Why did you choose this field? I wanted to understand how public policies shape a country’s economic development and how to improve relations between countries. What’s your favorite part of your job? Having the privilege and opportunity to serve my country and to tackle difficult problems with smart people. Did your year with SYA play a role in your career? If so, how? Absolutely. Big picture, SYA made me feel at home in the world and installed within me the desire to live my life as a global citizen. On a more nuanced level, SYA taught me how to build and navigate personal and professional relationships outside my comfort zone. Developing relationships when you don’t speak the language, feel uncomfortable, or don’t really understand what’s going on is challenging. Learning to build relationships under those circumstances helped me build relationships professionally, at a new job, with elected officials, with clients from different backgrounds, or in the case of my work now, back in a place where language is a challenge (for all the Italian I learned during SYA the vocabulary required to understand and talk about the Italian Juvenile Justice system wasn’t a part of it!) Career awards/Notable distinctions • Appointed to a position in the Office of Illinois Governor Pat Quinn to work on the implementation of the Affordable Care Act • Panelist at a variety of health care conferences, including Enroll America and the National Annual State Health Policy (NASHP) conference. • Selected fellow in the Racial Justice Training Institute • Recipient of the Fondazione Falcone/NIAF Criminology Fulbright Research Grant
EDUCATION High School: Charles O. Dickerson High School (NY) SYA Italy College: University of Wisconsin-Madison (BA) Political Science International Studies Italian Post Graduate: London School of Economics and Political Science (MS) Philosophy and Public Policy
“SYA taught me how to build and navigate personal and professional relationships outside my comfort zone.”
w w w. s y a . o r g
# I a m S YA : C e l e b r a t i n g c a r e e r s i n i n t e r n a t i o n a l r e l a t i o n s
