Alumni Profile: Krishna Anand, DPSS’25, PRIB’25

Krishna Anand, DPSS’25 and PRIB’25, said his interest in policy is fully entwined with his upbringing. “In 1987, well before I was born, my parents fled from the Fiji Islands after a coup. They arrived in Portland, Oregon: a city they said really gave them a sense of belonging. As a result, our household was always very civically active, so it felt very natural for me to find a way I could also give back.

This interest led Anand to pursue his bachelor's in political science with a concentration in public policy from the University of Oregon.

“My undergraduate studies helped me develop critical thinking skills to better see the intersections that exist in the field of political science. For example,” he said, “the City of Portland is focused on public safety, economic development, and attending to our unhoused population. But it’s difficult to get investment into the city if you don't have safe streets, and it's very difficult to get people off the streets and into some form of shelter or affordable housing if we don't have the funds to pay for these services. My education helped me better see how seemingly unconnected issues may actually be connected.”

After graduating, Anand served as a policy advocate and analyst for Unite Oregon, a community organization and empowerment group, before landing his current role as Council Liaison for the City of Portland. 

“When the opportunity to work for the City of Portland came up, I took stock and realized most of my work with public policy was qualitative, so I began looking for opportunities to strengthen my quantitative skills. After doing my research, the University of Chicago was not only the strongest in quantitative methods, but it was the only school that had programs like DPSS and PRIB where I could also get a kind of ‘sneak peek’ into what a two-year MPP program looks like.”

The Data and Policy Summer Scholar program and Policy Research Innovation Bootcamp, Anand said, gave him tangible skills he uses as Council Liaison.

“My primary job for the city is to track pieces of legislation and report back to the mayor on what specific councilors are working on, the budgetary and policy impacts of those projects, and how we can foster better relationships with individual councilors as well. Now, I use the same quantitative lens I learned in DPSS when breaking down components of the policies we explored when assessing policy issues for Portland.”

PRIB, Anand said, helped him with public speaking. “While I use the research skills I gained at PRIB, the opportunity I had to hone my public speaking skills during the Hackathon—succinctly presenting a proposal and research to subject matter experts—has been invaluable for my current role.”

As for future plans, Anand said, “I want to continue to think innovatively and strategically about how I can contribute to making our city, our state, our country, and the world a better place. As a first-generation college graduate from an immigrant family, I recognize that waking up every day with a roof over your head, clothes on your back, food and water on the table, and an opportunity to get educated or work in a safe environment is a privilege that not everyone is afforded. I want to work in a manner in which I'm helping as many people as possible have access to the same opportunities I have had. I want to give back what was given to me.”