Current MPA Students

Originally hailing from sunny Brisbane, Brad earned a Bachelor of Economics at the University of Queensland. He then moved to Canberra and worked in the Department of the Treasury for over six years. There he spent time across a wide range of public policy areas such as tax, housing, and competition policy. Most of his time was spent in macroeconomic forecasting, where he provided advice on whole-of-economy and labor market conditions to ministers and senior executives. In this area, he spent time developing new models to improve the accuracy and richness of economic forecasts. Brad is passionate about using data to drive and inform policy. At Princeton, he is keen to learn how to turn evidence-based policy into durable and long-lasting change, particularly through collaboration with his peers and faculty. In his spare time, he likes to keep active, be it at the gym or on hikes and runs. Over the summer, Brad made the most of Australia’s proximity to Asia, visiting Hong Kong and Sri Lanka, trying different cuisines and spending time with family.

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. During the summer, she interned with the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development's (EBRD) Competitiveness and Economic Governance team in London, where she worked on industrial policy issues and supported the implementation of the EBRD's inaugural Economic Governance Strategy. Prior to entering public service, Clara worked in the international financial services and education sectors, including serving as a Fulbright English Teaching Assistant in Türkiye. Clara enjoys spending time outdoors and volunteered on the Transcaucasian Trail in Dilijan, Armenia, before beginning her studies at SPIA.

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. 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. 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. This summer, Manuel interned with the Development Effectiveness team at IDB Invest, where he worked on assessing how private-sector investments generate measurable development outcomes across Latin America and the Caribbean. He also explored how artificial intelligence is being used to support project evaluation and internal processes within a development finance institution. Upon completing the MPA, he looks forward to serving in a senior role within Peru’s central government or contributing to development policy and operations at a multilateral development agency. Manuel enjoys dabbling in team sports, delving into cultural history, and discovering well-told stories across classic and contemporary series.

Hailing from Montana, Courtney’s passion for, and perspective on, public service and international affairs are greatly shaped by her working-class roots. Now at Princeton, she most recently spent a year in Tokyo as a Henry Luce Scholar, supporting the Trilateral Commission’s Annual Plenary Meeting at the International House of Japan. Prior to that, she served as a Program Coordinator for her alma mater’s TRIO Student Support Services Office, where she promoted scholarship opportunities and developed academic resources for first-generation, low-income, and disabled college students. Her other experiences range broadly from computer repair and art appraisal, to designing and implementing grassroots financial coaching and laptop distribution programs for refugee clients as an AmeriCorps VISTA service member at Missoula’s International Rescue Committee. Courtney holds a B.A. in Russian and a certificate in global studies from the University of Montana. She has previously spent time in Kyrgyzstan, Kazakhstan, and South Korea on several State Department scholarships. She aspires to translate these experiences to a career in foreign policy focused on rebuilding and strengthening multilateral relations. In her free time, Courtney enjoys making coffee, collecting vinyl records, and petting street cats around the world.