Podcasts

Yasmin Elhady MPP ’15 is an attorney, public policy specialist, and stand-up comedian. She’s performed all over Washington, D.C., including at The Kennedy Center and The DC Improv, and she’s toured nationally and internationally in the United Kingdom. Her alter ego is “Yasguru,” a hyperactive relationship advisor with silly videos on YouTube and Instagram. In this Q&A and bonus podcast, she discusses how 9/11 and being a Muslim immigrant shaped her career path to public service and how a talent show at SPIA helped her start her stand-up career. Princeton Policy Podcasts · Big Risks, Big Opportunities (Yasmin Elhady MPP ‘15) Q. Tell us about…

Using new technologies like artificial intelligence (AI) to improve humanity is at the core of Robert L. Gordon MPA '89's work. As chief growth officer of SBG Technology Solutions, Gordon is using a multi-sector approach to bring the latest technologies to the masses. Throughout his career, he’s also learned how to be a thoughtful and strategic leader. He boils it down to three main tenets: know who is around the table (and their stakes and stands), be inclusive and transparent, and give people a voice. Finally: When in charge, take charge. He shares his story, as well as some memories from his time at the Princeton School of Public and…

Annamie Paul is the leader of the Green Party of Canada. She is the first Black Canadian and first Jewish woman to be elected leader of a major federal party in the country. ​Paul is the daughter of immigrants who arrived in Canada from the Caribbean in the 1960s. She engaged with public policy from an early age. At 12, she was a page for the Ontario Legislature and later served as a page for the Canadian Senate. She was the founder and executive director of the Canadian Centre for Political Leadership from 2001 to 2005 and has worked in civic engagement and international affairs positions, including in political affairs in Canada's Mission to…

Nathan Eckstein was most recently the political and outreach director for a U.S. Congresswoman in Western Illinois who sought reelection to a fifth term. This spring, he’ll be joining the U.S. Department of State as a foreign service officer. In this Q&A and podcast episode, recorded just after the 2020 election, he discusses life on the campaign trail (in unprecedented times) and what lies ahead for his career. He credits the Princeton School of Public and International Affairs and the Scholars in the Nation’s Service Initiative (SINSI) for providing him with support along the way. Princeton Policy Podcasts · Grist for the Mill (Nathan…

Dalia Katan '15 is the CEO and founder of Presently, a social commerce startup helping people celebrate special occasions more meaningfully while also empowering conscious consumerism. In this Q&A and bonus podcast episode, she gets into what motivated her to create Presently and how she uses her Princeton School of Public and International Affairs (SPIA) training to be an effective leader in today’s changing world. Princeton Policy Podcasts · Becoming a Problem Finder (Dalia Katan '15) Q. What is/are the most important policy issue(s) facing us today? Katan: It’s hard to pick one. It’s a pretty busy time for us Americans. I think a lot of…

Asa Craig MPA ’17 describes himself as a “young person coming out of a graduate school sabbatical.” After earning his MPA from Princeton, he went on to earn a law degree from Yale University. Over the course of his graduate study, he’s interned or had fellowships with the Urban Institute, the Pennsylvania Governor’s Office of the General Counsel, and a law firm; he’s also helped provide political analysis to the Black Economic Alliance, and spent some time on the Hill doing corporate governance research for U.S. Representative Gregory W. Meeks. Craig most recently joined Sullivan & Cromwell LLP as a law clerk on the firm’s general practice team,…