Students can meet and work with La Follette School alumni and friends, many of whom hold important positions in international organizations; federal, state, and local government agencies; nonprofit organizations; and private business.
Ways to connect
Many La Follette School alumni and friends share information about their jobs and workplaces, participate in professional development functions that highlight their knowledge and experience, and provide informational interviews for students.
Mentoring
Alumni also serve as mentors, meaning students can arrange to meet with them two or more times to talk about career opportunities, visit a work site, discuss interviews, and/or review resumes.
How to get alumni contact information
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Talk to the La Follette School Staff
Talk to the Director of Career and Employer Services, Associate Director, other student services staff, or outreach staff
Find and contact them via the alumni search feature on the La Follette LinkedIn Page; and/or the UW LinkedIn Page.
Don’t forget to check the LinkedIn page for your undergraduate school if it was not UW. You may have double the alumni to call on for assistance!
Badger Bridge
Look alumni up on Badger Bridge (access limited to University of Wisconsin–Madison students & alumni).
Badger Bridge is a UW-Madison specific networking tool that allows you to both re-connect with old classmates as well as enabling you to utilize the trusted UW-Madison environment to expand your professional network.
UW Alumni Facebook Groups
Join UW alumni groups on Facebook related to the city where you hope to live.
Examples: DC Badgers, Big Apple Badgers, Mile High Alumni, Chicago Badgers, etc…
Employer websites
You can try to find alumni contact information on their employer’s web site
If you find alumni information is out of date, please email alumni@lafollette.wisc.edu so staff can follow up with alumni to update.
Alumni News and Profiles
Alumni News
The policy players behind higher education
Alumni Tim Casper (MA '99) and Jen Klippel (MPA ’06) share their experiences working in higher education and how their La Follette School training helped them.
Pamela Ritger de la Rosa — Alumni in the Spotlight
Ritger de la Rosa (MIPA’13) serves as environmental sustainability program manager and deputy director for the City of Milwaukee Environmental Sustainability Office.
Connecting the classroom to local government
Master's student Travis Austin (MPA ’26) and alum Theola Carter (MA ’91) discuss their involvement in local government.
2024-25 Highlights Report showcases an exciting year for La Follette
The 2023-2024 academic year is a momentous one for La Follette as we celebrate 40 years of training future policy leaders.
Kulig wins College of Letters & Science Academic Staff Mid-Career Award
The La Follette School’s associate director received the award in recognition of his outstanding leadership and service to the university.
- More Alumni News
Alumni Profiles
Pamela Ritger de la Rosa — Alumni in the Spotlight
Ritger de la Rosa (MIPA’13) serves as environmental sustainability program manager and deputy director for the City of Milwaukee Environmental Sustainability Office.
Theola Carter, MA ’91
"The one thing about policy is that every profession uses them to govern procedures and to meet goals and objectives."
Exploring La Follette’s State Capitol career connections
This story is part of a series that highlights La Follette’s employer connections and the career opportunities available to students after they graduate. On September 26, an Eat & Greet will bring together La Follette …
Awa Maïga, MIPA ’24
“The challenges you face do not define your future — they prepare you for it.”
Andrew VanderMeer, MPA ’24
"In short, the core set of skills La Follette teaches were identical to what my employer was looking for!"
- More Alumni Profiles