Keough School of Global Affairs alumni are employed in rewarding professional roles in diverse fields. Our graduates work in the public, private, and international or domestic nonprofit organization sectors, demonstrating the versatility of the master of global affairs degree.
Read what some of our alumni have to say about their current work and their time at the Keough School:
Abeera Akhtar works at UNICEF as a gender-based violence product manager, a niche that allows her to combine her digital technology expertise with a commitment to improving women’s lives. She leads the development of Virtual Safe Spaces (VSS) and the Referral Pathways Program (eRPW) for four countries: Iraq and Ecuador for the VSS apps, and Zimbabwe and Bangladesh for eRPW. The platforms are designed to ensure that the most vulnerable girls and women have access to high-quality information and services.
Abeera says her work is influenced by two of her Notre Dame experiences in particular: a one-credit course in information and communication technologies for development taught by Tom Marentette, an IT solutions architect for Notre Dame Studios, and her in-country Integration Lab (i-Lab) experience coordinated by i-Lab co-directors Steve Reifenberg and Tracy Kijewski-Correa. For her i-Lab global partner experience, Akhtar developed gender-based violence programs for Oxfam, working across Cambodia and Timor-Leste.
“The i-Lab process leading up to the field experience allowed us to take a deep dive into the human-centered design process and then jump into our projects immediately when we arrived in our respective countries,” Abeera says.
Read profile: MGA alumna expands digital UNICEF resources addressing gender-based violence
Derek Lee is the program and communications coordinator for the Mennonite Central Committee’s office at United Nations headquarters in New York. In this role, he helps inform Mennonite Central Committee (MCC) staff and partners of UN policies and programs that may affect them, while bringing expertise and experience of MCC partners and personnel to UN diplomats and employees who establish and carry out UN policies.
Lee, who was was introduced to the Mennonite Central Committee’s UN Office director by Keough School Professor Emmanuel Katongole, says participating in the Keough School’s Integration Lab (i-Lab) equipped him with strategic thinking skills he now uses every day on the job.
“As part of the i-Lab you learn design thinking and human-centered design,” Lee says. Nearly all Keough School MGA students participate in the i-Lab Global Partner Experience. In Lee’s case, that experience included field work in Uganda and Bangladesh in large, post-conflict refugee settlement programs operated by Catholic Relief Services.
Read profile: MGA alumnus thrives in role bridging Mennonite Central Committee and United Nations
Seiko Kanda is a junior program coordinator for World Vision International, an international humanitarian aid organization. Based in Tokyo, Seiko coordinates projects in the Middle East that assist Syrian refugees in Jordan and Iraq. Before joining World Vision, Seiko was an officer in the Development Assistance Policy Coordination Division of the International Cooperation Bureau in the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Japan.
As a master of global affairs student, Seiko gained valuable insights from International NGO Management, a course taught by Keough School Associate Dean and Teaching Professor Hal Culbertson.
“I learned a great deal about project management, and it was because of this course that project management became a professional interest of mine,” Seiko said.
As an elective, Seiko took Christianity and Islam, a course offered through Notre Dame’s Department of Theology and co-taught by Gabriel Reynolds and Mun’im Sirry, experts in Muslim-Christian Relations and Qur’anic studies.
“It’s helpful in my work to understand the connection between faith and development, especially now that I work for a Christian organization,” Seiko says. “I appreciate that the Keough School offers such a broad range of opportunities for its students.”
Caroline Andridge is the US policy coordinator within USAID’s Office of Food for Peace. In this role she focuses on congressional engagement, policy analysis, and risk management and oversight related to food security programming in humanitarian crises.
“Knowledge of the policy-making and appropriations processes and food security programming, along with the ability to work under pressure and build strong working relationships across the office, has been critical to meeting tight deadlines,” Caroline says.
Caroline learned about global food security through a directed readings course with professor Ray Offenheiser, and her Integration Lab project with Oxfam America exposed her to issues related to food security and global supply chains. From Notre Dame economics professor Kasey Buckles, Caroline learned to interpret econometric models applied to policy, a skill that has been “even more helpful than I imagined,” she says. Finally, a Notre Dame networking opportunity over spring break introduced Caroline to a senior staff member at Food for Peace.
“I experience several direct connections between my current work and the training I received at Notre Dame,” Caroline says. “I’m grateful for the education and encouragement I received at the Keough School.”
Mian Moaz Uddin analyzes developments in transportation policies and technologies, authoring white papers and briefings for policy makers and ICCT partners. As a public policy fellow, he assessed the transportation policies proposed by the Democratic candidates for the 2020 US presidential election.
“The best parts of this job are the autonomy and the close proximity to experts in sustainable transport,” says Moaz, who also recently published an analysis of an ambitious new national electric vehicle policy in Pakistan, his home country.
A portfolio of research and policy projects Moaz completed at the Keough School were instrumental in helping him to secure a position at the ICCT.
“I was able to demonstrate that I could knowledgeably conduct research on transport and energy and synthesize that information into policy recommendations,” he says. “The Keough School equipped me to translate research into an actionable form.”
Steven is a program associate at the National Committee on U.S.-China Relations, where he provides programmatic and logistical support for the organization’s U.S.-China Track II Dialogues. These initiatives promote high-level exchange and constructive dialogue on sensitive topics including maritime issues and international law; economic, rule of law and human rights; and digital economy.
As a master of global affairs student, Steven took a directed readings course with Liu Institute for Asia and Asian Studies Director Michel Hockx.
“The readings provided a vehicle not only for Chinese language practice and acquisition, but also the chance to read primary sources on the same critical topics I focused on in my other global affairs classes,” he says.
The expertise and connections Steven developed while working with Hockx helped him land his current position. Karrie Koesel, a political scientist and concurrent faculty member of the Keough School, provided a pivotal connection to Jan Berris, vice president of the National Committee on U.S.-China Relations.
Jenna Ahn McGuire is a grants management and learning advisor for Catholic Relief Services-Guatemala. Prior to her current role, she managed a USAID-funded COVID-19 response project in Guatemala and also was an international development fellow at Catholic Relief Services in Guatemala City. She has supported CRS programs in food security, education, capacity-building, monitoring and evaluation, and emergency response, and she also received professional training in program implementation, proposal development, operations, and partnership.
“Joining Catholic Relief Services after the Keough School has been a natural fit, since at the heart of both institutions is a commitment to integral human development,” Jenna says. “What helped my transition to CRS was learning from so many experienced development professionals at the Keough School, where I was exposed to everything from proposal writing to monitoring and evaluation.”
