Current Students

Sam is pursuing a joint MPA/J.D. with Harvard Law School and is passionate about leveraging policy to combat food insecurity and promote greater health equity. He has previously worked with local governments and nonprofits to advocate for and implement more equitable food policies, including his role in the Rhode Island Food Policy Council's successful effort to pass the state's first cottage food law. Prior to enrolling at SPIA, Sam was a federal contractor for the Veterans Health Administration (VHA), where he supported the Office of Clinical Informatics in its transition to a new electronic health record system, drawing on his data, health, and policy experience. In his free time, Sam is an avid distance runner and Philadelphia Eagles fan.

Adán has over ten years of rewarding experiences empowering people and bringing them into the democratic and policy-making process. At Meta, Adán led and drove the third-party engagement strategy for California state and local external partners, working with the Office of California Governor Gavin Newsom, state agencies, and the California Legislature to address key company-wide priorities such as election integrity, safety, security, disaster preparedness, and combating misinformation. Prior to Meta, he served as the Deputy Director of Civic Engagement for the National Association of Latino Elected and Appointed Officials (NALEO) Educational Fund – the nation’s leading nonprofit, nonpartisan organization that facilitates full Latino participation in the American political process, from citizenship to public service – where he led national civic engagement campaigns from the 2020 Census to the 2020 Election. The queer son of Mexican immigrants and proud grandson of a Bracero, Adán is a first-generation graduate of the University of California, San Diego, and an alum of the Public Policy and International Affairs Junior Summer Institute (JSI) at the University of California, Berkeley Goldman School of Public Policy. Adán has been recognized as Inland Empire’s “30 Under 30” by California Assembly Leader-Emeritus Eloise Gomez Reyes, a Pride Honoree by the California Legislative LGBTQ Caucus, and has been named a Latino Heritage Month Leader by Congresswoman Norma Torres. As a trained civil rights advocate and civic technologist, while at Princeton, Adán is interested in exploring how technology can advance the public interest.

Eric is a Taiwanese American from southern Maine with an interest in strengthening democracy in the U.S. and around the world. Prior to Princeton, Eric spent six years as an adviser to nonprofits and philanthropies at The Bridgespan Group, where he focused on democracy, advocacy, and public and global health. In this role, he supported organizations with strategic planning, growth strategies, scenario planning, and operating model design. He completed a six-month secondment with the Leadership Now Project, a nonprofit that engages business executives to protect American democracy, and previously interned at Save the Children U.S., the American Red Cross, and the U.S. Department of State. This past summer, he also worked as a Mayoral Fellow for the City of Chicago, where he focused on changes to the federal budget, internal policy review, and human trafficking awareness and prevention. Eric holds a Bachelor of Science in Foreign Service from Georgetown University where he studied Science, Technology, and International Affairs with a concentration in Biotechnology and Global Health.

Valerie is from Singapore and holds a bachelor’s degree in sociology with a minor in education from the University of California, Berkeley. Her career began as a policymaker in the Singapore Government where she worked on preschool and after-school care policies at the Ministry of Education before moving to the Ministry of Manpower to focus on labor issues. Most recently, Valerie served as a Strategic Planner at the Prime Minister’s Office, collaborating with leaders to set the strategic direction and policy agenda for the nation. Valerie is a passionate advocate for education reform, social justice and good governance. In her free time, she enjoys exploring new restaurants, unwinding with Netflix and immersing herself in new cultures.

Sam was born and raised in Honolulu, Hawai`i. She moved to Massachusetts to earn her undergraduate degree from Wellesley College where she studied economics and political science. After college, Sam moved back home to work in the housing division of the Legal Aid Society of Hawai`i. There she led the housing test case program – which worked to identify and combat housing discrimination – and assisted with cases of wrongful eviction during the COVID-19 eviction moratoriums. She then moved back to Massachusetts to work as an economic consultant, where she assisted industry and academic experts in analyzing the economic impact of antitrust, labor, and energy cases. This past summer, Sam researched monetary poverty at the United Nation's Economic and Social Commission of Asia and the Pacific. At Princeton, Sam plans to further develop her analytical skills and knowledge of public finance in order to implement research and community-informed policy after graduation.