41. “The level of discipline and rigor I learned at Heller has kept me and my organization sustainable and excellent in the work we’ve done. It’s required an intensive strategy and relentless discipline, which I would have never gotten without the Heller School.” Toni Burke, MPP’0942. “Heller’s mission of using knowledge to promote social justice is really what I see as my mission.” Robyn Powell, PhD’20
43. “The staff during orientation recognized the sacrifices that everyone had made in order to come here, which was very important.” Zizwa Mwafulirwa, MS GHPM’20
44. “Heller is the only public policy school I know of that advertises itself as a social justice graduate school. That means there’s a self-selection on the part of students: They’re not just here to get a credential, but to gain a deeper set of insights so that they can do social justice work more effectively. That’s what I love about teaching here.” Robert Kuttner, Meyer and Ida Kirstein Visiting Professor
45. “At Heller, we go through simulations that relay real-world experiences. Our professors are respected international experts in their field — and we learn the word is mightier than guns, and that by bringing people together, they can work through their differences.” Peter Ter, MA SID/COEX’14
46. “Heller is truly a people-centered school. I knew that my professors were interested in my learning and development. The small size of the MPP program helped me get to know them and feel comfortable asking them for advice.” Erin Robinson, MPP’16
47. “Since I’ve come to Heller, I’ve loved seeing how committed the students and alumni are to pursuing careers where they tackle core issues.” Benny Belvin, Assistant Dean of Career Development
48. “Heller stepped up with a way I could conduct my own education and research that was relevant to the queer rights movement and HIV policy. I’ll be honest: the dual MPP and MBA was extremely difficult but so rewarding, because I learned more than I ever thought I could have.” James Miller, MBA/MPP’11
49. “For me, the SID program was a stepping stone to a dream career in international development. The research and project management skills I learned in the program have been very useful in my job. Being a part of a diverse cohort was also a very unique learning experience that only Heller could offer.” Megha Hedge, SID’14
50. “Here, I can get experience from the stars of our field. That’s really exciting. It’s like a great football club—like I’ve been invited to play with Barcelona, one of the best clubs in the world—that’s what it means to me to study at Heller.” Nikita Trafimovich, COEX’20
51. “We all have values and an image in our mind of the way the world should be. These are our roadmap for seeking to improve society, which is of great importance to the Heller School. But it is not enough. Our students must know how the policy world works and how public actions actually affect us.” Jeffrey Prottas, Director of the PhD program52. “You’re not only learning from the faculty, from the professors, you’re also learning from your peers as well. It’s not just you alone, trying to find answers to the problems of this world. You find a community of people from different cultures and countries and ethnicities that all have the same goal.” Esther Daniel, COEX/SID’20
53. “Both the SID and MBA programs mix the theoretical with the practical. Together, these programs—along with the Heller staff and faculty— built upon my previous professional and educational experiences and positioned me well to get to where I am today.” Josh Cramer-Montes, MBA/MA SID’17
54. “Heller people are my people. Everybody here has done such interesting things with their lives to affect positive change.” Leila Quinn, MBA/MPP’19
55. “The students, alumni and researchers at Heller are chance agents, working to build a more equitable and just world, addressing an urgent need.” Kate Kaplan, Director of Development and Alumni Relations
56. “There’s also diversity of thought. It’s really common that a student will say something in class that I never, ever would have thought of myself. I love that about this program.” Tozoe Marton, MS GHPM/MA SID’20
57. “The chance to study with University Professor Anita Hill is the main reason I was drawn to Heller, and has far exceeded my expectations. Professor Hill not only champions social change but embodies a professorship that fosters and energizes that power necessary to influence policy discourse and help shape history.” Nicole Rinier, MBA/MPP’21
58. “At Heller, we are very involved with what’s happening on the ground. We provide research to support action. As a policy researcher, I want to impact policy discussions and policy creation.” Tatjana Meschede, Senior Scientist
59. “Heller is a great place for people who would like to be bridges.” Kristen Whited Beals, MBA/MPP’15
60. “Heller’s motto, ‘Knowledge advancing social justice,’ emphasizes our ongoing responsibility to grapple with emerging social policy challenges. Even as we recognize the strides we’ve made, the real spirit of our 60th anniversary and the next chapter is about addressing pressing societal problems at local, national and international levels. We eschew simple answers or ‘silver-bullet’ solutions. Instead, the Heller community devises evidence-based responses from multiple disciplines in teaching, research and public engagement.” David Weil, Dean and Professor