Current MPA Students

Prajjwal comes to Princeton SPIA from Tansen, a small town in western Nepal. Previously, he worked as a Senior Quantitative Economics Associate at the International Centre for Integrated Mountain Development (ICIMOD), where he used structural equation modeling and path analysis to study how households across Bhutan, Nepal, Bangladesh, and India use migration and immobility as forms of climate adaptation, work he carried out for the SUCCESS project under the CLARE Programme. Before that, with ICIMOD's South Asian Network for Development and Environmental Economics, he worked on a four-country study of the economics of forest restoration, turning household surveys, field experiments, and satellite imagery into evidence that fed directly into regional forest policy. His interest in applied economics took shape at Kathmandu University, where he graduated top of his class and wrote on the link between climate and inequality in Nepal that won a Best Undergraduate Paper Award and was published in the Atlantic Economic Journal. He has since contributed to 3ie Evidence Gap Maps on anemia, climate change, and biodiversity, and led the South Asia analysis for a Micronutrient Forum systematic review on multi-sectoral climate and nutrition interventions. At Princeton, he hopes to dig into environmental economics, technological disruption, migration, inequality, and food systems, with the larger aim of getting rigorous research to actually shape policy in South Asia. Outside of work, he writes poetry, cycles, takes long walks, and teaches economics at REAR Econ, an initiative he founded to support young researchers from low-income, first-generation, and marginalized backgrounds.

Lisette earned her bachelor’s degree with highest honors from the University of Virginia, where she majored in leadership and public policy and minored in Arabic and Chinese as an Echols Scholar and Raven Scholar. Following her graduation in 2022, she studied as a Schwarzman Scholar at Tsinghua University in Beijing, where she engaged in field work to research sustainable health, technology, and education solutions for China’s small-scale farmers. After receiving her master’s degree from Tsinghua, Lisette worked as a senior program associate at the National Committee on U.S.-China Relations, a nonprofit focused on promoting people to people relations between the U.S. and China. At the National Committee, Lisette focused primarily on facilitating Track II Dialogues between industry experts in the U.S. and China on economics, human rights, climate financing, healthcare, and the digital economy. Lisette most recently worked as a research analyst at Rhodium Group, contributing to research on China’s economic and foreign policy developments, EU-U.S.-China relations, and U.S. trade policy. At SPIA, Lisette aims to enhance her understanding of global health policy and diplomacy and then pursue a career in public service. In her spare time, Lisette enjoys exercising, water coloring, and spending time with friends – as a Princeton native, she is also excited to explore her hometown through a new lens.

Asmat is a public policy practitioner and researcher from Balochistan, Pakistan, with a growing interest in development finance and a dedication to building better institutions for underserved communities. His work spans digital governance, education reform, urban development, and data-driven policy design across Pakistan's provincial and federal governments. Asmat holds a master's degree from Harvard University's Graduate School of Education, where his research focused on governance reform and STEM/STEAM policy. He earned his undergraduate degree in international relations from Balochistan University of Information Technology, Engineering and Management Sciences, and was competitively selected – from 18,000 applicants – for the U.S. Department of State's Study of the U.S. Institutions (SUSI) Student Leaders Program at the University of Massachusetts, Amherst. His professional experience includes consulting for Pakistan's Federal Ministry of Education on STEM policy, advising the Center for Economic Research in Pakistan on education delivery in Balochistan, and leading digital transformation initiatives for Quetta Metropolitan Corporation, including the foundational development of the Balochistan Land Records Management Information System. He has also contributed to public transport planning and infrastructure development at the provincial level. A published researcher and policy writer, Asmat's work has directly informed provincial legislation, contributing to efforts aimed at improving domestic security, strengthening institutional transparency, and modernizing the security sector in Balochistan. He has been recognized with multiple national and international awards for academic excellence and public leadership.

Born and raised in Meoqui, Chihuahua, Mexico, Adrián earned bachelor’s degrees in law and journalism from the Universidad Autónoma de Chihuahua. After working for a couple of years as a communications officer for the state government, he decided to pursue a specialization in human rights at the Universidad Nacional Autónoma de México. Since then, he focused his career on the promotion and protection of human rights within nongovernmental organizations. For more than eight years, he supported victims of enforced disappearances, torture, and other human rights violations. He also advocated for the rights of migrants and refugees in Mexico, including the families of those who went missing while in transit. In 2023, he moved to Ecuador to work with the U.N. Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights, where he monitored the human rights situation of migrants in the region. In 2025, he was awarded a Fulbright-García Robles scholarship to pursue a master’s degree. Upon completing the MPA, Adrián hopes to work within international organizations to develop policies that prevent disappearances and strengthen efforts to search for and identify missing persons. In his free time, he enjoys reading novels, exercising, practicing photography, and exploring new places.

Mously is a consultant with the Gates Foundation in Senegal, where she provides technical assistance to the Ministry of Education on the MOHEBS program, a national initiative aimed at improving foundational learning outcomes. Her work focuses on strengthening systems and ensuring effective implementation through data-driven strategies and close government collaboration. Before this role, Mously served as a Program Associate at the Education Outcomes Fund, a UNICEF-hosted fund where she coordinated the technical design of a results-based financing program in Tunisia to support youth employment and contributed to early childhood education reforms in South Africa. Previously, she was a Senior Associate at IDinsight, where she led evaluations and system-level research across West and North Africa. Mously’s portfolio included designing a national decision-making dashboard for the Moroccan government, assessing COVID-19’s effects on education in multiple countries, and evaluating remedial learning programs in Senegal. As part of her summer internship, she worked with the Centre pour la recherche économique et ses applications (CEPREMAP) in Paris. Mously holds a B.A. in Statistical Science from Cornell University. She brings strong cross-sectoral experience at the intersection of education, labor, and data systems. Mously is committed to African-led development and evidence-based policymaking. Her approach prioritizes deep contextual understanding and locally grounded solutions that reflect national priorities, institutional realities, and long-term sustainability. She believes that true impact comes from empowering local actors and designing programs that align with a country’s vision for its own development.