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Who is Nancy?

Posted by Columbia SIPA

· Thursday, March 14th, 2013

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You’ve read several posts from Nancy Leeds — our guest blogger extrodinaire — so we thought it would be fun for you to get to know more about her…

Nancy Leeds is a second year USP concentrator, Management “specializer” and admissions office PA. She is also participating in SIPA’s co-curricular program in Gender and Public Policy. Before SIPA, Nancy spent five years working on Democratic political campaigns in the United States. She even spent three weeks this past semester working on a Congressional campaign in Texas. Nancy writes a popular blog called “CampaignSick” which focuses on best practices in Campaign Management and Voting Rights. It can be found at campaignsick.blogspot.com.

Can you comment specifically on some exciting things about your concentration?

I really enjoy the flexibility of the USP concentration. I came into SIPA with a very specific focus (electoral systems and voting rights) and USP has allowed me to explore those interests. I have taken classes in the Law School, Journalism School and Poli Sci PhD department and all have been able to count toward my concentration. The flexibility of the USP concentration can work for those who are less narrowly focused as well because it provides the opportunity to take courses in a multitude of different subjects and really discover where your public policy passion lies.

SIPA features lots of events for students to attend. Is there any interesting presentation that you have attended that you could comment upon?

Last year President of the NAACP (and Columbia alum) Benjamin Jealous came to talk about voting rights for the David N. Dinkins Leadership and Public Policy Forum. It was in the wake of the Trayvon Martin shooting in Sanford, Florida and Mr. Jealous had just returned from community meetings there. He was able to articulate the history of voter suppression in the United States and link it to race based violence in a way that was profoundly touching and inspiring even to someone like myself who reads and thinks about these issues all the time. You can read more about his talk here: http://storify.com/ColumbiaSIPA/benjamin-jealous-sanford-fl-is-really-sanford-usa

What experiences do you think prepared you at attend SIPA?

First off, let me allay some common fears. You do not need to have any specific major to handle the course load at SIPA. I was a Russian lit major undergrad and did not have a lot of quantitative courses under my belt. There are resources to help you with econ and stats if you are willing to seek them out. What did help me was professional trial and error. Having some previous work experience helped me crystallize a picture of the skills I still needed to reach my career goals and I was able to learn and hone those skills at SIPA. It also gave me real world experience to apply to theoretical problems in class and to share with my classmates. One of the most valuable aspects of SIPA is learning from your classmates’ experiences.

What has been the best part of your SIPA experience?

That’s hard to say. One experience you should NOT miss out on are the student led trips to other countries, which provide perspective and access that you would never get if you just traveled on your own. I went on SIPA’s Japan trip last year and we were able to meet with executives at Panasonic, the Finance Minister and the Former Prime Minister, thanks to our classmates’ connections. There was also plenty of time for cultural immersion including a traditional tea ceremony, kimono wearing and Japanese style karaoke.

What advice would you give a first-year student?

Think about what you want to get out of SIPA and plan your time accordingly. There is so much to do and see in our school and on our campus. A public policy nerd can feel a bit like a kid in a candy store. You need to set aside time for homework (especially as a first year) and also time for self-care so that you don’t get burned out too quickly. I have a litmus test for what lectures/events to attend. Usually I am able to answer “yes” to at least one of these questions before I attend an event. 1) Would I seek this out on my own? 2) Is it relevant to my professional/personal goals? 3) Will I be kicking myself if I miss out on this opportunity? Believe me, there are still PLENTY of events that meet that criteria.

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Categories : Admissions, Meet Seeples, SIPA

Tags : Benjamin Jealous, campaignsick, cross registration, David Dinkins, electoral systems, Nancy Leeds, USP, voting rights

Workshops and Capstone Selection

Posted by Columbia SIPA

· Tuesday, January 31st, 2012

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It is that time of the year when second year SIPA Students start working on their final project — also known as the “workshop” (for Economic and Political Development (EPD) concentrators) or “capstone” (as is the case of students for all other concentrations) and continue for the remainder of their last semester here. The final project give students a chance to refine their skills and knowledge and make a positive contribution to the world. The projects also provide valuable experience and contacts for post-graduate employment.

For many of the students, this is one of the most important reasons why they chose to come to SIPA. There is a lot of excitement in our building surrounding the projects — There is endless discussion about the possibilities that lie ahead.

Beginning this year, all SIPA MIA and MPA students are required to participate in either a capstone or a workshop in order to graduate. You may view this year’s capstone project options here. Small teams of students will work on cutting-edge issues facing real-world clients and deliver an actionable report at the completion of the project.

Laura Agosta, a second year MPA student concentrating in Economic and Political Development (EPD) is very optimistic about the impact that this experience could have on her personal and professional life. “I believe that this is the chance I have to put into practice the theoretical knowledge I am learning at SIPA. Also, EPD workshops often involve traveling abroad to Africa, Asia or Latin America, this is an excellent opportunity of getting to know a country that you never imagine you would be working in!” says this student from Argentina. Laura is going to Tanzania to conduct a cost-benefit analysis of a child-protection program. EPD workshops are projects in which students gain practical experience by engaging in on-going cutting-edge development efforts, often involving country fieldwork. They work in teams with a faculty supervisor and assist a variety of clients on a wide array of assignments in international development. This year’s EPD clients are located in countries such as Nigeria, Tanzania, Georgia, Mexico, Argentina, Brazil and Nepal.

Andrea Bustard is a second year student concentrating in Urban and Social Policy (USP). She is working on a capstone project. These are also projects in which students are organized into small consulting teams and assigned a substantive, policy-oriented project with an external client. Clients include public agencies – from the local to national level – international NGOs, multinational organizations, and major firms in the private sector. Andrea highlights that this “is an exciting time that has allowed me to identify what skills I would like to develop and match it with my field of interest”.

Alex Villarino, a recent SIPA graduate worked with the New York City Mayor’s Office of Operation in spring 2011. The goal of his SIPA team was to develop a risk analysis and assessment of which factor contributed to detecting the possible problems of catch basing clog and street flooding using the system that the city already has on 311 Consumer service. They elaborated an informatics model that now allows the city to use relevant information such as population, altitude, precipitation and the regularity of cleaning of the city in an effort to detect the areas that are more likely to flood. They even created an index of leaf control from the census of trees in the city! He says that overall, “It was a very exciting and applicable project with a concrete outcome. The team was fantastic, everybody worked together and the faculty advisers were very supportive.”

No matter where you go or which project you are involved, most of SIPA students and graduates agree that this is a unique experience that can be very valuable for their future professional life. And is only one of the many exciting opportunities that SIPA offers future development practitioners. For a full view of workshop and capstone project opportunities and the sponsoring clients, visit our website.

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Categories : Academics, Meet Seeples, News, SIPA

Tags : capstone, EPD, final project, New York City Mayor's Office, USP, workshop