Ryan is an experienced educator who previously served as the Director of Special Education and Student Support Services for a large high school within Boston Public Schools. Prior to this, Ryan worked as a teacher and certified transition specialist, where he supported students with a wide range of cognitive, emotional, and physical disabilities in successfully transitioning to post-secondary life. During his time in Boston Public Schools, Ryan helped lead a number of initiatives, including overseeing summer programming for high school special education students and providing compensatory services for students who displayed regression due to the COVID-19 pandemic. Prior to his career in education, Ryan gained experience in government and public service through internships with a United States Senator's office and the Mayor of Boston. An avid traveler who has visited over 30 countries, Ryan took time away from the workforce in the year prior to Princeton in order to fulfill a lifelong dream of long-term travel, where he built language skills and a global perspective that will last a lifetime.

Mohamad is a graduate of Claremont McKenna College where he majored in Philosophy, Politics and Economics. Throughout his time at CMC, Mohamad volunteered as a facilitator of student activities for various affinity groups. During his bachelor's, Mohamad also spent a semester studying in Washington, D.C., and working at K&L Gates, where his appreciation for the intricacies of the public policy process began. Mohamad returned to D.C. after his 2021 graduation to work at Pew Research Center on the Race and Ethnicity team where he conducted public opinion polling and demographic analysis. After graduating from Princeton, Mohamad hopes to bring his social science experience to bear on social policy design, implementation, and analysis in the realms of poverty alleviation and social mobility.

Born and raised in Guyana, Surujdai is a dynamic individual with a proven track record of concrete achievements in her dedication to social progress. Before embarking on her studies at Princeton University, she made significant impacts through her engagements in Guyana and New York City. In Guyana, Surujdai led initiatives that resulted in the implementation of an educational curriculum for detained juveniles, providing these vulnerable youths with a chance at learning amidst adversity. Her advocacy efforts also played a pivotal role in the abolition of a regressive wandering law, earning her the prestigious Award of Service in the Area of Volunteerism from the Government of Guyana. Upon transitioning to New York City, Surujdai worked in emergency management, where she identified and addressed critical gaps in safety measures for underserved communities, particularly seniors, during the COVID-19 pandemic. Through her leadership, she coordinated the distribution of over 20,000 units of personal protective equipment and facilitated essential safety training for community members.  Additionally, her tenure at the New York State Legislature, where she contributed to legislation concerning correction, disability, and social services, further underscored her commitment to effecting change. Surujdai aims to utilize her experiences and education to design and implement targeted job training programs in Guyanese communities. By leveraging data analysis and economics, she seeks to create sustainable solutions that alleviate poverty, reduce unemployment, and ultimately, empower individuals to lead dignified lives. Building on her experiences, Surujdai aims to deepen her understanding of policy analysis and development at Princeton SPIA.

Passionate about advancing evidence-based policy in low- and middle-income countries and capacity-building in urban slums, Jiya most recently worked as a Research Coordinator for the Development Innovation Lab in Uganda, managing projects in education, public governance, and community development. Previously, Jiya supported the research portfolios of development economists Michael Kremer and Rachel Glennerster at the University of Chicago. During the COVID pandemic, Jiya served as a Policy Fellow for Boston Mayor Michelle Wu, focusing on research, policy advocacy, and outreach to Boston’s immigrant and refugee communities. As a Fulbright Fellow in India, she conducted an ethnography and resource mapping on NGOs and housing rights in Mumbai slums. In her free time, Jiya loves exploring urban spaces, curling up with a good book alongside her cat Abe, and trying her hand at new hobbies and languages.

Born and raised in New York's Capital District, Dylan is proud to call Princeton his home for the next couple of years.  During his undergraduate studies at Cornell University, where he earned his B.A. in Economics and Government, Dylan pursued his interests in energy, environmental, and economic policy. He held internships with the U.S. House of Representatives, Environmental Defense Fund (EDF), and the Solar Energy Industries Association (SEIA) prior to his most recent role with the New York State Energy Research and Development Authority (NYSERDA) in Albany, New York. While serving as a Performance Management Analyst with NYSERDA, Dylan's day-to-day data analytics and business intelligence work supported New York State's nation-leading goals for greenhouse gas emissions reductions, clean energy and clean transportation rollout, and environmental justice. In addition, he oversaw the successful development of NYSERDA's 2024-2027 Strategic Outlook and served as the acting special assistant to the CEO. He is a proud public servant committed to supporting the energy transition in his career. In his free time, Dylan enjoys refereeing soccer and exploring new places, both the great outdoors and the communities we call home. He is especially passionate about transportation infrastructure and has a goal of riding every public transit system in the U.S.