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Michelle Feist, Seyron Foo, Kathy Roth-Douquet
News November 13, 2025
Industry Insiders: Princeton SPIA Alumni in Philanthropy
For more than 90 years, alumni from the Princeton School of Public and International Affairs have had meaningful careers in a multitude of industries, perhaps none more so than the federal government. But as government cuts reduce opportunities for a new group of civil servants, Princeton SPIA alumni have stepped up to offer everything from advice to job references for their fellow Tigers.Three alumni with prominent careers in philanthropy — Kathy Roth-Douquet MPA ’91, CEO, Blue Star Families; Michelle Feist MPA ’97, senior program officer, Gates Foundation; and Seyron Foo MPA ’14, chief engagement and intergovernmental relations officer, Los Angeles…
computers
Awards & Recognition November 11, 2025
Program on Science and Global Security Secures $500K Grant to Probe Emerging Tech and Nuclear Risk
In an era marked by rapid technological innovation and intensifying competition over global dominance, the Program on Science and Global Security (SGS) at the Princeton School of Public and International Affairs has received a $500,000 grant from the Carnegie Corporation of New York to investigate how the pursuit and deployment of emerging technologies for military advantage may reshape nuclear war risks and how global diplomacy could address the related security challenges.The two-year grant will support SGS’s efforts to provide independent, science-based analysis of technologies such as artificial intelligence, quantum engineering, and space-based…
Sanyu Mojola's Death by Design book cover
News November 06, 2025
New Book Explores Racial Inequities in Washington D.C.
From the White House to the Washington Monument, imagery of the nation’s capital often conveys a sense of promise, hope, and justice for all. But for centuries, marginalized groups in Washington, D.C., have faced some of the country’s worst epidemics: from high maternal and infant mortality rates to homicide, drug addiction to HIV and AIDS outbreaks.Speaking about her new book, “Death by Design: Producing Racial Health Inequality in the Shadow of the Capitol,” (University of California Press), Sanyu Mojola, Professor of Sociology and Public Affairs and the Maurice P. During Professor of Demographic Studies, said, “I was struck by the fact that the…
Students gathering for Public Service Career Day
News November 04, 2025
From Ice Rinks to City Halls, Career Day Inspires Students to Reimagine Public Service
The renowned figures one encounters in a typical public-policy job are lawmakers and public officials, but Melissa Parnagian ’17 spends her days around professional hockey players.Parnagian, who works for the National Hockey League’s Social Impact, Growth Initiatives, and Legislative Affairs department, returned to Princeton last month as part of Public Service Career Day at the Princeton School of Public and International Affairs, where she joined two dozen alumni in sharing advice with students on how to pursue public service through a variety of tracks, including the private sector, law, nonprofits, education, local and state government, and…
SPIAction Newsletter
News November 03, 2025
SPIAction Newsletter — November 2025
Princeton SPIA Faculty, Staff, and Alumni Lead at ConferenceMore than 1,100 individuals, including more than 250 from Princeton SPIA, attended Many Minds, Many Stripes: A Princeton University Conference Celebrating Graduate Alumni.
SPIA accolades header
News October 30, 2025
SPIAccolades — October 2025
Tessa Lowinske Desmond, a professional specialist at the Princeton School of Public and International Affairs, is part of a team that was recently awarded a 2025 Indigenous Communities Fellowship by MIT Solve, a Massachusetts Institute of Technology initiative that seeks “exceptional and diverse solutions to the most pressing global challenges.”Desmond’s team, the East Coast Seedkeepers, was recognized for its work identifying, growing, researching, and saving ancestral seeds in partnership with people from Nanticoke and Lumbee communities to address food…
Pictured from Left: Bryan Manoo MPA ’26, Loreta Quarmine ’27, Karen Villanueva ’27, and Andres Solorzano ’27.
News October 28, 2025
First-Gen Trailblazers Bring Fresh Lens to Public Service
One day in class, Bryan Manoo MPA ’26 revealed something about himself he hadn’t told many people. A classmate was arguing against government subsidies, saying people tend to misuse them. Manoo, the child of street vendors in Mauritius, responded by sharing how government programs helped him go to school, pay for exams, and become the first person in his family to go to college — in the United States, no less.While his presence at the Princeton School of Public and International Affairs enriches the classroom environment and gives his peers the opportunity to learn from someone with a uniquely different background, Manoo remembers that story for…
Zach Wahls MPA ’18, Indya Kincannon MPA ’99, and Jared Polis ’96
News October 23, 2025
Industry Insiders: Princeton Alumni in State and Local Government
For more than 90 years, alumni from the Princeton School of Public and International Affairs (Princeton SPIA) have had meaningful careers in a multitude of industries, perhaps none more so than the federal government. But as government cuts reduce opportunities for a new group of civil servants, alumni from all parts of the University have stepped up to offer everything from advice to job references for their fellow Tigers.Three alumni with prominent careers in state and local government — Indya Kincannon MPA ’99, the mayor of Knoxville, Tennessee; Zach Wahls MPA ’18, an Iowa state senator; and Jared Polis ’96, the governor of Colorado — came together…
Many Minds, Many Stripes event with Dean Amaney Jamal, Cara Abercrombie MPA ’03, and Ajay Bisaria MPP ’09
News October 21, 2025
Princeton SPIA Alumni from Around the World Return to Campus for Stimulating Policy Dialogue
From New Delhi to Tokyo, the global nature of a policy school means that faculty and staff regularly meet with alumni all over the world. But earlier this month, hundreds of alumni of the Princeton School of Public and International Affairs returned to campus as they attended Many Minds, Many Stripes: A Princeton University Conference Celebrating Graduate Alumni.More than 1,100 people attended the three-day conference, representing many of the University’s 46 degree-granting departments and programs that admit graduate students. Of those attending, more than 250 were Princeton SPIA graduates.Princeton SPIA faculty, staff, and alumni led numerous…
Robertson Hall
News October 14, 2025
Welcoming Diverse Voices to SPIA’s Advisory Council
The Princeton School of Public and International Affairs has named three University graduates to its Advisory Council. Robert Doar ’83, Chris Lu ’88, and J. Nealin Parker, MPA ’08 are the newest members of the alumni body that counsels Dean Amaney Jamal and her staff. Doar has served as the president of the American Enterprise Institute since 2019 after joining the organization in 2014. While at AEI, he has served as a co-chair of the National Commission on Hunger and as a lead member of the AEI-Brookings Working Group on Poverty and Opportunity. Prior to…
Sébastien Philippe *18
News October 13, 2025
Sébastien Philippe *18 Wins MacArthur ‘Genius’ Grant
Sébastien Philippe, a visiting researcher at the Princeton School of Public and International Affairs’ Program on Science & Global Security (SGS), has been awarded a 2025 MacArthur Fellowship.Philippe’s achievement puts him among 20 scientists, artists, and scholars across the country who will receive an unrestricted $800,000 stipend from the John D. and Catherine T. MacArthur Foundation. The fellowship, known informally as MacArthur “genius” grants, recognizes people who have demonstrated “exceptional originality in and dedication to their creative pursuits.”The MacArthur Foundation’s award citation describes Philippe as “a nuclear security…
two hands shaking
News October 10, 2025
Keeping Communities Safe From Political Violence
As political tensions rise across the United States, the Bridging Divides Initiative (BDI) at the Princeton School of Public and International Affairs is drawing attention to how communities are working to stay safe in moments of conflict.The initiative, a non-partisan research organization that tracks and attempts to mitigate political violence in the U.S., released a discussion paper in September based on interviews with more than 30 de-escalation and community safety practitioners and researchers. It explores how experts are helping people prevent violence and build trust in their neighborhoods and makes recommendations on how to strengthen their…
Michael Oppenheimer, David Cross, Laurie Anderson, Zia Mian
News October 08, 2025
Communicating Science Through Comedy and Music
At a time when fewer than half of Americans see research scientists as good communicators, researchers at the Princeton School of Public and International Affairs are sharing their work through collaborations with figures known for connecting with their audiences: musicians and comedians.In September, Zia Mian, a senior research scholar and co-director of Princeton SPIA’s Program on Science and Global Security, engaged avant-garde icon and Grammy-winning performance artist Laurie Anderson in a discussion of nuclear disarmament. Earlier in the summer, Michael Oppenheimer, the Albert G. Milbank Professor of Geosciences and International Affairs and the…
Khalil Gibran Muhammad
News October 07, 2025
Fill in the Blanks with Khalil Gibran Muhammad
Khalil Gibran Muhammad calls himself a “born-again academic.” He became a public accountant with a large consulting firm when he graduated with his bachelor’s degree. But in those formative college years, his eyes also opened to realities around him. The 1991 Rodney King beating put police brutality front and center for him and many of his generation.“By the time I was leaving college, I was already mentally pivoting towards, ‘Maybe I would like to go to school and learn more about why this country is the way it is, and why we see the things that we see around issues of race and racism,’” he said and, a few years later, he did just that.Muhammad…
SPIAction Newsletter
News October 01, 2025
SPIAction Newsletter — October 2025
Welcome to Princeton SPIA!After exceptionally high numbers of applications to its three graduate programs, including record highs for the Master in Public Policy and Ph.D. programs, Princeton SPIA welcomed 85 new grad students for the 2025-26 academic year.