Date July 2, 2025

Alumni Spotlight: Sonia Cuesta ’17 MPA

By Pete Bilderback

Sonia Cuesta, who earned her Master of Public Affairs (MPA) degree from Brown in 2017, was happy to give back to the program that helped her establish a career in human rights and international relations. During the spring 2025 semester, Cuesta supervised a new generation of MPA students' Policy in Action project from her position at the United Nations.

Sonia Cuesta, a 2017 graduate of Watson's Master of Public Affairs (MPA) program, was grateful for the opportunity to give back to the program that helped her advance her own career in public affairs. During the spring 2025 semester, Cuesta, an associate human rights officer in the United Nations' Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights (OHCHR), supervised a group of MPA students' Policy In Action (PIA) project as they created real-world deliverables for OHCHR.

For Cuesta, it was a full-circle moment. "When I was at Brown, I always felt super supported," she said, "and even after graduating, I've continued to receive support from both the MPA program's faculty and staff." All of which made the decision to say "yes" when a chance arose to mentor a current group of MPA students an easy one. Cuesta said she embraced the opportunity, “It's been great to feel connected to Brown again and to interact with students and see how motivated and excited they are to create positive change.”

While growing up in Spain, the United States and the United Kingdom, Cuesta said she always had a sense that she wanted to work in international relations or public affairs. After earning a bachelor's degree from Oxford University in French and Italian languages, Cuesta knew it was time to turn her dream of working in international relations into a reality, and she decided that Brown's MPA program would best position her to do so.

"I liked the fact that Brown's program was one year, and that it was focused on professionals," said Cuesta. “It helped me build useful skills to then go and find a job. And because I didn't have four years of undergrad in international relations, I wanted a degree that would be useful and practical.”

The program's reputation for creating learning experiences that integrate theory and practice across traditional academic disciplines also appealed to Cuesta. She found that integration was essential to developing practical skills that positioned her favorably in the job market. Cuesta said she had particularly fond memories of drafting real policy memos while in the program. "The skills I learned drafting memos have been super helpful to me in my career," said Cuesta.

"I remember we had a one-week crash course in communications over the summer," said Cuesta. "The person they brought in did a great job of explaining the importance of communication skills and how it was important to structure presentations in such a way that you tell a story," she said. "I didn't learn practical skills like that as an undergrad," she added.

Cuesta found another key component in her learning journey at Brown was the consultancy (a program feature since replaced by the PIA) that she did with the U.S. Coast Guard. "During my Coast Guard consultancy, I worked for Jeremy McKenzie, who was also a Watson graduate," she said. She remembered the process of synthesizing all she had learned in the program to create real-world deliverables as a formative experience.

McKenzie, a 2016 graduate of Brown's Master of Public Policy program, a precursor to the MPA, became more than just a project supervisor for Cuesta, serving a critical role as a career mentor as well. "Jeremy was such a great supervisor and mentor," she said. "He was so great to me. I bothered him for years afterward, asking him for references and advice, and he's been a great cheerleader for me throughout my career."

Three years after I graduated, I reached out to faculty who had taught in the MPA, seeking career advice, and even though I hadn't taken courses with any of them, they all said 'yes.'

Sonia Cuesta Class of 2017 MPA

The mentoring she received from McKenzie had a lasting impact on Cuesta's career and sparked a desire to serve as a mentor to others. "My experience with Jeremy influenced my desire to serve as a Policy in Action supervisor," she said. “I wanted to provide the same kind of mentoring for the current cohort that I experienced because I was so grateful.”

McKenzie was not the only Watson community member to provide mentoring and support to Cuesta throughout her career. "I have also received a lot of support from the professors at Brown," she said. "Three years after I graduated, I reached out to faculty who had taught in the MPA, seeking career advice," she said, “and even though I hadn't taken courses with any of them, they all said 'yes.'”

Cuesta specifically cited Carrie Nordlund, former associate director of the MPA program, as a Watson community member who has provided advice and guidance throughout her career. "Carrie was always super supportive of me," she said. "She would often email me just to check in on my career progress." Cuesta found Nordlund was particularly supportive when, in 2017, she decided to apply to the UN Young Professionals Programme (YPP), a recruitment initiative for talented, highly qualified professionals seeking to start their careers as international civil servants.

"I knew I wanted to transition into the human rights arena," said Cuesta. "It was great to know that so many people at Watson were rooting for me." The networking and career support paid off when Cuesta was placed through the YPP in 2022, leading to her current role as an associate human rights officer in the OHCHR.

Now working in Geneva, Switzerland, Cuesta feels a sense of satisfaction in a career where she can make a positive impact on the world. "Knowing that there are actual things that we can do here to support people, to give a platform to their voices, to amplify their messages, and bring attention to the human rights violations that they're facing is super motivating for me," she said.

Cuesta said she is particularly proud of the work she did helping survivors of sexual violence in Japan. "There was a scandal involving one man in the Japanese entertainment industry," she said, "and it had been covered up for many decades." The U.N. joined the push for justice for the survivors. "We had some very difficult interviews with many survivors," she said. The U.N. issued a report that provided recommendations for the government and businesses to prevent future abuses. "It's still a work in progress, and it's not perfect, but they have implemented some of our recommendations to provide access to justice and remedy for the survivors," she said.

Reflecting on her time at Watson, Cuesta most fondly recalls the sense of camaraderie and teamwork that developed within her cohort. Many of her classmates remain part of her circle of professional contacts and friends, including fellow Geneva resident, Marcus Burke. "The Watson community has brought me some lifelong friends," said Cuesta.