Alumni Profile: Evy Lanai, MPP’25

Education and community, said Evy Lanai, MPP’25, have been at the heart of her policy interest for many years. “I grew up in Franklin, TN, and its small-town feel definitely instilled a sense of community in me. Then, while earning my undergraduate degree from the University of Alabama in international relations and Spanish, one of the ways I started engaging with the local community was through tutoring programs—primarily teaching elementary schoolers how to speak Spanish.” 

Those experiences, she said, also helped her pinpoint some career goals. “I saw firsthand the types of education obstacles that immigrant communities face in the United States and realized that education policy was where I could make the most valuable impact." 

Before she could make this impact, however, she realized she would need to develop her quantitative skills. 

“As a humanities major in college who hadn’t taken math or science since high school, I recognized—even while I was applying to internships in college—that it would be really helpful if I had some hard skills.” Harris, she said, spoke directly to this need. “I really appreciated that Harris was transparent in emphasizing coding and quantitative analytical skills—and that they provided the resources for students to succeed.” 

Math & Coding Camp, Lanai said, was a particularly invaluable resource before classes got underway. “Even though learning coding was like learning another language, the supplemental DataQuest coding practices were extremely helpful.” Lanai said she also appreciated the community building aspect of Math & Coding Camp. “Most assignments were group-based, so you lean on your friends and classmates for help. Everyone was very eager to help each other out.” 

Given Lanai’s interest in education policy, it’s not surprising that her education policy course was one of her favorites. “It was a small class, so the professor knew what each of our policy interests were and would call on us to share our experiences because he considered them relevant. Plus, the small class size also facilitated rapport, which is really valuable to me.” 

Lanai also emphasized the value of the Harris Career Development Office (CDO). “My current role is unequivocally an outgrowth of the summer internship I secured with The Commit Partnership through the CDO. The internship was made possible by the Education Pioneers Summer Fellow program, and I’d learned about that program through HarrisLink [the Harris-specific job board maintained by the CDO].” 

The summer internship ended up being so fruitful, Lanai said, that she continued with The Commit Partnership throughout her second year. “I helped with bill tracking and analysis, education policy research, and corresponded with legislative offices.”

Now, in her role as a Data Consultant, Lanai is building out data stories for recommendations that The Commit Partnership submits to the Texas legislature, conducting regional outcomes analyses to highlight where school systems are over/underperforming, analyzing trends in Texas education finance, and collecting research on policy priorities. 

“Digging into our policy priorities and sharing analyses and recommendations with external advocacy partners and public agencies is some of my most rewarding work,” said Lanai. “I enjoy being able to use my analytics skills to support our goal of trying to scale successful education initiatives statewide."