Now in its third year, the Watson School’s Policy Mentor Network has grown to include ten mentors and new resources for students in the Master of Public Affairs (MPA) program. The expanded network includes leading practitioners from the nonprofit and governmental sectors as well as from the fields of capital management, public health, law and journalism.
The program provides students with various mentoring opportunities, such as career-focused events and office hours with mentors. Additionally, mentors advise the school’s academic program team on initiatives designed to enhance professional development.
Associate Director of Professional Development and Alumni Engagement, Benjamin J. Chalot, who oversees the program, says he wants it to be driven by student needs. “So many students ask for career advice and have questions about the fields they want to pursue and how to get a foot in the door,” he said. “But they also want to know about current events and to have intellectual debates and discussions with accomplished policy practitioners.”
“This program fills both those needs for students,” he said.
Another benefit to the program, according to Chalot, is that mentors offer assistance with the MPA program’s Policy-in-Action Project, either by leading projects directly through their own organizations or providing valuable networking that leads to other opportunities. The key experiential component of the Brown MPA learning journey, the Policy-in-Action Project, allows students to apply the skills they have learned in their academic coursework to critical real-world policy challenges by working with governmental and nongovernmental organizations from around the world.
A new aspect of the program this year is the addition of four Equity in Policy Scholars Mentors. “As we continued to develop the program,” said Associate Director of Admissions and Recruitment, Catherine Rodarte, “we recognized it was important to provide one-on-one mentorship opportunities for participants in our Watson Equity in Policy Scholars Program.”
The Equity in Policy Scholars Mentors — this year, including President and Chief Executive Officer of Airlink, Paloma Adams-Allen; Lawyer and Climate Justice and Civil Rights Organizer at Houston in Action, Verónica Carbajal; Chief Equity Officer for the Massachusetts Municipal Association, Jillian Harvey; and President of the Rhode Island Public Health Association, Larry Warner — assist scholars with professional development and serve as a resource throughout the scholars’ job search process. Each mentor conducts monthly meetings with their individually assigned scholars.
“What’s great about this mentorship program,” Rodarte added, “is that it offers multifaceted mentorship opportunities. There are the smaller, one-on-one sessions with the mentees, but mentors also come to campus and host leadership development sessions for all MPA students.” All mentors hold group advising sessions for all four scholars and also lead a session at mentorship summits open to all MPA students.
Equity in Policy Scholars Mentor, Larry Warner, a 1997 Brown graduate who also earned his Master’s in Public Health from Brown in 2013, brings significant experience in the health and public policy arenas. He is providing one-on-one mentoring to MPA student Michael Brent IV.
“Michael and I had an initial Zoom conversation, and have been meeting periodically to touch base on his studies and progress in the program,” said Warner. “I was on campus for an entire day in November, held office hours and meetings with students, gave a presentation, and then had dinner with all the Equity in Policy Scholars to continue the conversation,” he added.
Warner recently founded his own consulting business, Warner ILS, to advise organizations in high-stakes environments, including public health, philanthropy, public safety, and social services. For over six years before that, he worked for the United Way of Rhode Island, where he most recently served as its chief impact and equity officer, overseeing the development of strategic plans and programs to advance racial equity in Rhode Island.
Warner said he has enjoyed the opportunity to mentor Brent, who came to the Watson School directly after earning a bachelor’s degree in political science from Clark Atlanta University. “I’ve shared some of my professional and academic journey with him,” said Warner, “I want to help him decide for himself what path he’d like to choose.”
“One thing I think many students and early-career professionals have found valuable is when I tell them that their journey doesn’t necessarily have to be along a straight line,” said Warner. “It’s perfectly fine to have some zig-zags in your career.”
“My first piece of advice is always to follow your curiosity, and let that guide you,” he said. “If you are in a role with an organization that is aligned with whatever your major was, but you’re not finding the experience fulfilling, it’s okay to pivot. Sometimes your curiosity takes you off the narrowly defined path you may have envisioned for yourself,” he added.
