Principal Program Budget Analyst

Looking back to my specialization courses in economics and state and local policy, I cannot imagine any better training for my career in state government. In my undergraduate course work, the instruction laid a good academic foundation of economic theory and political science. However, those courses left me wondering, "What is the point? How is this going to help change the world for the better?" During my two-year career at the School of Public Policy, my professors challenged me every day to make a practical impact on my world and my sphere of policy influence. In my capacity today as a principal developer of California's annual budget, I am responsible for analyzing policy ideas presented by legislators, lobbyists, and bureaucrats.

Generally, these three constituents attempt to persuade from either heavily academic or pragmatic vantage points. I am grateful for my education because it equipped me with incredible discernment in my chosen career path— an ability to identify policy rooted in sound economic and political theory, which can have a positive, long-standing impact and withstand the political whims of our day.