Graduates of our MPA degree find rewarding careers in social change, disaster relief, and democratic governance organizations around the world.

Alumni Career Profiles

Lizzie Falconer
Lizzie Falconer MPA ‘17

Lizzie Falconer

Current Employment: Strategic Enterprise Capabilities Transformation Change Lead, Nike (Beaverton, Oregon)

First Job after Graduation: International Development Fellow, Catholic Relief Services (Lilongwe, Malawi)

InternshipIntern, Catholic Relief Services (Bolivia and Ecuador) 

Experiential Learning: Washington, D.C., Career Exploration Spring Break Trip

Institute Advantage: The support of faculty and staff was critical to becoming a Catholic Relief Services Fellow and then full-time staff. Professors and advisors went above and beyond: meeting with me weekly, editing my résumé and cover letters, and having last-minute Skype sessions to prepare me for interviews. I would not have gotten where I am without them.

Temie Giwa Tubosun

Temie Giwa-Tubosun

Current Employment: Founder and CEO of LifeBank (Lagos, Nigeria)

Institute Advantage: When I enrolled at MIIS I had a plan of working for the United Nations. As students, we were encouraged to get field experience, and I got an internship working with Partnership for Transforming Health Systems 2 (PATHS2) doing household surveys in northern Nigeria. I was not keen on health care before, but it became my passion. From that experience, I also knew that I wanted to have a career where I was helping people directly.

Story:  Winner of the Inaugural “Africa’s Business Heroes” AwardRace Against Time 

Emily "Emmy" Ham

Emmy Ham

Current Employment: Executive Director, Santa Cruz County Business Council (Santa Cruz, California)

First Job after Graduation: Housing Specialist, Monterey Bay Economic Partnership (Marina, California)

Institute Advantage: The organizational change and development courses I took at MIIS were critical to securing this position and will continue to shape my plans for the business council. I graduated with a solid understanding of what organizations need, not only to survive but to thrive, particularly those that engage in complex, wicked problems.

Story: How I Got Hired

Zara Nanu

Zara Nanu

Current Employment: CEO of GapSquare (Bristol, United Kingdom)

First Job after Graduation: Project Officer, Catholic Relief Services (Moldova)

Story:  COVID-19 Long-Term Impact on Gender Wage GapMind the Gap

Kirstin van Gend MPA ’19

Kirstin van Gend

Current Employment: Program Director at the Read to Me Project (Salinas, California)

Internship: World Vision (Washington, D.C.) and the United Way (Monterey, California)

Institute Advantage: My career advisor, Gael Meraud, was very helpful in assisting me through the job application process. I did several informational interviews with local MIIS alumni in Monterey and was supported by my supervisor at United Way who was a MIIS alum.

Story: How I Got Hired

Check out more profiles on our development, policy, and trade career insights blog.

One Year after Graduation

Many of our alumni are in rewarding careers around the world; scroll down to see where they are and what they are doing within one year of graduation.

Mouse over charts to see details.

Data sources and terminology

Location (Employed or Continuing Education)

India; Laos; Senegal; Sierra Leone; South Sudan; Thailand; United States

Select Employers

  • American Councils for International Education
  • American River College
  • Andrew W. Mellon Foundation
  • Be The Match
  • Bentley University
  • Binance.US
  • California Institute of Technology
  • Catholic Relief Services
  • CCS Fundraising
  • City Year Los Angeles
  • Ernst & Young
  • Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA)
  • First 5 Monterey County
  • Freelance
  • Gathering for Women - Monterey
  • Girls Global Academy
  • Government Accountability Office
  • Guidehouse
  • Homeless Services Center of Santa Cruz
  • InkHeart Corp.
  • International Rescue Committee
  • IREX
  • Médecins Sans Frontières (Doctors Without Borders)
 
  • Monterey Bay Economic Partnership
  • National Democratic Institute
  • Northeast Community Clinic
  • Pact
  • Pajaro Valley Prevention and Student Assistance
  • Peacock Acres
  • San Jose State University
  • Save the Children 
  • Sitka Tribe of Alaska 
  • Superior Foods
  • Suratthani International School
  • T.E.LLC
  • Tandem Motion
  • Tetra Tech
  • Trinity University
  • U.S. Department of Labor
  • UC Berkeley Extension
  • United Nations
  • United Way
  • University of Denver
  • University of Maryland
  • Winrock International

 

Select Positions

  • Analyst
  • Associate Consultant and Operations Manager
  • Business Development Researcher
  • Community Impact Director
  • Compliance and Risk Manager
  • Contract Staffing Specialist
  • Data & Research Analyst
  • Emergency Management Specialist
  • Engineering Abroad Advisor
  • Executive Director
  • Grant Writer
  • Housing Specialist
  • Impact Manager, Affordable Housing
  • Import Logistics Coordinator
  • International Development Fellow
  • Logistician
  • Monitoring, Evaluation, Accountability, and Learning Specialist 
  • New Roots Market Specialist
  • Operations Support Assistant
  • Program Associate
  • Program Coordinator 
  • Program Manager
  • Senior Director of Organizational Development 
  • Senior Project Consultant 

 


Internships

Partnerships

The Middlebury Institute has partnerships with the following employers for unique internship opportunities—click on the link for more information:

Employer Testimonial

“As a small, grassroots nonprofit, it is nearly impossible to quantify the enormous impact we have received from having MIIS interns as part of our team. Qualifying the impact of their value added to process and productivity, as well as quality relationships, can easily be summed up in one word: PRICELESS! Investing in our collective future through this opportunity has extremely high return on investment.”

—Kathi Speller, Executive Director, Community of Caring Monterey Peninsula

Summer 2019–2021

Secured Opportunity: 90% (several opportunities canceled due to the COVID-19 pandemic)

Locations: Bahamas, China, Costa Rica, Ecuador, Malawi, Mexico, New Zealand, Oman, Philippines, Rwanda, Senegal, Switzerland, Taiwan, Tunisia, United States

Select Internship Employers

There are 50+ employers of recent MPA interns, a few are highlighted below:

  • Brookings Institution
  • Catholic Relief Services
  • CDC Foundation
  • Cultivating New Frontiers in Agriculture
  • International Rescue Committee
  • Partnerships on AI
  • Relief International
  • Team4Tech
  • U.S. Department of Homeland Security
  • UN Women

Select Internship Position Titles

  • Affordable Housing Impact Associate
  • Civic Engagement Fellow
  • Disaster Risk Reduction and Resiliency Intern
  • Evaluation Specialist 
  • Human Trafficking Task Force Intern
  • Immigration Assistant
  • Policy Analyst Intern
  • Program Manager
  • Refugee Empowerment Intern
  • Strategic Communications Manager