HKS Student Policy Review Team

Jane Petersen (HKS, MPP 2025) is a former public-sector consultant interested in climate change, international affairs, and the intersection between media and government. She originally hails from Ann Arbor, Michigan, but has made Massachusetts her home for the last eight years. She attended Williams College, where she majored in Political Economy, graduating in 2020. She will graduate the Kennedy School this upcoming school year with a concentration in International and Global Affairs.

Stelio Louka (HKS MPP, 25) grew up between Princeton, New Jersey, and Athens, Greece, and has worked in the private sector, local government, and at a global NGO focused on refugee resettlement. Most recently, Stelio worked as a fund analyst at Corebridge Financial, specializing in Institutional Markets. Stelio is interested in pursuing a career in international affairs focused on creating a viable migration-sharing network to mitigate trafficking and prioritize protecting asylum seekers’ human rights. In 2021, Stelio graduated magna cum laude from Tufts University with a double major in economics and political science.

Mitra Salasel is the former Director of Communications at ideas42, a global nonprofit that uses behavioral science to solve complex social and policy problems across a range of issues. During her decade in the field, she co-founded Behavioral Scientist magazine and is currently an advisor to the editorial board. A veteran of electoral politics, Mitra spent several years crafting communications strategies and messaging for high-visibility electoral campaigns and political action committees in Texas. Her work was largely focused on narrowing the gender representation gap at all levels of the political process. Mitra is currently an MC/MPA candidate at Harvard Kennedy School. A completionist, she is making significant progress toward her current goals of visiting every national park in the United States, eating food from every country on earth, and reading the Harry Potter books in Italian.

Jacob Winn is an MPP1 at HKS, focused on foreign policy and national security issues. Before coming to HKS, he was an Associate Research Fellow at the NDIA Emerging Technologies Institute, where he worked with government, industry, and academic stakeholders to conduct research on defense technology policy issues ranging from microelectronics modernization to replicating the successes of Operation Warp Speed across the government.

Madeline is a Mid-Career Master in Public Administration candidate at Harvard Kennedy School. She spent the last eight years working in foreign policy at the U.S. Department of State in Washington, D.C., beginning as an assistant to the Ambassador-at-Large for Global Women’s Issues. Madeline then spent several years managing gender and criminal justice sector programs in Afghanistan, Tunisia, and Ethiopia, before serving in the Department’s 24/7/365 crisis communications “Operations Center,” where she supported the Department’s response to the war in Ukraine. She spent several months overseas reporting on human rights issues in the U.S. Embassy in Yaoundé, Cameroon, and furthering refugee programs out of the embassy in Amman, Jordan. Most recently, Madeline worked as a press officer in the Department’s Bureau of Near Eastern Affairs, where she covered U.S. foreign policy in Jordan, Lebanon, and Syria. Madeline has a B.A. in international studies from American University. She grew up outside Bangor, Maine, and has a penchant for traveling, hiking, and reading.

Zoe Butler studied Economics and Africana Studies at Brown University and taught high school math through Teach For America. She then worked at the U.S. Department of Commerce on the implementation of the CHIPS and Science Act. She is a second-year Master of Public Policy candidate at the Harvard Kennedy School and interned this past summer with the U.S. AI Safety Institute, focusing on sociotechnical policy.

Liam is a Master in Public Policy student at the Harvard Kennedy School. Prior to HKS, he worked in management consulting focusing on the intersection of healthcare and the public sector. His interests include the dynamics between businesses and regulators, comparative health systems, and health equity and access. He graduated from the University of Chicago with a degree in Neuroscience and Human Rights.

Grace Dunn is a first-year Master in Public Policy student at the Harvard Kennedy School. Prior to HKS, Grace worked for an economic nonprofit studying policies to create growth for businesses and working families, and for a legal consulting firm studying human decision-making in the legal system. She graduated from the University of Michigan’s Ford School of Public Policy with a Sweetland Minor in Writing. Her policy interests include social and urban policy and equitable economic development. 

Tyler Engler (HKS, MPP ’25) is a Boston-area native and former policy consultant interested in the development and implementation of climate policy across federal, state, and local government. Prior to HKS, he worked with U.S. cities to advance climate initiatives and secure federal infrastructure funding, as a management consultant, and as a political campaign organizer in New York City. He previously studied international politics & business at Georgetown University and will graduate the Kennedy School this Spring with a concentration in Democracy, Politics, and Institutions.

Marin Furuyama is a first-year MPP candidate at the Harvard Kennedy School. Before HKS, she worked at Citibank, most recently as a Digital Product Manager. Marin graduated from Brown University with a BA in Public Policy and Business, Entrepreneurship, and Organizations. She is interested in the intersection of business and government, specifically regarding tech policy, financial regulations, public-private partnerships, and state and local economic development.

Gaurav Kalwani is a first-year MPP student at the Harvard Kennedy School. Broadly, he is interested in public health, international security, and the areas of intersection between the two fields. Immediately prior to HKS, Gaurav worked as a policy and communications specialist for a health policy advocacy organization known as Physicians for a National Health Program. Before that, he worked as a research assistant at the Carnegie Endowment for International Peace. Gaurav graduated from the University of Chicago in 2019, and is originally from Rochester, Michigan.

Nikolas Neos (HKS, MPA 2025) is interested in Applied History: how to utilize history to better understand present challenges and devise better policies for the future. He is also interested in Economic Policy and International Relations. Prior to HKS, he worked in banking and economic research.

Originally from Monza, Italy, Anna spent her formative years in Syracuse, NY before earning her undergraduate degree from the University of Redlands. With a passion for criminal legal reform and housing policy, she transitioned from roles in case management and childcare services in Los Angeles to pursue a Master of Public Policy at Harvard Kennedy School. Anna’s dedication to social equity drives her focus on leveraging data and research methods to enact meaningful change in these critical areas.

Dylan Russell (HKS, MPP, 2025) is interested in economic policy and economic development. Prior to HKS, he was an economist specializing in trade analysis for the USDA’s Economic Research Service. Dylan studied Economics and International Affairs at James Madison University and received a Master of Science in Economic History from the London School of Economics.

Jonah Shrock is a first-year MPP student concentrating in International and Global Affairs. Prior to Harvard, he worked as a research assistant at the Washington Institute for Near East Policy in Washington, D.C. and as consultant at Agon Economía | Derecho | Estrategia in Mexico City. He graduated from Brown University in 2020 where he was elected to Phi Beta Kappa and served as the Editor in Chief of the Brown Journal of World Affairs.

Lili Vessereau is a CID Research Scholar, a Teaching Fellow at Harvard University and a Master in Public Policy candidate, as well as a Fulbright and Dias Scholar at the Harvard Kennedy School. Currently a Consultant for the World Bank, she is also a Research Assistant at the Mossavar-Rahmani Center for Business and Government focusing on debt restructuring. Lili Vessereau is a Bretton Woods 2.0 Fellow of the Atlantic Council, an European Investement Fund Fellow, and a Global Shaper of the World Economic Forum. Prior to HKS, she notably held positions within the French Ministry of Finances and at the UN. Lili holds Master’s Degrees from Sciences Po Paris (Public Affairs), La Sorbonne (Law), and HEC Paris (Finance). 

Katherine Zhao (HKS, MPP 2026) earned her BA in Economics, Law, and Gender Studies from the University of Chicago. Her professional background spans consulting, research, and public service, including roles at McKinsey, the Brookings Institution, and Cleveland’s local government. She has conducted research on consumer behavior, commercial sex work, and corporate social responsibility, with a focus on carbon offset projects. With a keen interest in business law and policy, Katherine explores how economic incentives can be leveraged to promote public good.

Sarah Zheng is a first-year MPP student at Harvard Kennedy School. After graduating from Tufts University with a degree in international relations and film and media studies, she moved to Hong Kong to realize a lifelong dream of becoming a foreign correspondent. Sarah spent several years covering US-China relations and Chinese foreign policy for the South China Morning Post, the flagship English-language newspaper in Hong Kong, before joining Bloomberg to report on the intersection of Chinese tech and geopolitics.