Current Students
Biographical Profiles of Current MPP Graduate Students
Maimuna is a Bangladeshi-American educator and social entrepreneur. She founded Teach For Bangladesh in early 2012 with a vision to mobilize a generation of leaders working to end disparity in the Bangladeshi education system. She was inspired by her own experience witnessing disparity as a child growing up in Dhaka, and later as a mathematics teacher in a public high school in inner-city Washington, D.C., through Teach For America. Her work has directly impacted 40,000+ marginalized children and youth in Bangladesh to date. Maimuna holds a B.A. in international relations from Mount Holyoke College and an M.A. in teaching from American University. Maimuna's work has been recognized in Bangladesh and beyond. She was selected for the prestigious Ananya Shirsho Dosh award by Ananya magazine, naming her as one of ten exceptional women making an impact in Bangladesh, in the same year as Bangladeshi trailblazers like the first female Speaker of Parliament and the first female Deputy Governor of the Bangladesh Bank. Maimuna's alma mater Mount Holyoke College has also honored her with the Mary Lyon award which is bestowed upon young alumnae who demonstrate exceptional promise or sustained achievement in her life, profession, or community, and whose work embodies the humane values which Mount Holyoke founder Mary Lyon exemplified in her life.
Natasha is from Syracuse, New York. After studying social sciences at Harvard University, she worked at the investment management firm Bridgewater Associates, LP, eventually leaving to enter the field of education as a Leadership Fellow at TEP Charter School in New York City. She went on to serve as a middle school English teacher in Washington, D.C., through Teach For America. Inspired by her teaching experience, Natasha transitioned into the field of education policy, serving in a chief of staff capacity to executives at a political lobbying firm. Her next career chapter would lead her to earn an MSJ in broadcast journalism at Northwestern University and report for local TV news. Now as a senior correspondent and VP at theGrio, she highlights issues impacting Black communities domestically and globally. She also works as a CNN Political Analyst and is author of a forthcoming memoir about Black Latina identity. Natasha plans to deepen her domestic policy expertise and focus on solutions for socio-economic inequality.
Lilian is a public servant with fifteen years of experience working for the Government of Liberia. She has held senior roles at the Ministry of Finance & Development Planning, and the Central Bank of Liberia. Her portfolios have included supporting corporate governance and strategy as well as diplomacy and economic cooperation at the regional and continental levels. She has played a lead role in various public initiatives including the Water, Sanitation, and Hygiene (WASH) agenda, as well as helping to drive the Ebola response and economic recovery; financial inclusion; and capital markets development. Lilian sits on the boards of various organizations promoting education, good corporate governance, and women’s rights in Liberia. She has published articles promoting women’s political participation and financial inclusion. She holds a B.A. in political science with an emphasis in international relations from the University of California at Berkeley (2008) and a graduate certificate in capital markets from the George Washington University School of Business (2020). She is an avid reader, an amateur artist, and she enjoys long walks.
Tom is a serving U.K. diplomat. He joined the Foreign and Commonwealth Office in 2012, and has had postings working on political affairs at the British Embassy in Beijing (Second Secretary, 2013-14) and the British High Commission in Islamabad (Deputy Political Counsellor, 2019-22). In London, he has worked on Middle East issues, been a Private Secretary (Chief of Staff) to two U.K. Foreign Secretaries and a Minister of State, and most recently served as Deputy Head of Geopolitics, helping to reshape the U.K.'s international strategy. He has more or less kept up his Mandarin. Outside work/school, Tom would rather be in the mountains or at sea, climbing, skiing, or sailing. He also loves going to the theatre, and is proud of his one stage credit as a Mechanical (with six lines) in an amateur production of 'A Midsummer Night's Dream'.
Ellen calls Aotearoa New Zealand home – a geographic isolation that has shaped an enduring fascination for engaging with the wider world. She graduated from Victoria University of Wellington in international relations, French and Spanish, and spent time working in the community development sector in Nicaragua (after vowing never to work for government!). Despite this initial reluctance, Ellen embarked on a diplomatic career with New Zealand's Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Trade (MFAT) where she has spent the past nine years learning to love the impact made possible through public service. At MFAT, Ellen has represented New Zealand in Bogotá, Colombia, including over a year as Acting Ambassador to Colombia and Ecuador managing the Embassy through the pandemic, and in Washington, D.C., covering U.S. cyber and arms control policy. Her foreign policy roles in Wellington have included responsibility for New Zealand's engagement with Latin America, with the Association of South East Asian Nations (ASEAN), on international security issues such as the South China Sea, and a stint as Deputy Political Coordinator during New Zealand's U.N. Security Council (UNSC) term, helping coordinate New Zealand's policy positions across the UNSC's vast agenda. Ellen is passionate about exploring creative, constructive solutions to the big policy issues that impact our communities, and she is not afraid to challenge entrenched ideas. She is an enthusiastic climber and a very amateur poet.