Current Students

Elizabeth is from Bellingham, Washington, and studied economics and political science at Middlebury College. In 2021, Elizabeth moved to Haiti to coordinate a research project on social networks and small‐scale corruption in the Haitian Ministries, a collaboration between the University of Chicago and the Inter-American Development Bank. She later became a Reporting Officer within the United Nations’ Political Mission in Haiti, where she managed, analyzed, and published data on gang‐related human rights abuses. The summer after her first year at Princeton, Elizabeth interned at World Bank’s Independent Evaluation Group in Washington, D.C. and worked as a consultant for the Inter-American Development Bank’s Institutional Capacity of the State (ICS) division. She aspires to be a development practitioner working at the intersection of operations and analysis, with a focus on helping weak states strengthen their social contracts and combat crime, corruption, and violence.

Shreya is originally from Kolkata, India. She graduated in 2021 from the dual B.A. program between Columbia University and Sciences Po with a major in Economics. Prior to Princeton, Shreya worked as a Senior Research Associate at Pahle India Foundation, an economic policy think tank in New Delhi, and interned at NITI Aayog, the apex public policy institution of the Government of India. In these roles, she conducted research and advocacy across a range of policy levers driving the India growth story: trade and industrial development, ease of doing business, MSME development, retail and e-commerce, and women’s entrepreneurship. She has also contributed to the drafting of national and state-level policy frameworks, including the Uttar Pradesh Export Promotion Policy 2025-30. At Princeton and beyond, Shreya looks forward to deepening her understanding of international trade policy and global best practices in trade and investment promotion. She aims to leverage her research experience to develop actionable strategies that help businesses in emerging economies integrate into global value chains. In her free time, she enjoys traveling, writing creative nonfiction, and solving NYT crossword puzzles.

Faith was born and raised in Los Angeles, CA, and in 2020, she graduated with a B.A. in international studies from American University in Washington, D.C. After graduating, she worked in anti-war organizing as a congressional lobbyist, primarily focusing on advocacy in favor of nuclear nonproliferation, U.S. military spending cuts, and global climate action. She also serves on the field-building committee of the Ploughshares Fund, a nuclear nonproliferation fund working to expand and organize the nonproliferation movement. During her internship in the summer of 2025, she performed strategic corporate research on the green manufacturing industry for the labor rights organization Jobs to Move America, while also making field visits to frontline environmental justice groups in Louisiana fighting corporate pollution. As a Boren Scholar, she plans to return to D.C. after graduate school to work in a national security position in the federal government. But ultimately, she hopes to return to organizing in her home state of California. In her spare time, she enjoys trying new foods and teas, traveling, pop culture analysis, a good baseball game, and the occasional musical. 

Behdad is originally from Iran and before pursuing graduate education, he was dedicated to driving social impact through evidence-based policymaking and public awareness in Iran. As the co-founder of the influential Sekke Podcast, with over 100,000 subscribers, he fostered informed discussions on critical economic and development issues. In his role as Head of the Department of Education at the Tehran Economic Policy-making Think-tank (TEPT) at the University of Tehran, Behdad enabled impactful research and provided high-quality education on applied economics and development. During his internship at SPIA, he gained international experience at the World Bank, contributing to poverty and equity research and policy dissemination projects in Latin America. He holds both a bachelor’s and a master’s degree in economics from the University of Tehran. Upon graduation, Behdad plans to work on the challenges that developing countries face in reducing poverty.

Sejal is a proud Coloradan and Scholars in the Nation’s Service Initiative (SINSI) Graduate Fellow. Immediately before beginning her MPA, Sejal graduated Magna Cum Laude and Phi Beta Kappa from Princeton University with a degree in SPIA and certificates in Latin American Studies and Spanish Language and Culture. As an undergraduate, she was a SINSI Intern at the U.S. Department of State, where she worked across the data, grants, Western Hemisphere Affairs, and press teams in the Bureau of Oceans and International Environmental and Scientific Affairs (OES). Sejal also has a strong background in nonprofit management and storytelling. Since 2022, she has worked at the Aspen Institute, where she convenes international and cross-sector experts in her role as Program Associate, furthering the use of science in the service of society. Her publications with Aspen address topics of public trust in science, global science, science policy, and the intersection of science and community. Her independent thesis research focused on community-driven climate mobility efforts in coastal Panama, culminating in recommendations to further human rights and Indigenous autonomy in adaptation planning. Throughout her time at Princeton, Sejal has served as a Head Features Editor for The Daily Princetonian, an Ethics of Policy Fellow with the Liechtenstein Institute on Self-Determination, a Core Volunteer with El Centro ESL Education, and a Deputy Organizer for Vote100. She has also held development and mentorship roles through Service Focus and Princeton Women in Economics and Policy.