Public Policy Everywhere

Where do you get motivation? As dean, I find it everywhere around the world. The stories, skills and passions of our phenomenal 9,500+ alumni reverberate throughout our school and globally. Many alumni are quick to credit their public policy launch to internships, scholarships and other experiences at Sanford.

Consider for example Melissa Lan PPS’01, who secured an internship with the State Department between her junior and senior year at Sanford. That internship helped launch a remarkable global career in policy. Today, Melissa is Consul General to Wuhan, China, serving U.S. interests in China at a time when the relationship between the two nations is often front-page news. What a difference internships can make!

Another example: Faith Begay-Dominique MPP’15, one of the first Native American graduates of the MPP program who has become a powerful advocate for bringing Native voices to the table in domestic and international policy. Faith recounts a transformative experience in the Geneva program gaining skills that would later become indispensable in international trade relations positions. The Duke Global Policy (DGP) Program in Geneva is one of many experiences supported for Sanford students.

When I meet with alumni, I often hear how their Sanford experience made an impact on their life and career. Many Sanford experiences are supported by the Sanford Annual Fund, which paves the way for our students to achieve their ambitions. The money raised for the Sanford Annual Fund directly supports our students, particularly through financial aid and internship support.

The Sanford Annual Fund, which raised $1.55M last year, is vital to our students and mission. We are so thankful for all gifts to Sanford, and we are inspired by our alumni working around the world – in 122 countries, in fact. With the help of our alumni and friends, together we can take public policy everywhere.

Regards,

Judith Kelley
Dean and ITT/Terry Sanford Professor of Public Policy and Political Science