Theola Carter (MA ’91) will serve as treasurer at the National Association of Parliamentarians – Madison Unit. Carter is the manager of policy and program improvement in Dane County’s Tamara D. Grigsby Office for Equity and Inclusion. She has served on the La Follette School Board of Visitors, providing important guidance to the school by identifying resources that can raise the stature and standing of the school, since January 2020.
Jolie Krasinski (MA ’99) joined the Conservation Fund in June as regional director of fundraising for the Midwest. Before starting this new role, Krasinski assisted foundations with grant management, strategic planning, and program review through her organization jolieK Connections. She has also served as a grants manager at Friends of the Forest Preserves and as program director of natural areas for the Illinois Clean Energy Foundation.
Andrew Behm (MPA ’15) started as a regulatory relations analyst at Alliant Energy in June. Previously, he worked as a capital finance officer for the State of Wisconsin, where he worked with the $2 billion Wisconsin Clean Water Fund and Safe Drinking Water Loan Program, issuing state revenue bonds to fund the program and credit review for loans to municipalities for sewer and water infrastructure projects.
Omer Arain (MIPA ’18) was the winner of the 2023 Kentucky Bar Association Writing Competition. Arain is a third-year student at the University of Kentucky J. David Rosenberg College of Law, where he serves as editor-in-chief of the Kentucky Journal of Equine, Agriculture, and Natural Resources Law. His winning article will be published in an upcoming edition of the Bench & Bar. Arain is the creator and developer of the WARN Database, which tracks mass layoff notices submitted by large employers in the United States, as required by the federal WARN Act.
Avneesh Chandra (MIPA ’19) was promoted to senior data analyst at Graphika, where he has worked since 2019. Before joining Graphika, Chandra worked for the Wisconsin International Review and Green Hummingbird Entertainment. The capstone project Chandra completed while completing his graduate degree at the La Follette School helped inform a groundbreaking investigation published in the fall of 2022 that looked at radioactive materials littering the Arctic seas.
Mingxin Zhang (MPA ’21) joined the Global Energy Monitor as a researcher in the coal program. In this role, she will research existing and proposed coal mines, coal terminals, and the financial institutions that are considering or have provided funding for coal-fired power stations. Previously, Zhang worked as a policy specialist for the Great Plains Institute, where she gained experience in several areas including resource accreditation methodologies, hybrid resource participation model, and transmission line design.
Indu Kilaru (MPA ’22) started a new position in August as a consultant at the World Bank in Washington, D.C. She is working with the climate co-benefits team with a focus on South Asian countries. Kilaru’s work at the World Bank was also recently featured in her state’s newspaper. She served as a flag bearer for the Graduate School during the UW–Madison Commencement ceremony and won the Piore Prize for Best Paper in Science and Public Policy in May 2022.
Destinee Anderson (certificate in public policy ’23) works for the Center for Economic and Policy Research (CEPR), which was selected to receive a CREDO Mobile grant in July. CEPR plans to dedicate the funds to their Full Employment for All campaign, urging the federal government to provide large-scale subsidized employment to target communities with persistently high unemployment. Anderson received a bachelor’s degree in political science and a certificate in public policy from UW–Madison in May 2023.
Ethan Dickler (MPA ’23) accepted a position as a compliance auditor for the Wisconsin Legislative Audit Bureau starting this fall. While at La Follette, Dickler served as a generations fellow for the Breakthrough Institute in Berkeley, California, where he focused on sustainable aquaculture practices and food development. The program included a boot camp in modern environmental policy, a distinguished speaker series, and guided research.
Emily Kassner-Marks (certificate in public policy ’23) started a new role as press assistant for the U.S. House of Representatives in August. Upon graduating from UW–Madison with a bachelor’s degree in political science and a certificate in public policy in May 2023, Kassner-Marks completed an internship with Sen. Tammy Baldwin and a second congressional internship with U.S. Congressman Josh Harder.
Megan Shaw (MIPA ’23) joined MetaPhase Consulting as a consultant. In this role, she will support FEMA projects in Washington, D.C. Previously, Shaw worked as a communications specialist at the Wisconsin Department of Revenue, where she split her time between the State and Local Finance Division and the Office of the Secretary, working with stakeholder outreach and social media engagement.
Dhrtvan Sherman (certificate in public policy ’22) started a new position as research assistant for the Committee on Education and Labor, where he will assist the labor and health policy teams. Previously, Sherman worked for the U.S. House of Representatives as a staff assistant to the Committee on Education and Labor. While at La Follette, he participated in Wisconsin in Washington during spring 2022, interning at the office of Congressman Mark Pocan. Sherman also served as membership director for College Democrats and then on the leadership council for Wisconsin AAPIs (Asian Americans, Pacific Islanders) during his time on campus, where he handled social media for then-candidate Joe Biden in the leadup to the 2020 presidential race. Sherman received bachelor’s degrees in political science and economics and a certificate in public policy from UW–Madison in May 2022.