Alumni Profile: Carly Domicolo, MPP’24, Persuasive Writing Credential’21

Carly Domicolo, MPP’24, began working as a Program Analyst for the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics soon after graduating from the Harris School of Public Policy. “My main responsibility with the Bureau is to process Freedom of Information Act [FOIA] requests for data to be made publicly available, so I spend a lot of time being that liaison between the public and the government,” she said.

Hailing from the northern Albany suburb of Clifton Park, New York, Domicolo believes policy is the best avenue for her to challenge current systems and enact change. “I had been trying to find the right fit for my skills for a while: somewhere I could continue to use data analysis in a deliberate way to help people. Harris was a great environment for me to find my place in the policy space and make the impact I wanted to make.”

Domicolo graduated from George Washington University with her bachelor’s in statistics and economics in 2020. While an undergraduate, she co-authored a paper, “Degree-Based Gini Index for Graphs” in Probability in the Engineering and Informational Sciences. “I started in statistics, but I wanted something that felt more applicable. Economics gave me a way to potentially help people.”

Domicolo said she enjoyed research but wanted something that would allow her to have a more immediate impact. While researching different career paths, she came across the Persuasive Writing Credential program. "It seemed very hands on, so I decided to sign up. After just the first class, I was hooked. It helped solidify my interest in public policy.” Domicolo completed the PWC in Spring 2021.

"The biggest strength of the Persuasive Writing Credential was its approach—taking data-driven solutions and presenting them in a way that could affect policy," said Domicolo. "It was about taking numbers with no personality and making them accessible to people’s sensibilities." Domicolo also praised the flexible schedule and the option to write about topics of interest. “It never felt like I was doing work.” She was even able to publish her op-ed from the program, "Reallocating Funds to Education," in Harris’ student-led Chicago Policy Review.

The credential program also spurred her to pursue the Master of Public Policy at Harris. “After the credential program, I stayed engaged with a lot of people at Harris, especially David Chrisinger. After conversations with him, I had no doubt that I would gain soft skills and quantitative skills at Harris, which then provided me ways to reframe my analytical skills towards policy-oriented outcomes.”

Domicolo became involved in all aspects of the Harris community, including Harris Student Organizations such as the Chicago Policy Review, Harris Community Action, and Women in Public Policy.  “Harris created an unmatched cohort and environment. I was just as excited about the community engagement as I was about the classwork.”

Now, in her role with the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, Domicolo said she appreciates being able to use her Harris skills to compile data and put them together to be publicly accessible. “At Harris, learning about transparency in government and providing public goods instilled in me a good perspective about research. I’m now able to really help do good in any field by streamlining how people access data.”