Sanford Students interested in Technology Policy
Jakob Albrecht
jakob.albrecht@duke.edu
Mohammed Aljameele
mohammed.aljameele@duke.edu
Mohammed was born and raised in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, and his first international flight was in 2010 where he flew to Charlotte, NC to learn the English language and then he moved to Pennsylvania state where he earned his undergraduate degree. He graduated with a major in Electrical Engineering and a minor in Engineering Management from Wilkes University.
His experiences by working with a security government entities of the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia for more than 6 years enhanced his knowledge tremendously, enabling him to bridge the gap between his academic background and real-life applications. Mohammed interested in national security policy, cybersecurity regulation and technology policy.
The chance to study at Duke University would therefore be an unparalleled opportunity to boost his educational and professional experience. He trusted that the program would enhance his knowledge, guiding him to achieve his dreams and contribute to a better world. In his free time, you can find him running, cooking, riding horse, play soccer, in addition to traveling to explore a new countries and cultures.
Saud Altamimi
saud.altamimi@duke.edu
Saud is a class of 2025 MPP candidate, he received his bachelor’s degree in Sociology with first-class honors from Imam Mohammed Ibn Saud University in Saudi Arabia, prior to attending Sanford he completed a pre-masters course at The University of Edinburgh in the UK. Saud has worked in the media industry, and served on King Khalid Eye Specialist Hospital advisory board for three years. His research interests are in the intersection of social and health policy, he is also interested in exploring research opportunities in technology policy. In his free time, Saud will be reading, walking or listening to one of his favourite podcasts.
Varun Sen Bahl
varunsen.bahl@duke.edu
Hayley Barton
hayley.barton@duke.edu
Hayley Barton is thrilled to become a “Triple Dukie” through her pursuit of the MPP/MBA dual degree. She is a Seattle native and first graduated from Duke in 2019, with a Bachelor of Science degree in Economics and minors in Computer Science and Spanish. For the past three years, Hayley has worked as an Analyst and Senior Analyst at Cornerstone Research, an economic consulting firm in Washington D.C., and she is excited to apply her background in litigation and data science for social good to study data strategy and technology policy. Outside of work and academic life, she enjoys volunteering in STEM education, singing in choirs, and finding new brunch spots.
Fleming Beaver
fleming.beaver@duke.edu
Born and raised in North Carolina, Fleming has been passionate about politics and policy since his second grade class election, in which (tragically) Al Gore did not win the popular vote. After graduating from Sewanee with a BA in Political Science, he spent the next five years working on Democratic campaigns across six states, managing organizing teams, mobilizing voters, and twice attempting to elect the first woman president of the United States. He then worked at a political tech startup and for a progressive advocacy organization. During those two years, he worked to integrate the use of technology and data science into the work of movement building at the local and national level. He is excited to return to the classroom and explore how better technology policy can strengthen our democracy. In his spare time, he enjoys board games, cooking, trying new restaurants, and greeting dogs on the street while ignoring the humans attached to them.
Uzo Biosah
uzo.biosah@duke.edu
Chibuzor–Uzo for short–was born and raised in sunny Los Angeles, California. She graduated from Yale College in 2020 with a degree in Ethics, Politics, and Economics (EP&E), and her academic and professional passions lie at the nexus of urban policy, environmental stewardship, social equity, and technology. She has spent the last few years resolving YouTube advertiser concerns and queries at Google. Her pastimes include cooking, surfing, thrift shopping, and playing her electric guitar. You will likely find Uzo attempting slides at the skatepark, studying at the library, or daydreaming about catching a wave in OBX.
Arely Caba
ar724@duke.edu
Arely, originally from Oaxaca, Mexico, grew up in Wilmington, North Carolina, and majored in Political Science at the University of North Carolina Wilmington.
Her transformative joint internship experience with the Congressional Hispanic Caucus Institute (CHCI) and the United States Senate left an indelible impact on Arely’s life. At the U.S. Senate, she delved into critical issues such as military justice reform, cybersecurity threats, and the emerging challenges of artificial intelligence. On the other hand, her work with CHCI highlighted the significance of initiatives that support underrepresented groups and empower them to explore diverse career paths. Following her graduation, her focus shifted toward immigration law by advocating for DACA recipients, victims of violent crimes, spouses facing abuse, and human trafficking survivors.
At the Sanford School of Public Policy, Arely aims to further develop her interests in higher education, inclusion, and technology, aspiring to be a catalyst for positive change in these areas.
Aside from her academic pursuits, Arely finds joy in exploring restaurants, attending to her plants, testing out sunscreens, and cherishing moments with her family.
Thomas Cheng
thomas.cheng@duke.edu
Thomas is a dual degree MPP/MBA student at Duke’s Sanford School of Public Policy and Fuqua School of Business. Originally from Maryland, he lived in China for nearly seven years, focusing mostly on the education and edtech sectors. He worked in partnerships and growth at TAL Education Group (one of China’s largest education companies) and VIPKid (edtech unicorn), as well as teaching, training, and fundraising at Teach For China (rural education nonprofit). Thomas is passionate about educating, connecting, and motivating people to achieve great things.
Zac Contreras
zac.contreras@duke.edu
Zac is originally from Boerne, Texas, but moved to North Carolina to complete his undergraduate studies at Wake Forest University. He received a B.A. with a double major in Politics & International Affairs and Sociology (with a concentration in Crime and Criminal Justice) and a minor in Middle East & South Asia Studies.
Zac’s experience spans non-profit fundraising, business development, and project coordination, including roles at a humanitarian aid organization, a civil rights organization, and a think tank. Most recently, he interned for two terms with the ACLU National’s Program & Strategy Team, where he supported multi-state initiatives like the Border Humanity Project and the 2024 Battleground States Initiative. Previously, he worked on a state-wide political campaign in Texas, developing digital communication strategies and researching immigration policies related to border surveillance technology.
At Sanford, he intends to concentrate in social policy with a focus on immigration, human rights, and social justice; outside of school, he enjoys backpacking, thrifting, ink drawing, community organizing in Durham, and drinking lots of coffee!
Shawnee Cummings
shawnee.cummings@duke.edu
Shawnee Cummings graduated from the University of California, San Diego in 2019. She attained a Bachelor of Arts in Political Science and focused her academic interests on human rights and international development. During and after her time as an undergraduate, Shawnee volunteered as a research assistant to a Ph.D. candidate, where she worked on projects focusing on issues such as the determinants of homelessness, the efficacy of safe parking programs, and policy solutions to address mass incarceration. Since graduating, Shawnee has worked as a litigation paralegal, with the last two years spent representing victims of child sexual abuse against negligent institutions and students in Title IX and sexual assault cases against universities. While at Sanford, Shawnee plans to pursue her interests in international development and explore the ways in which development policy can be utilized to aid in gender violence prevention. Outside of academics, Shawnee loves to travel internationally, watch soccer, check out local coffee shops, and spend time with her cat, Mac.
Jesse Davis
jesse.davis@duke.edu
Aliya Garozzo
aliya.garozzo@duke.edu
Fiona Guan
xinrong.guan@duke.edu
Fiona Guan (MPP’25) earned her Bachelor’s Degree in Finance and Fintech with a minor in Business Analytics at Northeastern University in 2023. Fiona is born and raised in Qingdao, China, and then moved to Melbourne, Australia for school. Her experiences range from law to financial advisory, and consulting.
Fiona’s knowledge of impact investing, combined with her care for under-represented communities, has fostered her interest in environmental policy. Her background in Fintech affected by rapid change in technology also sparks some interest in technology policy. As an aspiring young professional, Fiona hopes to devote her time here at Sanford to navigate her passion in these two areas.
In her free time, Fiona enjoys hiking, kayaking, and reading. Fiona loves to learn new things and go on adventures. If you don’t see her in nature or at home, she might be exploring new restaurants or bubble tea tasting.
Xuancheng Guo
xuancheng.guo@duke.edu
Xuancheng comes from Beijing, China, and recently graduated from The Ohio State University Fisher College of Business. He used to study Marketing and Management where he developed his interest in understanding how policies can influence a company. Xuancheng did some internships while he attend college including tech companies and investment banks since he has not yet determined which field he wants to devote his career to. Now, he learned communication skills and some understanding of the business world and join in Sanford community, willing to discuss what he knows at any time.
Shezaz Hannan
shezaz.hannan@duke.edu
Shezaz is originally from Calgary, Canada, and grew up in Houston, TX. He graduated from the University of Texas at Austin in 2019 with a degree in chemical engineering, minors in government and French, and a certificate in global business. Shezaz spent 4 years working as a management consultant with Accenture in both Houston and Washington, DC, focusing primarily on state and local government clients. Prior to his career in consulting, Shezaz interned with the Brookings Institution in their Center for Technology Innovation; at Sanford, he hopes to continue to learn about tech policy issues, particularly around emerging technologies.
Ryan Hutchins
ryan.hutchins@duke.edu
Laila Issa
laila.issa@duke.edu
Laila is a graduate of the University of California, Berkeley where she majored in Public Health and minored in Human Rights. Prior to pursuing Master’s in Public Policy with the Sanford school, Laila worked at a social policy research advisory firm as a consulting project manager for federal health policy assessment and program improvement initiatives, including the evaluation of a CMS Innovation Center’s Medicare alternative payment model and the implementation of the Center for Medicaid and CHIP Services coverage retention programs in preparation for the end of the government-mandated public health emergency (COVID-19).
Throughout her time at Stanford and beyond, Laila hopes to pursue policy research and opportunities at the intersection of public interest law, healthcare policy and emerging innovative systems and technology. Outside of her career career aspirations, Laila’s hobbies include being a plantswoman, cooking, exercising, being in nature and traveling when she can.
Ben Jackson
ben.jackson@duke.edu
Ben is a North Carolina native and graduate of North Carolina State University, where he majored in environmental engineering and minored in environmental science. Before Sanford, he worked with the North Carolina Department of Environmental Quality as an engineering project manager and managed initiatives on coal ash excavation, remediation, and solid waste management. Ben is a dual degree student between Duke’s Sanford School of Public Policy and Fuqua’s School of Business. With his dual degree, Ben strives to balance the public sector’s policy and regulation and the private sector’s speed and innovation. He ultimately plans to pursue a career in renewable energy. Outside of his career aspirations, Ben’s hobbies include weightlifting, gardening, cooking and baking, and trying new restaurants throughout the Triangle.
Joe Janey
joe.janey@duke.edu
Joe Janey is an MPP ’24 Candidate at the Sanford School of Public Policy. Prior to graduate school, Joe worked at a Minneapolis-based investment bank focused on providing M&A advisory services to entrepreneurs, private equity firms, and corporations across a variety of industry verticals. Joe is focused on leveraging his business experience to drive innovation within the early education realm. Joe graduated from the University of St. Thomas in 2019, where he graduated with a B.A. in Economics and a minor in English.
Charlotte Kaufmann
charlotte.kaufmann@duke.edu
Charlotte Kaufmann grew up in Salisbury, North Carolina and graduated from Davidson College in 2018 with a degree in history. She has spent the past five years working as an analyst for an Intelligence Community customer in the greater Washington, D.C. area. Prior to her post-graduate work, she completed internships at the U.S. Department of Justice. Charlotte’s academic interests lie at the intersection of national security and technology policy, particularly emerging technologies that will have national security implications. In her free time, she enjoys traveling, hiking, baking, reading and attending concerts, and is excited for Duke basketball season.
Sue Lee
sl917@duke.edu
Yuteng Ma
yuteng.ma@duke.edu
Yuteng Ma is from China and has a BA from Arizona State University. Before entering undergrad, Yuteng created a property management company and a resident community service NGO. These experiences gave him the opportunity to combine his work experience and school knowledge. While at Sanford, Yuteng hopes to focus on society and technology. The goal of his pursuits is to enrich the expression of modern culture and the return of traditional culture, as well as to facilitate the strengthening and stabilization of the rapid technologi-cal development of contemporary society.
Marcella Mercer
marcella.mercer@duke.edu
Chris Nachman
chris.nachman@duke.edu
Chris is an Illinois-native and graduate of Indiana University. He previously completed University of Chicago’s Data Policy Summer Program and is now ecstatic to pursue a full time Master of Public Policy at the Duke Sanford school. Prior to Sanford, Chris worked at Microsoft on the Artificial Intelligence and Xbox teams in addition to time at start-ups (Fireblocks, Okulis, MLH Agency). He is a curious, optimistic, and data-driven professional, interested in emerging technologies (AI, blockchain, renewables), next-generation transportation, and international relations. Outside of work, he enjoys quality time with friends and family, playing the guitar, climbing mountains, and slicing a golf ball.
Rush Patel
rush.patel@duke.edu
Emmanuel Petrov
emmanuel.petrov@duke.edu
Emmanuel “Manny” is a native of Raleigh, North Carolina, pursuing an MPP at the Duke Sanford School of Public Policy. He graduated summa cum laude from the University of California, Santa Barbara (2023) with a B.A. in Political Science, a minor in Professional Writing (Business Communication concentration), and a professional certificate in Technology Management. While at UC, Santa Barbara, Manny was a delegate for the University’s Lobby Corp — clinching financial aid reform through new eligibility standards, making 71,000 new students eligible for state financial aid, while also securing $20 million in state funding for UC Student Academic Preparation & Educational Partnerships Programs. His honors thesis implemented an experimental design to examine the administrative burdens that stymie enrollment in Medicaid while testing the effect of digital nudges to improve enrollment intention and perceived application ease.
Experienced in program management and strategic government advisory services — whether it is cloud-based customer re-uptake solutions or empowering firms to achieve their operational and business-development needs through regulatory and legislative strategies — Manny applies a people-first approach to cross-sector innovation.
He currently serves in the Office of Performance & Innovation for the City of Durham’s Department of Budget & Management Services, where he is responsible for data analysis, stakeholder engagement, and innovative policy research for citywide performance measurement and management efforts. This includes innovation strategies, continuous improvement measures, and civic engagement practices that draw on insights from public-private partnerships to power local solutions and drive better results for residents.
As a former first-chair violinist, Manny is passionate about orchestral performance and music production. His time as a D1 soccer player with UC, Santa Barbara Men’s Soccer team has sustained his love for sports performance, psychology, and nutrition. In his free time, Manny enjoys spending quality time with family, viewing and discussing thought-provoking cinema, serving as a social media brand ambassador, and biking along the Triangle’s many greenways and trails.
Trevor Phelps
Class of 2026tjp60@duke.edu
Daysha Reed
daysha.reed@duke.edu
Daysha Reed is from Michigan and graduated from Central Michigan University with a degree in Child Development and Cultural and Global Studies. Since graduating in 2021, she has worked in various social justice oriented non-profit organizations, advocating for children’s rights, LGBTQ+ rights, and racial equity. Daysha is very interested in how social and tech policy can intersect, specifically how tech policy can affect children, families, and marginalized folks when seeking resources, support, or community online.
Outside of school and work, you can find her listening to/discussing music and movies, playing videogames, and attempting to bake something.
Ethan Rodier
ethan.rodier@duke.edu
Ethan is from Fairfield, Connecticut, and graduated from Davidson College in 2023 with a major in Political Science and minor in Data Science. There, he focused on American public policy analytics while having opportunities to intern in education policy and EV policy. Ethan’s interests in public policy spread far, from a strong desire to improve the American K-12 public education system to designing policy that incorporates the technology of the future, he looks forward to having opportunities to pursue these passions in and outside the classroom. Ethan hopes to have a career that will allow him to work at the intersection of policy, politics, and analytics. When not working, Ethan likes to spend time with friends, read, watch TV shows and movies, stay active, and is an avid disc golfer.
Gray Rucker
james.rucker@duke.edu
Gray was born and raised in Greensboro, North Carolina. In 2023, he graduated summa cum laude from Wake Forest University, where he studied Classical Languages, Politics and International Affairs, and Film. As a student, he was a member of the Classics and Political Science Honor Societies, volunteered at Campus Kitchen, tutored student-athletes, and interned at the Athletics Department. Gray became interested in public policy after taking a captivating Food Politics and Policy course, during which he had the opportunity to work with Sanford’s own World Food Policy Center. At Duke, he looks forward to sharpening his quantitative and analytical skills while studying Energy and Environmental Policy. Outside of school, Gray loves cooking, watching old movies, training his dog, and trying not to let his Latin get too rusty.
Harrison Schreiber
harrison.schreiber@duke.edu
Harrison Schreiber is a William D. Clarke Diplomatic Security Fellow with the Department of State looking forward to studying global security issues while in the MPP program. Harrison studied history and government at Claremont McKenna College with a special interest in human rights and genocide studies. Since graduating, Harrison has worked as a consultant for FTI in DC and as a public affairs intern with the State Department at an embassy overseas. Most recently he has been working for the Diplomatic Security Service on the Cyber Threat Investigations team. Harrison is interested in space policy, technology, and national security academic subjects and in his spare time enjoys hiking, listening to jazz and watching a diverse array of movies.
Graeme Strickland
graeme.strickland@duke.edu
Graeme Strickland is originally from Greenville, North Carolina and graduated from UNC-Chapel Hill in 2020 where he studied Business Administration at Kenan-Flagler Business School. Graeme’s policy interests are in technology policy, specifically in consumer privacy and protection, antitrust policy, and tech responsibility.
Most recently, he worked at the North Carolina General Assembly as a legislative aide, where he primarily worked on health care policy, technology policy, and economic and workforce development. Prior to this role, he worked for Ernst & Young’s Government & Public Sector consulting practice where he staffed the Federal Communications Commission.
He has also served on Speak Truth to Power Youth Advisory Board at Robert F. Kennedy Human Rights since 2020 and is a board member for the Association of Young Americans, a 501(c)(4) which advocates on Capitol Hill for climate, health, and education policy on behalf of all young people.
Kyana Taban
kyana.taban@duke.edu
Gabriel Toscano
Class of 2026gabriel.toscano@duke.edu
Aarushi Tripathi
aarushi.tripathi@duke.edu
Aarushi hails from Ahmedabad, India and graduated with a Bachelor’s in Computer Science and Engineering from Manipal University Jaipur in 2019. As a woman in STEM since high school, her experiences with strict gender roles and homogeneity in science and technology steered her towards the field of public policy. Before Sanford, Aarushi was a Senior Data Science Engineer and worked with big data, machine learning algorithms and software development. Besides her full-time experience, she has been an intern at political consultancies and a volunteer at many non-profits in India and Bangladesh. She’s passionate about addressing social inequalities through evidence-based policies that empower marginalised communities as decision makers. Her major areas of interest lie in labour, gender, caste, climate and technology. Outside the policy world, Aarushi enjoys playing football (a Liverpool FC fan), reading fantasy novels, trying out new food, writing, singing and cycling. Her dream is to master at least one string instrument and visit every wildlife sanctuary in her lifetime.
Dhivahari Vivek
dhivahari.vivekanandasarma@duke.edu
Dhivahari Vivek is a Colorado local with Sri Lankan Tamil heritage. She graduated from the University of Colorado Denver with degrees in computer science and political science. Professionally, she comes from a data-heavy background – she served as a data developer consultant for multiple U.S. state/quasi-state agencies, and as a research fellow for a national non-profit. Her experiences have greatly contributed to her interest in cyber civil rights/liberties issues both at home and abroad. She is invested in helping close a severe gap in legislation addressing technological harms. With her MPP, Dhivahari hopes to work alongside tireless advocates to defend cyber civil rights and digital privacy at home, as well as give back to Sri Lanka and address the harmful technological impacts on its people. In her spare time, Dhivahari enjoys never winning at the video game Hades, taking probably too long to read very good Sci-Fi books, and struggling to lift forty pounds over her head.
Chunyi Xu
chunyi.xu@duke.edu
Chunyi Xu is an MPP student at Sanford School of Public Policy. She comes from Shanghai, China, and has studied at Boston University for four years, focusing on public relations and economics. During her undergraduate years, she devoted herself to the media field by taking relevant internships in Xinhua News Agency, People’s Daily, and Edelman and producing news episodes for her university’s TV channel BUTV10.
Her experiences made her interested in Technology Policy, and she hopes to make media and communication technology truly benefit society. Meanwhile, she is personally interested in Social Policy too, and would like to have the opportunity to go beyond the mundane daily grind to experience something new. Her occupational planning is to develop, implement, and manage public policy to increase digital literacy, maturity, as well as equality, and advance community welfare.
In Chunyi’s free time, she is a Japanese anime fan. Her favorite animes are Attack on Titan and Spy × Family.
Yin-Chia Yang
yinchia.yang@duke.edu
Born and raised in Taiwan, Yin-Chia Yang completed her double B.A. in History and Library Information Science from National Taiwan University in 2021. With a deep family connection with agriculture, she held a project of building a governmental demonstrative field for the symbiosis of fishery and electricity, while co-founding and working in a solar energy and agriculture company.
She is interested in the future of energy, environment and agricultural policy, and how to balance out the industrial need and social impact through policy-making.
With her multi-discipline background and training in quantitative and qualitative research, Yin-Chia hopes to make policy more approachable and capable to address today’s need.
In her free time, Yin-Chia enjoys having nice food, drinking lots of coffee, and is a huge fan of vintage.
Jasmine Zhong
jasmine.zhong@duke.edu
Jasmine recently graduated from New York University with a major in Economics and a minor in History. She is from New York, New York. She is really passionate about both domestic and international politics. In her free time, she loves to play the violin and watch movies. She is really excited to meet new friends at Duke!
Xian (Phoebe) Zhou
xian.zhou@duke.edu
Xian (Phoebe) Zhou is born and raised in Guangzhou, China. After earning a bachelor’s degree in Business Administration from the University of California Irvine, Phoebe went back to China and became a tax consultant at KPMG. While working as a tax consultant, Phoebe was mostly dealing with Transfer Pricing issues and tax planning related engagements. Cooperating with multinational enterprises has brought her interest of policy analysis, as it required the consultant to be familiar with tax policies in different countries. Two-year work experience gives her a clearer picture of her future career path and is also the reason lead her back to school again. In everyday life, Phoebe likes to cook Western and Chinese food for her family. She has a dog named “boba”, an adorable Shiba Inu borned in California and now living in Guangzhou with her.
Lucas Zumpano
lucas.zumpano@duke.edu
Lucas graduated from Cornell University in 2022 with a major in Industrial and Labor Relations and Minor(s) in business—and separately—in healthcare policy analysis & management. Thereafter, Lucas enrolled in the dual degree program held co-jointly by UNC-Chapel Hill School of Law and Duke University’s Sanford School of Public Policy.
Lucas is an avid and passionate fisherman (and spear-fisherman) whose love for the sport continually lures him back to the most remote corners of the world. He travels to locations where only the most extreme anglers are known to venture in search of some of the largest fish to ever exist: from Costa Rica, Bermuda, the Bahamas, to the Canary Islands, and more!