Events

Careers in Public Policy: Doing Well By Doing Good

Three distinguished policy practitioners -- all Brown alumni -- discuss their professional experiences in working in critical policy areas including healthcare, education, civic engagement, building communities, and investing for impact. Students will have the opportunity to ask questions about the personal rewards and practical realities of pursuing a dynamic career in public policy.

Moderated byJim Amspacher, Career Counselor and Co-leader, Careers in the Common Good, Brown CareerLAB

Panelists:

• Matthew Harvey MPP ’09, Medicaid ACO Program Director, Steward Health Care, Boston
• Simran Vazirani ’15, MPA ’16, Analyst, Arabella Advisors, New York
• Alberto Morales MPA ’16, Data Manager, Robert R. McCormick Foundation, Chicago

Matthew Harvey MPP ’09 is the director of the Medicaid ACO for Steward Health Care, the largest fully-integrated health care services organization and community hospital network in New England. He is responsible for the implementation and operation of Steward’s accountable care organization serving members of the Massachusetts Medicaid program. Prior to joining Steward, Matt was the director of operations for the Rhode Island Executive Office of Health and Human Services, where he oversaw Medicaid eligibility, enrollment, and customer service, and was the project director for Governor Raimondo’s “Reinventing Medicaid” initiative to transform the way publicly-financed health care is delivered and managed in Rhode Island. Before joining EOHHS, Matt worked on the implementation of the Affordable Care Act in Massachusetts and Rhode Island, and served as a fiscal analyst for the Rhode Island State Senate, where he was responsible for the state's $3 billion health and human services budget.

Simran Vazirani’15, MPA ’16 is an analyst at Arabella Advisors, a philanthropic consulting firm. Working out of the firm’s New York office, she conducts research and analysis and works with institutional foundations to support strategy and evaluation projects in the fields of development, women and girls, conservation, and physical and behavioral health and wellness. Prior to joining Arabella, Simran interned with the Rockefeller Foundation’s innovation capacity team. She was responsible for researching and assessing capacity-building initiatives and developing dashboards and logic models to guide internal decision-making processes.

Alberto Morales MPA ’16 is the data manager in the Communities Program at the Robert R. McCormick Foundation. He is responsible for evaluating data, with a focus on racial equity, to help inform program impact and strategies, grant recommendations, and donor communication.He previously managed the foundation's program budget and supported family engagement strategies. Before entering Brown's MPA program, Alberto served as assistant director of the Georgetown Scholarship Program, empowering over 600 first-generation students. Alberto has also worked on education, immigration, voter and reproductive rights, and civic engagement policies through his positions at Brown University, Voto Latino and Latino Victory Project. In addition to his MPA from Brown, Alberto holds a BSc in health care management and policy from Georgetown University.