Alumni Profile: Lindsay Hiser, MPP’23

After graduating with a double major in organizational studies and communication and media studies from University of Michigan, Lindsay Hiser landed her first job in development at the National Public Radio (NPR) headquarters in Washington, DC.

Working in development, Hiser said she gained a broad understanding of the work of the organization. “We learned about the stories being published by the news desks, the podcasts that were coming out, and different initiatives being led by member stations across the country so that we could communicate the organization’s impact to donors.”

Hiser found herself gravitating towards projects that required data analysis to measure impact, but said she was lacking in the understanding of how to do that methodologically. "I realized that I was approaching that measurement with intuition rather than any kind of rigorous analysis…and then I realized policy school would present a way to engage with that work directly.”

That was when Hiser decided to apply to the University of Chicago Harris School of Public Policy. “Hearing from David Chrisinger, the director of the Writing Program, in the admissions process made me feel empowered about coming to Harris, because I was coming to a quantitative school that valued that storytelling aspect of policy. I knew then that I would have something to be challenged by, but also something to be confident in—that I could contribute back to the community.”

While at Harris, Hiser said her coursework prepared her well for her role with RTI. “Two courses specifically stand out. One, on survey research methodology, was a great overview of concepts like sampling, survey design, and nonresponse. Then, a survey questionnaire design class introduced different psychological concepts within survey science and included an opportunity for students to create and evaluate their own questionnaire. Those two classes provided a solid foundation for survey methodology." Hiser added that it wasn’t only coursework that set her up for success at RTI. “Learning to program in R has been very useful. While we have a team of statisticians and data scientists at RTI, there are opportunities to use data analysis to support  the questionnaire development process. So, when revising questionnaires for a new year, I can use my programming skills to analyze data from previous years and help improve our own survey questionnaire by reducing respondent burden.”

Hiser offers this advice to prospective students. “If there's something that catches your interest at Harris—a skill or a class—pursue it. Even if you think, ‘Oh, I only have two years here, I won’t fully develop this skill,’ look into it. The experience will be engaging and the possibilities it can open could be invaluable.”