Alumni Profile: Ricardo Sande, MPP’23

“Prior to Harris, my whole career was in the public sector,” said Ricardo Sande, MPP’23. “But after Harris, I realized I wanted to spend some time in the private sector—and Harris gave me the tools to make that transition. I knew many classmates who were transitioning in the opposite direction, and I appreciate that the Harris curriculum allows you to do both of those transitions successfully.”

Sande’s public sector career in Chile included serving as a council member of the political coalition Chile Vamos, serving on the citizen council of President Piñera’s campaign, and as General Campaign Manager for Congressman Jaime Bellolio.

Then, after Sande earned his bachelor’s in law from Pontificia Universidad Católica de Chile, he held a series of Chief of Staff roles for the Minister of Education, the Minister of Environment, and ultimately for the Minister Secretary General of the Government.

It was while working with the Minister of Environment, Sande said, that pursuing a Master of Public Policy (MPP) at the University of Chicago Harris School of Public Policy first crossed his mind. “Chile had the presidency of the 25th United Nations’ Conference of the Parties (COP) for their Framework Convention on Climate Change. Being Chief of Staff of the president of the COP was not just a fruitful professional experience, but it also showed me a path I wanted to pursue. Chile could potentially serve as an example for our region in terms of sustainable development: we have great solar access, more than 2,000 volcanoes, strong winds and rivers, and with copper and lithium deposits, we are in a position of producing clean energy at a low cost. I wanted to play an important role in meeting that challenge.”

Sande said once he recognized this path, an MPP at Harris was the most logical next step. “I saw that the quantitative skills I would gain at Harris would complement the skills I gained in law school and strengthen my view of the larger policy picture.”

Now, as an Institutional Relations Manager for Engie, Sande is putting his Harris skills to good use. “The energy business is technical, and it's difficult to argue in favor or against policies that most people don’t understand. Knowing when something is efficient and recognizing correlation is critical, and before Harris, I wasn’t very aware of data analysis. That additional tool of analysis—understanding and using data more effectively—is invaluable when something needs to be explained, especially in terms of correlation. I can analyze arguments and use data to make them more compelling.”

When reflecting on his Harris experience, Sande also discussed the challenge of completing his MPP while raising his family.

“I was looking forward to a challenge while a Harris student,” Sande said with a laugh, “and with work/life balance, I got one. My wife—who was even more crucial while at Harris—and I had small kids to drive to daycare, and I had to find moments to work with other classmates because I was used to working at night after my kids went to bed.”

Moreover, their second daughter was born in the middle of Sande’s first quarter—in the middle of the pandemic. “For health considerations, we decided to remain in Chile and have our second daughter there, which meant my first quarter was remote. We moved to Chicago a couple of days before the winter quarter started, and it was intense—especially as I didn't have a background in math or economics. However, Harris’ support systems—all the TAs, academic advisors, and the tutoring system—were invaluable.”

As for advice for prospective students, Sande said, “Don’t focus just on the place or company you want to be at—focus on what you want to be doing and accomplishing.”