Connect with Our Students

Harris Ambassadors and Graduate Assistants area group of students who are available to share their perspective and experiences at Harris Public Policy. They are representative of the Harris student body and passionate about their areas of study as well as their experience at Harris. Whether you have questions about the classroom experience, moving to Chicago, or their policy interests, our students are here to help!

Connect with a current student on the phone or online.

Please allow a few weeks to receive an email from our ambassadors, as they are currently completing their summer internships. Thank you for your patience.

Meet the Harris Ambassadors

Onur Buyukkalkan, MSCAPP Class of 2025

Hometown: Izmir, Turkey

Urban, Economic Development, Fintech, Financial Policy

I am a Fulbright scholar studying in the Master of Science in Computational Analysis and Public Policy (MSCAPP) program at UChicago. I previously majored in Political Science and Software Development Bilkent University. I love politics, economics, diplomacy, and data science. I know German, Russian, Turkish, Latin, Azerbaijani, Kazakh, and Turkmen. Play the violin and love cooking different dishes from around the world.

Jordan Enos, MPP Class of 2024

After graduating from Santa Clara University with a degree in finance, I worked at a non-profit in Austin, Texas as a case manager through the Jesuit Volunteer Corps. I worked with community members experiencing generational poverty and the consequences of systemic discrimination. Afterward, I moved back home to Seattle, WA, and worked at the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation in their advocacy and communications program. The global health initiatives I supported centered on marginalized communities in the global south, including routine vaccine implementation and primary healthcare.

As a 2nd year MPP student, I am focusing on domestic health policy. I am also a Pearson Fellow, an elected bargaining committee member for the Graduate Student Union, and Co-Partnerships Manager for Harris Community Action. I served as a Mayoral Fellow in Mayor Johnson’s office for the 2023 summer.

Silvia (Xiaoya) Li, MPP Class of 2025

Hefei, China

Interests include: Finance and Economic Policy, International Development and Data Analytics

I graduated with a BA in Economics and Political Science from Bryn Mawr College, a historically women’s liberal arts college in Philadelphia. Born and raised in Hefei, China, I am passionate about economic policy and impact investing. In my past internships and volunteer experience with NGOs, I have been determined to make a positive impact on society. I believe in the power of policy. I choose to attend Harris because I can develop my data analysis skills and turn my economic knowledge into a practical toolkit to solve problems in the real world.

Hallie Lovin, MPP Class of 2025

Boone, North Carolina, US

Interests include: Social and Urban Policy, Drug Policy

After graduating from UNC Chapel Hill with a degree in Public Policy and Women and Gender Studies, I decided to come to Harris to advance my quantitative understanding of policy. I am so excited to be able to explore the interplay between data and social policy decisions at the graduate level. My interests lie in using urban policy to combat inequality in the world around us. I am so excited for my journey at Harris!

Martha MacLaren, MPP Class of 2025

Hometown: London, UK

Interests include: Education policy, climate change, and social and health inequalities

I studied History and German for my Bachelor’s degree at the University of Oxford, and lived and taught in Europe for a few years before joining the UK Civil Service in London. Having worked in a variety of HR roles in three different government departments, I’m keen to transition to a policy career where I can more directly impact citizens’ lives. I’m excited to start my MPP at Harris where I hope to learn valuable analytical skills and take electives in education, climate change, and social inequalities. I’m also looking forward to enriching discussions in an international cohort on complex cross-system, global challenges.

Ella Montgomery, MPP Class of 2025

Hometown: Chicago, IL

Interests include: Urban Economics, Education Economics

I am a Chicagoan, born and raised, and earned my BA in Economics in the Fall of 2022. I started my undergraduate experience with a keen interest in financial literacy and decision-making at the firm level. I later went on to develop a passion for analyzing the structure of academia and educational policy, working as a research assistant for a project that used the Cultural Political Economy approach to examine the process of radicalization for over a year. After graduation, I worked as an economic research analyst at the US Copyright Office. I chose to attend Harris’ MPP program because it offered both instruction in rigorous quantitative analysis and the opportunity to build skills for crafting thoughtful policy that engenders positive social change.

Minh Nghiem, MSCAPP Class of 2025

Hometown: Hanoi, Vietnam

Interests include: Urban & Environmental Economics, Sustainability, Civic Tech, Impact Science, Governance

After earning my BA in Business Administration at California State University, Fullerton in the US and Foreign Trade University in Vietnam, I worked with a number of firms operationalizing the COVID-19 Emergency Rental Assistance Program, which sparked my interest in urban economics and the application of data in policy and public program implementation. Before grad school, I was a research analyst and project coordinator at a economics consulting firm in Vietnam/Myanmar where I worked with government clients on projects concerning governance and optimizing the public-private sector relationships. I chose MSCAPP for its diverse community of thoughtful and driven individuals. I aim to explore a wide arrays of policy domains, as well as learn to harness data to maximize the impact of public projects and policies.

Maggie Onsager, MPP Class of 2025

Atlanta, GA

Interests include: International Policy, Social Policy

I was born and raised in Atlanta, Georgia, and double majored in International Affairs & Politics and French Studies at Wake Forest University in Winston-Salem, North Carolina. During my four years at Wake, I studied political science and culture in Copenhagen, Stockholm, Budapest, and Dijon, fueling my interest in international policy and social equity. I chose Harris because I felt as though there were endless opportunities to succeed and grow both through Harris and through the University of Chicago, and the prospect of collaborating with the diverse Harris community was extremely appealing to me. I come from a very writing-centered and liberal arts-focused background, so I look forward to growing my analytical skills by taking on new challenges at Harris!

Alberto Saldarriaga, MPP Class of 2025

Hometown: Lima, Peru

Interests include: Public Finance, Municipal Finance, Health, Education, Climate Change and Environment

I am an economist firmly committed to bridging the divide between the private sector, public sector, and academia. Throughout my career, I have amassed five years of dedicated experience, refining my expertise in two pivotal domains: budgeting and project management. My professional journey has taken me to be involved in government agencies, primarily the Ministry of Economy and Finance and the Ministry of Education. Within these roles, I had the privilege of shaping policies that encompassed a broad spectrum of areas, such as: Multiannual budgeting estimation, formulating strategic agendas for national and subnational governments, and crafting strategies for knowledge transfer and stakeholder management. My primary objective at Harris is to enhance my proficiency in data analytics, which I believe will serve as a catalyst for further advancements in policy development in the areas I’m passionate about.