Latest news from the American Foundation

Vanessa Miler-Fels is the Director of Energy Innovation and Impact at Microsoft and a graduate of Science Po’s Master in Public Affairs. Miler-Fels describes a longtime interest in public affairs, particularly international public affairs, that drew her to pursue a Sciences Po education. “I grew up in an international setting and lived in a few countries growing up, and I knew I wanted to have a career that could allow me to work across cultures,” she says, “and ideally where I could be a bridge between cultures.”

Carol Sirou is an independent board member, the founder and CEO of Safineia Advisors, a boutique consulting practice, and a Sciences Po alumna.

Robert McNamara is a Partner Guidehouse, a global strategy, management, and technology consulting firm, and leads the Business and IT Strategy Practice. As an MBA student at the University of Chicago, Mr. McNamara studied abroad in an exchange program with Sciences Po. “I never had the opportunity during my undergraduate degree to study abroad,” he says, “so I really wanted to do so before beginning the next phase of my career and Sciences Po had an outstanding program.” One of his concentrations was in International Business, so the program “helped fulfill by my intellectual interest, as well as, academic requirements.”

To foster the commitment of its scientific community to studying, deciphering and clarifying the major issues at stake for the common good around new technologies, including the Internet and social networks, Sciences Po announces the signing of a partnership agreement with the McCourt Institute.

Patricia Wu is Vice President and Managing Director at Crowell & Moring International, a global government affairs and public policy consulting firm. As an undergraduate student, she spent a year abroad at Sciences Po studying international relations and affairs.

Jonathan Silver is an executive with a history of success investing in the clean economy, a senior advisor to multiple large firms in clean economy sector, and an alum of Science Po’s Certificat d’Etudes Politiques (CEP) program. After graduating from Harvard with a major in government, Silver was awarded a MacArthur Rotary Graduate Fellowship to study in France. “I chose Sciences Po because the school specialized in the areas of study I was interested in,” he says.

Louis Mark is a senior program consultant at Anthesis Group, a consulting group focusing on sustainability. He joined the Sciences Po Master’s Degree in Energy Economics in the fall of 2016, after spending time researching in China. “The year before I started was a pivotal moment for climate,” he says, “and I was already doing some research in China at the time. My focus was on air pollution, displacement of indigenous people, and energy infrastructure.” When the Paris agreement was signed in April 2016, Mark felt even more compelled to continue his studies in climate.

Benjamin Haddad is the director of the Atlantic Council’s Europe Center, and he has always had an interest in international politics, stemming from his time as a student at Sciences Po.

On June 3, the Sciences Po American Foundation honored Emilie Mazzacurati ('02), Global Head of Moody's Climate Solutions and Mike Schmuhl ('15), Chairman at Indiana Democratic Party and former presidential campaign manager for Secretary Pete Buttigieg, at the 2021 Alumni Award. The ceremony began with a conference on the Impact of Climate Change on the Midwest and beyond led by Sam Miles, the first laureate of the Michel David-Weill Scholarship and current PhD student at UC Berkley. The event concluded with networking sessions for Sciences Po alumni, who joined virtually from across the globe.

On Monday, April 26, the Sciences Po American Foundation welcomed Hubert Joly in conversation with Evan Epstein. Joly is the former Chairman and Chief Executive Officer of Best Buy and is now a senior lecturer at Harvard Business School.

Tania Johnson, the Director of Sponsored Programs at Swarthmore College, had a long-time dream of living and studying in France. She had begun studying the language in middle school and high school, and as a French and International Relations major at the University of Pennsylvania, was “really grateful to have had the opportunity to study” at Sciences Po.

Elsa Alvarado, currently a Senior Vetting Analyst for the 59th Presidential Inaugural Committee, dreamed of attending Sciences Po, where so many influential French political leaders were educated. She spoke to us about her passion for politics, leadership in the Hispanic community, and dedication to being a global citizen.

On March 11, the Sciences Po American Foundation hosted alumna Chine Labbe in conversation with Professor Nancy L. Rosenblum, Senator Joseph Clark Research Professor of Ethics in Politics and Government emerita at Harvard University.

Readers might recognize her as the anchor of the Saturday edition of the “CBS Weekend News,” but in addition to reporting on COVID-19, Chicago gun violence, and the Flint water crisis, Adriana Diaz “had the pleasure of going to Sciences Po twice.”

Alexandre Chenesseau is a Managing Director at Evercore in New York, working in global mergers and acquisitions advisory, and a graduate of Sciences Po’s Master in Finance and Strategy. He describes having always wanting to pursue diverse fields early on in his life, including foreign affairs, diplomacy, and even journalism, for which he thought “Sciences Po was a pretty obvious choice.”

The Universities of Sciences Po, Princeton and Columbia are launching a major three-year research project on Muslim communities in India thanks to the generous support of the Henry Luce Foundation. The resulting research will offer new analysis and insights into the challenges faced by Muslim communities in India today.

Kayvan Noroozi is a trial lawyer based out of California, who spent an undergraduate year abroad studying at Sciences Po. For Noroozi, the time he spent at Sciences Po helped him develop a wide range of friendships and an international perspective, a valuable asset in his work in high stakes commercial litigation focusing on intellectual property. He remembers his year at Sciences Po as “one of [his] best years,” and has “nothing but positive memories.”

Krystal Wilson Azelton is a Director of Space Applications Programs at Secure World Foundation, an organization working internationally towards secure, sustainable, and peaceful uses of outer space.

Jennifer Famery-Mariani is an independent curator and the founder of Tribeca Art+Culture Night. Her career has spanned both the public and private sectors in Paris and New York. She believes that through Sciences Po, she was granted the exposure to different points of view, different student profiles, and different themes that prepared her to successfully navigate the professional world.

Michael Strauss became the General Counsel at the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development at the beginning of 2020. He studied at Sciences Po in 1998 on an exchange program from the Fletcher School of Law & Diplomacy and found that his time at Sciences Po prepared him well for his career in many ways.

Arnaud Tesson is a Sciences Po alumnus, who studied Economy and Finance, and the U.S. Asset Management Practice Leader at executive search firm Egon Zehnder.

The Sciences Po American Foundation welcomed alumna Camille François, in conversation with William G. Howell and alumna Delphine Halgand, to discuss disinformation and misinformation in the 2020 U.S. Presidential Election.

The Sciences Po American Foundation welcomed Anastasia Colosimo, in conversation with Adam Gopnik, for a discussion on religion and democracy.

Up until September 2020, Anne-Claire Legendre served as the Consul General of France in the United States, tending to French citizens and promoting French influence abroad. Meeting with the Sciences Po American Foundation in New York, she explained that her education at Sciences Po gave her the skills she needed to become a diplomat.