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Career Development & Alumni

Alumni Profiles

Cornell’s public affairs alumni work for an impressive cross-section of public and private enterprises.  They are generous in offering pertinent advice to current and incoming students, guiding them as they make exciting new career choices.

Here’s what alumni say about their CIPA experience and their careers in public policy.

Julie Stone '00
Doug Tyler '92, M.P.A. '98
Rie Kadota '98
Isaiah (Ike) Wilson III M.P.A. '98, M.A. '00, Ph.D. '02
David Perkins '02
Laura Tamayo '02
Malaika Eaton '02, J.D. '02
Naomi Calvo '98
Pablo Landoni '97
Todd Stoltzfus '98 
 
Julie Stone, M.P.A. '00
Analyst in Social Legislation
Congressional Research Service
 
"What effect has CIPA had on my career? The coursework I took at Cornell helped hone my critical thinking abilities. I put these analytical skills to work every day on the job. And the people I met in the program - my colleagues and professors - came from around the globe. They expanded my worldview enormously. In addition, the high expectations of the program pushed me to raise my own work standards. I was pleasantly surprised to learn how ahead of the game I was after graduating from CIPA.
 
During the summer between my first and second year of study at CIPA, I worked as an intern at Congressional Research Services (CRS) in Washington. CRS is a non-partisan legislative-support agency of the US Congress. After graduation, I was hired by CRS as a health-care policy analyst. I specialize in Medicaid, the nation's means-tested health-care system for the poor, and its coverage of long-term care for the elderly and persons with disabilities. I also work on policy related to the private market for insurance. I often think of my role as an extension of Congressional members' offices. I meet with members and staff to help them understand the current health-care system, and in designing and evaluating legislative options. I also publish policy-related papers and testify as an expert witness before Congressional committees.
 
At Cornell I learned to analyze and decipher information, to distinguish between credible and non-credible research and data, and to present information as honestly and objectively as possible. CIPA provided me with the basic knowledge and analytic-thinking skills I needed to be successful in the workplace."
 
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Doug Tyler '92, M.P.A. '98
Manager, Credits and Incentives Practice
Deloitte Tax LLP
 
"As an undergraduate alumnus, I had a strong understanding of the culture and academic strengths that Cornell offered. After a four year hiatus, I decided that returning in 1996 to attend CIPA was the right decision for me. I was correct. I came away with the skills and theoretical foundation that my colleagues from other established schools found enviable.
 
CIPA doesn't teach the current 'en vogue' theory or concepts. It teaches the academic foundations that are needed to excel in a professional environment, while also providing opportunities to continue on to Ph.D. programs or law school.
 
Since graduating from CIPA, I have been employed both in the public sector and, most recently, for two of the nation's 'big four' accounting and tax-consulting firms, where I work as an economic development consultant. Essentially, I serve as a liaison between private firms that are making location and investment decisions, and state and local economic development agencies that seek to attract business activity.
 
I enjoy being in the field of economic development tremendously. I feel that I'm able to contribute to my clients while continuing to have a hand public policy. For instance, I just wrote a piece on New Jersey economic development incentives; it was published as the lead article in the June 2005 issue of the Journal of Multistate Taxation and Incentives.
 
I think that the M.P.A. degree has value in ways that organizations are not typically aware of, and there is a need for alumni to take an active role in helping to bring current students into the marketplace in areas where they might not have been considered before. That's why I worked to set up an internship for a CIPA fellow here at Deloitte & Touche recently. I know that my employers have found my public policy expertise to be valuable, and I think they'll find other CIPA graduates to be an asset to their organizations as well."
 
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Rie Kadota, M.P.A. '98
Associate Political Affairs Officer
Security Council Affairs Division
Department of Political Affairs
United Nations Secretariat
 
"I chose CIPA because of the program's flexibility. While I wanted to pursue a degree in public administration, my specific interest was tourism development in Asia. CIPA was a perfect match. I was able to take courses in Southeast and East Asian Studies as well as in the Hotel School.
 
I distinctly remember Professor Lewis's class on quantitative analysis. It was quite demanding - and I lost a lot of sleep that semester. But, in addition to quantitative knowledge, I came away with oral and written presentation skills, and the capacity for analytical thinking. All of these are so important to me in my professional work.
 
A spin-off from that class became one of my most cherished CIPA memories. I was involved in developing a computer simulation of the Eritrean educational system. I spent three weeks in Eritrea making presentations for the Eritrean Ministries of Education and Finance and the World Bank Mission in Asmara and getting to know international personnel dedicated to assisting the reconstruction of that country. It broadened my perspective - not to mention my interest - in the world. I guess it was the beginning of the road to my current job.
 
After CIPA, I spent one-and-a-half years as an economic/trade policy researcher at the Japan External Trade Organization, and then three years as a political affairs adviser at the Japanese Mission to the United Nations, covering a range of political and legal issues. I started my current position at the United Nations in 2003. I am responsible for drafting studies for the publication called the Repertoire of the Practice of the Security Council, which is a constitutional and procedural guide to the proceedings of the Security Council.
 
My career has involved a series of transitions. Initially, I wasn't sure how to start my career or in which international organization I wanted to work. I intentionally took a variety of courses in addition to the CIPA core ones. All the study and broad experiences at CIPA proved to be useful in each post and transition."
 
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Isaiah (Ike) Wilson III, M.P.A. '98, M.A. '00, Ph.D. '02
U.S. Army Lieutenant Colonel; Member of the Council on Foreign Relations (CFR) and a CFR International Affairs Fellow Tenured Professor, Department of Social Sciences U.S. Military Academy at West Point
 
"When I arrived at CIPA the summer of 1996, I was already six years into my professional career. What the CIPA program did was prepare me for the next ten to fifteen years of my military career. The rich international diversity of Cornell's academic program, as well as the faculty and student body, led to an immense broadening of my knowledge and experiences.
 
The flexibility of the curriculum gave me the opportunity to obtain my Ph.D. in government from Cornell, in concert with my M.P.A. degree. In the last few years, I've had unique opportunities to apply what I learned and acquired at CIPA. During this second war in Iraq, I served as a war and reconstruction planner. Most recently, I've served as the chief planner and architect for the U.S. Army's first major combat unit organizational modernization reform initiative - transformation of the 101st Airborne Division at Fort Campbell, Kentucky.
 
I'm now a tenured professor in the Department of Social Sciences at West Point, where I teach, mentor, lead, and seek to inspire civilian and military faculty in the education of West Point cadets as well as serve as a director of strategic studies.
 
Man is a political animal. Politics is about public affairs. And public affairs is a human endeavor - it's all about people and personal relationships. CIPA has always understood this. Other programs equal to CIPA's reputation may offer the same or similar tools and the how-tos of public affairs. But no other program dedicates its entire collective self to instilling in its fellows a sense and understanding of purpose as a public-policy servant, a sense of belonging to a profession of public affairs, or an appreciation for the social good that can come from those public servants with 'a passion for anonymity.' It is this that the nation needs most today and it is this (the intangibles) that CIPA provides."
 
 
David Perkins, M.P.A. '02
Associate, Analytical Tools
Recapitalization Advisors, Inc.
Boston, Massachusetts

“Before applying to CIPA I had worked for more than ten years in the area of management and financial consulting. I was looking for a change of focus, away from the private sector and towards the public sector; away from corporate finance and towards public policy and community development. Being older, with considerable life experience, I wanted to immerse myself in a flexible graduate program where I could chart my own path with regard to the subjects I studied. To that end, I found precisely what I wanted in CIPA.

“While in Ithaca, I took the opportunity to work at a local county workforce-development office and also performed an organizational study for the City of Ithaca from which I developed my master's thesis.  Since graduation, I have been working for a small firm that offers financial consulting in the area of affordable housing.  We’re a middle player between the government, real estate owners, and tenants, so it’s a great mix of policy and analysis.  And most importantly to me, the firm ultimately produces tangible social benefits.  All in all, I feel as though I’ve made that career turn I was looking for.  Not only did CIPA prepare me through specific course work, but the program, and Cornell in general, gave me a greater understanding of the big-picture political environment surrounding my work.

“One of the best things about having the M.P.A. degree is that it is mine for life.  It has opened doors to many professional options that I simply didn’t have before.  Since leaving, I stay in touch with the program via e-mail and occasionally pull up the Webcam to look at the campus.  I miss it.  I had the best experience there.”

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Laura Tamayo,  M.P.A. '02
Advisor, Office of the Undersecretary of Government
Secretary of State, Republic of Mexico
Mexico City, Mexico

“I began the CIPA program after working in the office of the spokesperson for the President of Mexico, and with the Ministry of Environment’s liaison with the Senate.  I chose CIPA because of the flexibility of the program.  The core courses had enough mathematical material; since I had done political science, I wanted something more quantitative — more statistics and economics.  I took the core courses, some classes in sustainable development, and a class in national security, but basically focused on sustainable development.  

“Now, in addition to my work with the Mexican government, I’m publishing a column in a local newspaper and will soon be in a national newspaper as well.  I wouldn’t have been able to do this without what I learned at Cornell. I really love the place.  I made good friends and it was a wonderful experience.  CIPA gave me not only a perspective on my country and others, but also structure for thinking.”

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Malaika Eaton, M.P.A./ J.D. '02
Law Clerk, Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals
Boise, Idaho

“One of the primary reasons I chose Cornell was that it was one of the only places in the nation where I could do a law degree at an outstanding law school and also do an M.P.A. focusing on what I wanted to focus on. I was interested in a joint program for a more in-depth view of federal regulatory policy in the environmental arena. 

“CIPA gives so much flexibility. I hope eventually to teach environmental law. The CIPA experience has been helpful in advancing my career. The training in statistics and economics has made me stand out as a candidate, especially in a field that focuses on people who have only a law degree.”

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Naomi Calvo, M.P.A. '98
Ph.D. Candidate, Harvard University
Cambridge, Massachusetts

“I spent a year as a VISTA volunteer working at a family support center. We provided English as a Second Language programs for migrant workers, provided teen programs, and started a farmers market. I served on a committee charged with distributing state funding at the local level.  They had hired consultants to help them — I decided I wanted to be one of those people so I could do it better, and became interested in social policy in general. That’s why I pursued a degree at CIPA. 

“I really enjoyed the program. It was quite flexible and that suited me well. I took a lot of social policy courses, and what I appreciated was being able to take them in so many different places, from so many different perspectives. I studied simulation modeling, cost-benefit analysis, linear programming – it was all so practical, and it gave me hands-on tools for dealing with real problems.  It completely changed how I approach problem solving. 

“My thesis advisor said, 'I’m going to a conference, give me your resume.'  I wound up working as a consultant in a small company doing education finance and education policy analysis. Now I’m working on my doctorate in public policy, focusing on K-12 education.”

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Pablo Landoni, M.P.A. '97
Educational Policy Specialist
Catholic University of Uruguay

Pablo Landoni came to Cornell from Uruguay, where he had earned a law degree and served as the country’s Vice Minister of Education and Culture.  He applied to CIPA to gain more academic grounding in public policy issues, and received both Fulbright and Organization of American States fellowships.

Since returning to Uruguay, he has worked at the Catholic University of Uruguay, where he is responsible for  managing relationships between the university and the Ministry of Education.  “I’m making contributions to higher education public policy, not from the state’s point of view, but rather from the institution’s,” he explains.  He is working on accreditation issues both in Uruguay, and at the international level, working with representatives of Argentina, Brazil, Paraguay, Uruguay, Chile and Bolivia to develop an accreditation mechanism that will promote academic and student exchange among these countries.

Landoni credits the CIPA program for providing him with the “tool kit” he needed to manage the policy issues he deals with on a day-to-day basis. “The public officials I work with get the big picture in terms of policy design, but they forget the details involved with actually implementing that policy.”  It was Professor David Lewis’ course in quantitative methods that Landoni found particularly useful when it came time to develop a model to help understand how Uruguay’s higher education system will grow in the future.  He has offered to help obtain internships in Uruguay for CIPA students with an interest in higher education policy.

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Todd Stoltzfus, M.P.A. '98
Bureau of Population Refugees and Migration
U.S. Department of State
Washington, D.C.

“Before going to Cornell I spent five years with World Vision, an NGO providing emergency relief services in Africa (Somalia and Sudan)  and Eastern Europe (Bosnia). I liked the CIPA program because it had a strong reputation, and it was flexible enough to allow its students to pursue areas that were of interest to them. I wanted to develop business and project management skills while remaining in the public policy arena.

“The CIPA program allowed me to take advantage of the whole spread of programs available at Cornell, from the business school to the Department of City and Regional Planning . My studies gave me a solid foundation in the public policy field.

“Now I’m working as a program officer managing refugee assistance programs in central Africa. I actually pursued government service through the federal Presidential Management Internship placement program; CIPA directed me towards that program, which I would not have known about.  More generally, CIPA gave me solid training in government and policy work.”


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