Current Students

Nadia is coming to Princeton SPIA from Indonesia. Previously, she worked at J-PAL Southeast Asia, where she worked on an urban transportation operational improvement project in Jakarta and a randomized evaluation on the performance improvement of tax offices in Indonesia. Nadia’s 1.5-hour bus commute in Jakarta served as her daily lesson on how cities work—or sometimes, how they don’t. Combined with her prior educational and professional journey, this experience sparked her interest in learning how data and invaluable local context can drive progress in urban policymaking, particularly in the areas of urban mobility and climate adaptation. In her free time, she enjoys scenic walks or easy hikes, playing squash, and trying out good food.

Cassandra was born in Accra, Ghana, and raised in both Ghana and Nigeria. After graduating, she moved to Dakar, Senegal, to join IDinsight as an Associate, where she provided Monitoring and Evaluation advisory services to NGOs and governments across West Africa. After IDinsight, she worked with IPA Ghana, supporting the Ghanaian Ministry of Education in developing and scaling a nationwide early childhood education program. Prior to attending Princeton, Cassandra spent three months in Freetown, Sierra Leone, as a Monitoring and Evaluation Specialist, supporting the Ministry of Agriculture in implementing the government’s flagship program, Feed Salone. Following graduation, Cassandra intends to pursue work that addresses inequality and supports the strengthening of governance institutions across Africa. In her free time, she enjoys baking and hiking.

Born and raised in Minnesota, Clara holds a Bachelor of Arts in Economics from the University of Minnesota-Twin Cities. Before attending Princeton SPIA, she worked in the U.S. Department of the Treasury’s Office of International Affairs, where she conducted macroeconomic analysis and contributed to economic policy for the Office of Europe and Eurasia. Prior to her time in public service, Clara worked in international financial services and educational sectors. She served as a Fulbright English Teaching Assistant in Türkiye and studied abroad in Baku, Azerbaijan. The summer before starting at SPIA, she volunteered as a trail builder on the Transcaucasian Trail in Dilijan, Armenia. Clara hopes to continue working in international economic policy after graduation. In her free time, she enjoys reading, running, and spending time outdoors.

Katie is a joint MPA/J.D. student at the Princeton School of Public and International Affairs and Yale Law School. She was born and raised in Bellevue, Washington, and studied psychology at Duke University. She was a Fulbright English Teaching Assistant at a rural teachers’ college in Ixtapan de la Sal, Mexico. After returning from Mexico, Katie helped manage ten in-house pro bono legal clinics at the University of North Carolina School of Law. She interpreted and translated for 80 Spanish-speaking clients, organized the CARES Act Eviction Information Line to help undocumented tenants, and helped establish the Adult Parole Project. She later served as the community education coordinator for the Farmworker Unit at Legal Aid of North Carolina, where she coordinated know-your-rights trainings for migrant, seasonal, and H-2A farmworkers. In that role, she developed outreach strategies to reach prospective clients with limited literacy, with limited digital literacy, and who speak Indigenous languages. Outside of work, she volunteered with Al Otro Lado, Respond Crisis Translation, and the IRS Volunteer Income Tax Assistance program. Katie was the 2020–2021 recipient of the Hillary Rodham Clinton Award for Peace and Reconciliation at Queen’s University Belfast. There, she researched the intersection of immigration law and technology, the role of women in peacebuilding in Northern Ireland, and the treatment of speakers of Indigenous languages at the U.S.-Mexico border. Katie is interested in policy approaches to increasing access to justice. She speaks fluent Spanish, intermediate French, and basic Maya Mam. In her free time, she enjoys playing board games, reading investigative reporting, and singing in her church choir.

Manuel was born and raised in Cusco, Peru, and later earned his bachelor's degree in economics from Universidad Nacional Mayor de San Marcos. For over seven years before SPIA, he worked in Peru’s public sector, holding roles across education, social policy, banking, and central planning agencies, where he applied economic analysis and data science techniques, and engaged with technical and political stakeholders at all levels to generate valuable insights for diverse public policies. In recent years, he served in his country’s Ministry of Economy and Finance, leading efforts to strengthen results-based budgeting and approaching the public sector through a cross-sectoral lens to promote efficiency and evidence-based policymaking. He is committed to advancing much-needed institutional reforms in Peru and Latin America to bring quality public services closer to the most vulnerable populations, within a framework of environmental sustainability and digital transformation. Upon completing the MPA, he looks forward to serving either as a senior official within Peru’s central government or in an advisory role at an international institution. Manuel enjoys dabbling in team sports, delving into cultural history, and binge-watching dystopian tales and suspenseful thrillers.