
MPA 2009: International Energy Management and Policy
 Before arriving at SIPA, Carrie Campbell worked for the New York City Parks Department, taught English in Mexico and started an after-school program for Mexican immigrants in Birmingham, AL.
"As someone interested in studying urban development policy with a focus on migration and energy issues, having the ability to supplement the wide array of SIPA courses with courses offered through the Planning and Engineering schools is a great perk." Text interview
|
Tse-Ming “Mike” Chang
MPA 2009: Urban Policy
 Tse-Ming “Mike” Chang, from Kaohsiung, Taiwan, says SIPA’s reputation, diversity and location in New York were well known to him. But beginning his program, he appreciates how successfully the school integrates those resources. “We have numerous career panels of major companies and international institutions, we have senior governmental officials and established entrepreneurs among our classmates, and we have many famous professors from various departments within the same building for us to consult. Text interview | Video interview (Flash Player)
|
Sandhya Chari
MPA 2010: Economic and Political Development
 Sandhya attended UCLA, where she pursued a Bachelor’s degree in Political Science and a minor in public policy. After graduating from UCLA, she pursued her interest in advertising, marketing and media by taking a position with Google Inc. in Online Sales and Operations. Text interview |
Donna Chu
MIA 2009: Economic and Political Development
 Before SIPA, Donna Chu taught secondary school English in Peace Corps Benin for two years and worked for a year and a half in case management in New Orleans after Hurricane Katrina.
"SIPA had the extra draw of being located in New York with access to the U.N. and all the agencies working in humanitarian relief and development.” Text interview
|
Cecily David
MPA 2010: Management
 Before arriving at SIPA, Cecily David completed coursework in African studies at the University of Ghana, Legon, and worked for the Bahá’í International Community (BIC) United Nations Office in New York. “I decided to come to SIPA because it seemed to be the most internationally-focused of the policy schools, and it gave me access to organizations I was interested in working with in New York." Video interview (Flash Player)
|
Anesa Diaz-Uda
MPA 2010: Management and Institutional Analysis
 Anesa Diaz-Uda is a second-year SIPA student pursuing an MPA degree with a concentration in Management and Institutional Analysis. She graduated cum laude from Vassar College with a B.A. in Political Science and Economics. Text interview
|
Pablo Espinel
MIA 2011: Economic and Political Development/Latin America
 Pablo Espinel is from Ecuador and prior to joining SIPA was an Environmental Engineer. He came to SIPA seeking to change his career trajectory. Text interview |
T’Errance Favors
MIA 2009: International Security Policy
 T’Errance Favors, from Denver, Colorado, worked as a high school Spanish teacher before coming to SIPA. He says he wanted to shift his career toward public service with an international focus. “What I like best is the number of teaching practitioners involved in the concentration. I have taken classes with professors who are active military, leading researchers at think tanks and former ambassadors. Each of these individuals was able to provide us with current applications of the content of their course. Text interview | Video interview (Flash Player)
|
Molly Grodin
MIA 2009: Economic and Political Development
 Molly Grodin has a background in healthcare corporate communications, and is completing a Master of International Affairs in Economic and Political Development. Video interview (Flash Player) |
Scott E. Hartley
MIA/MBA 2011: Dual Degree with Business School and International Economic and Finance Policy
 Scott E. Hartley, a joint-degree MIA/MBA student at SIPA and Columbia Business School concentrating in International Economic Policy and Entrepreneurship respectively, holds a BA in Political Science from Stanford University. At Stanford, Scott was the co-recipient of the Dean of Student’s Outstanding Achievement Award for his role as Director of Stanford in Government’s international fellowship program. Text interview |
Kelly Heindel
MIA 2010: Economic and Political Development
 Kelly Heindel has a Bachelor of Business Administration degree in International Business, and has worked with AmeriCorps National Civilian Community Corps and in the pharmaceutical and biotechnology industry. "The amount of course options is staggering and it is pretty easy to take courses through other schools at Columbia." Text interview |
John Hughes
MIA 2010: Political and Economic Risk Analysis
 John is a second-year SIPA student pursuing an MIA degree with a concentration in Political and Economic Risk Analysis. He holds a B.A. in English Literature from Colby College in Waterville, Maine, where he graduated Magna Cum Laude. Text interview
|
Josh Huneycutt
MIA 2010: Environmental Policy Studies
 Josh is a second-year SIPA student pursuing an MIA degree with a concentration in Environmental Policy Studies (now part of the Energy and Environment Policy Concentration). After graduating from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill with a degree in Chemistry and Spanish in 2005, Josh continued his work in a research laboratory at the UNC Gillings School of Global Public Health, designing methods for the detection of pharmaceuticals in drinking water for the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency. Text interview |
Anahi Ayala Iacucci
MIA 2010: Human Rights
 Anahi Ayala Iacucci from Brescia, Italy, says she chose SIPA because of its tremendous worldwide reputation in international affairs. “Speaking with SIPA students while working and during my academic experience, I relished their knowledge and prodigious preparation. Furthermore, I had the opportunity to read and listen to SIPA professors, and was immediately attracted by the depth of interconnection between their practical experience and academic knowledge.” Text interview | Video interview (Flash Player)
|
Michael Jaggers
MIA 2010: International Economic Policy
 Michael Jaggers holds a B.A. from Brown University, concentrating in Business Economics and European History. He began studies at SIPA in January 2008, and addresses the challenges of entering midyear: "It puts a real premium on understanding what courses you want to take, and how you will schedule those classes in the semesters ahead.” Text interview
|
Catherine Jing
MIA 2010: Management and Institutional Analysis
 Catherine Jing began in an international and media communications concentration, and describes how she was drawn to management.
"During the first semester, I felt that I was drawn into the endless possibilities that the management field can offer. Management courses teach you solutions in businesses.”
Text interview |
Yata Kande
MIA 2009: Economic and Political Development
 Yata Kande is an Economic and Political Development concentrator, focusing on gender and Africa. “The one thing that really attracted me in terms of SIPA’s curriculum was its international focus, compared to other schools that had a more domestic focus. Also, the school’s proximity to the United
Nations.” Video interview (Flash Player)
|
Laura Keating
MIA 2009: Environmental Policy
 Laura Keating previously worked at the Center for Strategic and International Studies (CSIS), a bipartisan, non-profit foreign policy think tank in Washington, DC. While at CSIS, she managed a program on international water challenges and their impact on U.S. foreign policy objectives.
At the SIPA admitted student open house "...I looked out across the sea of people gathered in the room and it seemed like every nationality, every color, and every walk of life were represented." Text interview
|
Lauren Klein
MIA 2011: International Media and Communications/Information and Internet Policy
 Lauren Klein is a first-year MIA student concentrating in International Media and Communications with a focus in information and Internet policy. Before coming to SIPA, Lauren worked as a freelance journalist based in New Delhi, India. Her work has appeared in The Christian Science Monitor, the AP's asap, and Mint, a business publication of The Wall Street Journal. She started reporting at The (Stamford) Advocate, a daily newspaper in Stamford, Conn. She earned her B.A. in Critical Social Thought from Mount Holyoke College. Text interview |
Stephan Koppányi
MIA 2011: International Security Policy
 Stephan Koppányi is a first-year MIA student concentrating in International Security Policy (ISP). He is from Vienna, Austria, and came to SIPA on a Fulbright scholarship in order to complement his previous studies and professional experience with a Master's degree from a U.S. university. Text interview |
Julia Kotlyar
MIA 2009: Management
 Julia Kotlyar is a Management concentrator and a representative on the Russian International Association. “New York is really a character of Columbia University. Outside of the amazing faculty, you’re also getting the experience of New York, the networking, etc.” Video interview (Flash Player)
|
Abibata Shanni Mahama
MPA 2010: Economic and Political Development
 Abibata Shanni Mahama is a SIPA student pursuing an MPA degree with a concentration in Economic and Political Development. She earned her bachelor’s degree in Psychology from the University of Ghana, Legon. She is from the northern part of Ghana with known challenges such as high illiteracy rates and negative cultural practices, which mostly affect girl-child education and encourage early marriages. As my personal contribution to improving the lives of my people she seeks to engage herself in outreach programs such as dress making and sheabutter extraction organized by Ghanaian Danish Community Program aimed at eliminating some of these challenges. Text interview
|
Faridah Nassali
MIA 2010: Economic and Political Development
 Before joining SIPA, Faridah worked with varied organizations in the public and the not-for-profit sectors in Uganda. Specifically she worked with the Inspectorate of Government/Ombudsman as a State Prosecutor and I worked with the Uganda Association of Women Lawyers (FIDA-Uganda) as a legal volunteer on gender issues. It was the varied challenges in these sectors that triggered her to apply to SIPA with the goal of finding the center point in her career. Text interview
|
Magdalena Pampillo
MIA 2010: International Energy Management and Policy
Magdalena Pampillo holds a B.S. in Environmental Engineering from the Universidad Catolica Argentina of Buenos Aires, Argentina. Prior to studying at SIPA, Magdalena developed her career in the environmental field, working for Argentina’s biggest industrial conglomerate Techint, where she worked for the oil, gas and steel industry in the corporate sector leading various projects from 2005-2007. Magdalena also has experience in the public sector working for the Secretariat of Environmental and Sustainable Development analyzing clean available technologies for several industries. Text interview |
Estelle Rosine Raimondo
MIA 2010: Dual Degree with Sciences Po, Paris
 Estelle is a Fulbright student from France, concentrating in Economic and Political Development. She completed her undergraduate studies at Sciences Po, Paris and studied one year at Wellesley College in Massachusetts.
Text interview |
Liyu Sheng
MIA 2011: International Media and Communications
 Liyu Sheng is a first-year MIA student with a concentration in International Media and Communication. He did his B.A. at Fudan University in Shanghai and Waseda University in Tokyo, majoring in media and liberal studies. Prior to enrolling in SIPA, he was an intern at Marketplace Public Radio's Shanghai Bureau. He also worked with NPR's On The Media and On Point as a translator and fixer during their projects in Shanghai. His coursework includes business writing, economic analysis and Chinese foreign policy. Text interview |
Andrew Sinclair
MIA 2010: Middle East
 Andrew Sinclair is a second-year MIA student talks about what he did prior to joining SIPA, his motivation for applying to the program, and what it was like to begin the program in the spring semester. Text interview |
Leehe Skuler
MPA 2009: International Economic Policy
 Before joining SIPA, Leehe Skuler lived in Berlin, Germany for more than a year, working at the Aspen Institute of Berlin. There she focused on geopolitical transatlantic relations, conducting extensive research on social and political trends in Iran. Leehe holds a B.A. in Philosophy, Economics and Politics from the Hebrew University in Jerusalem. Text interview
|
Eugene Sokoloff
MIA 2009: Russia and the Former Soviet States
 Eugene Sokoloff talks about his experience while attending SIPA. Eugene is part of the Harriman program, focusing on Russia and the former Soviet states. He explains the benefits of a regional concentration and provides recommendations for prospective students. Video interview (Windows Media Player) |
Kristoffer Tangri
MIA 2010: International Security Policy
 Kristoffer is a second-year SIPA student from Germany pursuing a MIA degree with a concentration in International Security Policy. He was awarded a two year scholarship by the German Academic Exchange Service and holds a B.A. in Political Science and Public Administration from the University of Konstanz and a M.Sc. in Population and Development Studies from the London School of Economics and Political Science. Text interview
|
Kate Wilkinson
MPA 2009: Management
 Kate Wilkinson grew up in Africa, completed her undergraduate degree in Connecticut and worked in corporate and non-profit partnerships in France and Guatemala. Her background and interest in corporate social responsibility recently led her to focus on developing a social enterprise for women in Zambia. Text interview | Video interview (Flash Player)
|
Stephanie Woodard
MIA 2010: Economic and Political Development
 Stephanie holds a BA in Political Science and French from Dillard University in New Orleans, Louisiana. Prior to graduating from Dillard, Ms. Woodard served as the president of her senior class and as an officer and founding member of Mentorship to Internship; a program, which helps university students find internships in a variety of industries. Stephanie is also a recipient of the Charles B. Rangel Fellowship. Text interview |
Zaiyang Zhu
MIA 2010: International Economic Policy
Zaiyang Zhu from China began his own company after college. After selling his company, he opted to join SIPA for professional policy training. He addresses working in groups. "Group work seems to be one of SIPA’s core learning principles. I had one work group pretty much for every class." Text interview |
