Advance Your Career. Enhance Your Community.

Careers in public policy include appointed public positions, consultancy roles and nonprofit leadership positions that deal with budgeting and finance, economic development, environmental protection, public education, public health, social services and other policy fields. Temple alumni who already work in these fields provide important networks through which our graduates gain entry into exciting and rewarding public policy jobs.

Upcoming Information Sessions

Virtual Information Sessions
We regularly hold several information sessions hosted via Zoom from September through May. Additional information sessions will be scheduled for later dates in the spring semester.

• Wednesday, December 9th at 5:30pm
• Tuesday, January 12th at 5:30pm
• Wednesday, February 3rd at 5:30pm

Public Policy Internships

All Master of Public Policy (MPP) students are required to serve in an internship and complete PLCY 5085 Internship in Public Policy. Past MPP students have served their internships at a number of different organizations, agencies and legislative offices:

• Alliance for Philadelphia Public Schools
• City of Philadelphia, Grants Office
• Committee of Seventy
• Councilmember Isaiah Thomas
• Councilmember Maria D. Quiñones-Sánchez
• Councilwoman Cherelle L. Parker
• Elder LGBT Initiative (William Way Community Center)
• Global Philadelphia Association
• Greater Philadelphia Cultural Alliance
• Health Share Exchange, Saint Joseph’s University
• International Union of Operating Engineers Local 542
• Institute on Disabilities, Temple University
• PA Attorney General
• Philadelphia District Attorney’s Office
• Philadelphia OIC
• PIDC
• Public Financial Management
• Research for Action
• Office of Senator Cory Booker
• Office of Senator Bob Casey
• Office of State Representative Donna Bullock
• Office of State Representative Mary Jo Daley
• Office of State Representative Tim O’Neill
• Office of State Representative Brian Sims
• Office of the Inspector General, U.S. Department of Health and Human Services
• Office of State Representative Jake Wheatley Jr., Democratic Chair of the House Finance Committee
• Office of Violence Prevention, City of Philadelphia
• Princeton Strategies
• The Borgen Project
• United Nations, Department of Public Information
• Wojdak Government Relations

Congratulations to Our MPP Graduates!

In 2020, Temple’s College of Liberal Arts conferred MPP degrees upon 20 graduates. Some of them are pictured to the right in our virtual Zoom graduation celebration.

At the celebration, Keshema Davidson served as the 2020 class speaker and shared remarks about what inspired her to enter public service. Additionally, two MPP alumni (Jasmine Lamb and Nathanael Brouhard) were awarded the MPP Academic Achievement Award and Cathy Roccia-Meier was awarded the MPP Public Service Award. We wish them all the best and look forward to hearing about their future successes!

Alumni Spotlight

Temple’s MPP graduates have taken on many new employment opportunities since completing the program! Read on to find out more about where our alums have gone.

• Keshema Davidson
  Was selected to participate in Committee of Seventy’s highly competitive Buchholz Fellowship program. Keshema works as the Manager of Community Affairs at Cristo Rey Philadelphia High School.
  MPP from Temple in 2020
  

• Eric Bumbaca
  Left his position as a Program Coordinator at College Possible Philadelphia to become Director of Student Programs for The World Affairs Council of Philadelphia.
  MPP from Temple in 2019
  

• Victoria Cram
  Left her position as a Congressional Aide for Congressman Brendan Boyle to become Chief of Staff for State Representative Kevin Boyle.
  MPP from Temple in 2019
  

• Sara DeNault
  First worked as a Senior Research Analyst at Econsult Solutions and then accepted a position as a Senior Associate, Finance, Policy and Data for the Office of the Philadelphia City Controller.
  MPP from Temple in 2019
  

• Tom Holroyd
  Appointed Legislative Director, Sen. Maria Collett, Pennsylvania Senate
  MPP from Temple in 2019
  

• Helen Loughead
  Left her position as Assistant Director of Development, Penn Medicine Development and Alumni Relations to become Assistant Budget Director, Analysis & Communications for the City of Philadelphia.
  MPP from Temple in 2019
  

• Sarah Mueller
  Selected for the highly competitive Joseph P. Kennedy, Jr. Disability Policy Fellowship with the Senate Health, Education, Labor and Pensions Committee
  MPP from Temple in 2019

• Emily Watts
  Formerly Communications Specialist II at McCormick Taylor, Emily is now a Policy Specialist with PennDOT.
  MPP from Temple in 2019
  

• Brian Clinton
  Left his position on the staff of Councilwoman Cherelle Parker to become Assistant Chief of Staff in the Mayor’s Office of the City of Philadelphia.
  MPP from Temple in 2018
  

• Patrick Kerr
  Formerly an Executive Assistant for the Committee on Sustainability Assessment, is now a Research Partnerships Manager with Character Lab, a non- profit organization that uses cutting edge social science and medical research to understand and develop traits in children that contribute to positive outcomes later in life.
  MPP from Temple in 2018
  

• Dashiell Sears
  Appointed Senior Associate, National League of Cities, Washington, DC and then accepted a role as Director of Public Policy at the International Association of Providers of AIDS Care.
  MPP from Temple in 2018
  

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