Alumni Profile: Ethan Przytulski, PRIB’25

When speaking to Ethan Przytulski, PRIB’25, it becomes readily apparent why the Policy Research Innovation Bootcamp at Harris appealed to him.

A sophomore at Case Western Reserve University in Cleveland, Ohio, Przytulski is pursuing a dual degree—a BS in data science and a BA in quantitative economics—with a minor in public policy. “Academically,” he said, “I want a solid handle on economic theory, because I am interested in anticipating and evaluating risk and analyzing what can be done to mitigate it as much as possible to support informed and actionable policy work.”

Przytulski is currently applying some of his economic skills as an intern for the City of Cleveland’s Mayor's Office of Urban Analytics and Innovation. “I’ve audited a lot of the existing data sets, reworked some of their pipelines, and edited metadata, in addition to using Python and SQL to make some dashboards for the Department of Finance.”

While not pursuing his degree or working at his internship, Przytulski also volunteers extensively throughout Cleveland—the Cleveland Medical Center, the Museum of Natural History, the Museum of Art, the Botanical Gardens, and Case Western’s Center for Civic Engagement and Learning.

The intersection of his volunteer interests, internship, and academics, Przytulski said, is what drew him to PRIB. “PRIB seemed a great step towards translating my passion into concrete steps. The idea of learning more about issues with, and plausible solutions for, data problems in public policy from faculty and other program participants was very appealing.”

PRIB, Przytulski said, lived up to his expectations. “The faculty were exceptional, providing complex ideas clearly and in depth. In one of Benjamin Krause’s lectures, for example, he discussed research processes—experimentation, predictive modeling, and how to run trials—and its application in the real world. “The way he explained how to address the paradox—how can you write good policy if you can’t predict its outcomes, but how will you know those outcomes until you write the policy and put it into action?—was really illuminating.”

Whether as part of a lecture, presentation, or conversation, Przytulski said he learned a great deal from faculty members. “Professors Krause and Wright both had amazing stories and have done such amazing work.”

Perhaps the most enjoyable component of PRIB, Przytulski said, was the hackathon. “I’ve been coding since high school, so I’m a big fan of hackathons in general. In PRIB, our goal was to identify factors limiting college enrollment and then develop a pitch deck for a private organization that focuses on education issues. Identifying possible solutions and developing a pitch around them is something I enjoy, and it was great to be able to use some of the skills we had literally just learned in the program.”

As for future plans, Przytulski said, “I think my long-term goal is working in policy at the government level, because I’d like to maximize my impact. PRIB exposed me to policymaking processes that complement the technical skills I’m learning. It has been a critical step in ensuring that I have the ability to contribute to meaningful change.”