Date November 7, 2024

Alumni Spotlight: Ashley Delgado ’24 MPA

By Pete Bilderback

Ashley Delgado, who earned her MPA from the Watson Institute at Brown University in 2024, practices many of the skills she learned at Watson — tact, patience, program management skills and effective use of limited resources — in her current position with the Port Authority of New York and New Jersey.

Less than a year removed from earning her Master of Public Affairs (MPA) degree at Brown University’s Watson Institute, Ashley Delgado is reaping the benefits of the professional training she received in the one-year program in her new job as a leadership fellow at the Port Authority of New York and New Jersey.

Delgado, a first-generation student, learned about the program while participating in the Public Policy and International Affairs Program (PPIA) Fellowship's summer program after completing her junior year at Cornell University. "They talked to us about how an MPA degree can help us launch a career of public service," said Delgado, "I'm just a girl from the Bronx who wants to help people."

Meeting Catherine Rodarte, the associate director of admissions and recruitment for Watson's MPA program, was instrumental for Delgado, who appreciated Watson's accelerated one-year program. "I met Catherine at a PPIA event, where I talked with her about my passion for lifting up low-income communities and my interest in education issues," she said. "She was very intentional. In talking with her, I could see that Watson’s faculty and staff were invested in their MPA students."

As the recipient of a Watson Director’s Fellowship, Delgado worked with Professors Susan Moffitt and Jonathan Collins in the Realizing Rights Lab, which focuses on the issues of governance of public schools, parental and student rights, and the effects of partisanship on education, for most of the academic year. "I liked the research they were conducting on evaluating how attending school board meetings could enhance parents' and students' rights," said Delgado.

For her Policy in Action Project, Delgado worked with the City of Providence's Department of Recreation. That proved helpful in her current position as a leadership fellow in the policy and planning unit at the Port Authority of New York and New Jersey. "I gained a lot of program management skills and understanding how projects would be implemented by diverse groups of people," said Delgado. "It taught me patience. Everything moves more slowly in government. I learned how to be tactful and how to work with different types of people,"

I learned how to think critically about how I present myself and how to manage projects with the government's limited resources.

Ashley Delgado MPA class of 2024

Her Port Authority position is a two-year rotational program, which will give her experience in different elements of the agency. Currently working in the policy and planning unit, Delgado described the principles she learned in David Blanding's Policy Analysis and Problem Solving course when she was asked about her program management expertise during her job interview. Each of her fellowship positions lasts six months. After the two-year rotation, she hopes to use the network she's developed at the Port Authority to land a permanent placement there.

"Katie Doyle's Principles and Practices of Stakeholder Engagement course was very helpful. I learned how to think critically about how I present myself and how to manage projects with the government's limited resources. We use what we have," said Delgado. "I'm in charge of the project to try to make our unit more efficient. It was rewarding to learn how to create a dashboard using a new software program and to see the project come to fruition." She's grateful to Doyle, who also offered students support and wisdom in her Leading With Impact class, and to Blanding, who conducted mock interviews with Delgado and remains a mentor to her.

Committed to giving back to her community, Delgado volunteers with her local church. "As a volunteer with the youth ministry, I meet with teens every Friday. Besides providing spiritual support, I give college and career advice," she said. In middle school, Delgado participated in Prep for Prep, a nonprofit leadership development and gifted education program focused on expanding educational access to students of color. That program, of which Blanding is also an alumni, propelled Delgado to receive a high school scholarship. "I left home at 14 to attend boarding school. I believe it influenced my younger brother to prioritize education," she said. "He's in high school and wants to become an engineer."

While her longer-range career plans are open-ended, Ashley knows she wants to work to improve the lives of those in underserved communities. "I hope to make a bigger impact in the future," she said.