ALUMNI AROUND THE GLOBE

Over its 20-year legacy of promoting professional and intellectual growth while advancing an international perspective on social sectors, the International Public Policy and Management (IPPAM) program at the USC Price School of Public Policy has served as a springboard for many global leaders.

Euroasia IPPAM Alumni

North America IPPAM Alumni

South America IPPAM Alumni

East Asia IPPAM Alumni

South & Southeast Asia IPPAM Alumni

Eurasia IPPAM Alumni

Middle East IPPAM Alumni

Central Asia IPPAM Alumni

Africa IPPAM Alumni

Click the pins on the map to see more

Ahmad Majidyar joined IPPAM in 2016 as a Fulbright Scholar from Afghanistan. Before joining IPPAM, he worked with the Government of Afghanistan as Vice President for Investment Affairs at Afghanistan Investment Support Agency (AISA). At AISA, he managed a team of over 100 experts to register, support and promote domestic and foreign investments in Afghanistan.



“I received the prestigious Fulbright Scholarship to study in the US. I chose to join IPPAM because of the reputation of Price School of Public Policy and the curriculum they offer that is up to date and a blend of theoretical and analytical modules necessary for analyzing the current global challenges.”



IPPAM broadened Ahmad’s understanding of how development takes place globally- especially in some of the most vulnerable conditions. The program equipped him with skills to analyze the challenges and recommend policy solutions reflecting international best practices.



After graduating from IPPAM, Ahmad joined SHELADIA Associates, Inc. SHELADIA is a Washington, DC metropolitan area based international consulting firm that provides engineering services to governments in over 50 countries across Asia and Africa. The company provides consultancy in transportation, water resources management, energy, and M&E sectors. Currently, Ahmad leads the Business Development Division. “ At SHELADIA, I am responsible for designing strategies to expand their business to new markets, capture new business, build partnerships with international financing institutions (USAID, World Bank, ADB, AfDB, etc.), and assist in developing proposals to bid for infrastructure projects. I have been utilizing all the skills I gained from studying at IPPAM while designing strategic plans, analyzing infrastructure issues across the developing world, and contributing to providing solutions that are reflected in the concept papers or proposals submitted by the company to the Clients.”



IPPAM gave Ahmad new skills to build a new career in the consulting industry.

Ahmad Waleed MajidyarIPPAM 19
Deniz received her BS in Economics and worked for seven years for the Treasury in the Turkish Government. As a treasury expert, she work primarily on Turkey-European Union relations, and economic harmonization policies. The course PPD 571: International Public Policy and Management Seminar with Dr. Rym Kaki was helpful for Deniz’s professional development because she had the chance to learn about the terms of the public policy making process, and how these policies are implemented. Dr. Kaki made a big impact on her not only through the great lectures, but because of Dr. Kaki’s personality as well. Deniz’s favorite aspect of the IPPAM Program was the close relations among IPPAM family members together with the program directors, lecturers, staff members, and students.

IPPAM is more than a master’s program, and provides a cozy environment for students. IPPAM is unique with its social events like the annual talent show, Thanksgiving dinner, and Secret Santa gift exchange. By being a part of these special events, the students learned not only about our classmates, but also about their cultures, traditional foods, and their families. IPPAM is a concise picture of the world with its cultural diversity. After being a part of the IPPAM family, Deniz has Kazakh, Armenian, Taiwanese, and Indonesian sisters, and Japanese, American, Chinese, and Arabic brothers. She has not heard of such a unique master’s program from her friends studying at other universities. Deniz feels very lucky for choosing IPPAM, and for having been chosen by IPPAM.

Deniz Uygur YalamaIPPAM 18
Ani Apyan was born and grew up in the beautiful city of Yerevan, Armenia. She received her bachelor’s at the Yerevan State Linguistic University in Brusov majored in Linguistics and Italian-English languages. While she was an undergraduate student, the Armenian government initiated higher educational reforms within the Bologna Process to customize the educational system to the European model. While the model of the reforms was promising, the implementation had many gaps. Ani witnessed the social inequity in education that left many students from lower socio-economic backgrounds the most impacted by the wrong implementation of the reforms. Thus, she wanted to learn more about how policies were shaped and which administrative bodies should be responsible for the correct implementation. For this reason, she started a master’s in public administration at Yerevan State University. In Armenia she worked as a research assistant for different public and private research projects.


Not long after starting her professional career in Armenia she moved to the USA with her family. She realized that if she wanted to be a successful member of the new society and apply her prior knowledge to develop her new residency, she needed to understand the local policy context. And this led her to the University of Southern California, where she started a Master’s in International Public Policy and Management degree. What she liked about the IPPAM program is that it had an inter-disciplinary approach, which allowed her to learn about the public policy process and apply it in the discipline of educational studies. Because of its international focus, she was also able to observe the comparative political economy and learn how different countries address specific policy issues.


IPPAM strengthened her leadership and communication skills, as well as strategic thinking to become a change maker towards a more equitable society. IPPAM was the home where she learned the steps to succeed. She calls IPPAM a home for many reasons. IPPAM taught her to balance her time and be a noble student while dedicating time to her family and personal life. Everyone at IPPAM was there to support her major life moments, such as the birth of her daughter while she was still enrolled in the program.

Ani ApyanIPPAM 19
Previous
Next

Go Back to Alumni Page