First MPP Day in the Nation’s Capital Shows Students What Comes Next

The Master in Public Policy (MPP) program at the Princeton School of Public and International Affairs is designed to prepare mid-career professionals to take the next step in their journeys to help shape domestic and international policy. That mission was on full display for the School’s first-ever MPP Day in Washington, D.C., held on March 20 at the SPIA in DC Center. The full-day program brought together current MPP students with Princeton SPIA alumni and senior leaders working in public service, international affairs, national security, and academia for a day of networking and career advice through a series of small discussion panels and informal gatherings and a reception.

For many MPP students, these conversations landed at exactly the right moment. Unlike traditional pre-career graduate students, SPIA’s MPP cohort is made up of professionals who often arrive after years of success in another field and are now navigating a pivot into something new. Josh Lederman, an MPP student with 15 years of experience as a journalist, said the day offered something especially valuable at a moment of transition.

“It was an opportunity for the MPP cohort to meet and hear from senior-level practitioners across all levels of policy,” Lederman said. “It was a chance for us to understand the current climate of the policy world.”

The messages from the day resonated with Maximiliano Alvarez, an Argentinian diplomat and member of the Argentine Foreign Service, who described the day as both intellectually rich and professionally practical.

“It was a very complete day,” Alvarez said. “We got the classic panels where you can engage and talk about the substantive issues but also talk about what it means to have a career in that area. We were informed by their experience. Not only to analyze the current context, but also to speak about what it would be like to have a career in those issues.”

That kind of access is particularly important in a challenging job market, when professional relationships and candid advice can shape what comes next in their professional pursuits.

Among the 10 SPIA alumni who participated included Christina Segal-Knowles MPA ’09, who is the Managing Director for Global Economic Recovery at the Rockefeller Foundation, and Jane Rhee MPA ’06, is an advisor with the Special Competitive Studies Project and former chief of staff of the U.S. International Development Finance Corporation.

“The people that are going to be working on today’s global issues were the people sitting with me at that table, and they are all very committed to the public good,” Alvarez said. “It is the starting point of new relationships, new connections. We are all going to be in different institutions, representing different governments or NGOs or international organizations, but we are people connected through the day.”

That optimism may be one of the clearest takeaways from Princeton SPIA’s first MPP Day.

“The achievements and commitments to public service from SPIA alumni who came before us are inspiring,” Lederman said. “Being able to engage with them about their careers was a pivotal opportunity as we reenter the workforce and look to make a meaningful impact.”

Students, alumni, and staff attend a panel during the first Princeton SPIA MPP Day.

Photo credit: Princeton SPIA DC Center Staff