My work at the United Nations Foundation’s Girl Up initiative is generously supported by Harvard Kennedy School’s Summer Internship Fund and the Women in Public Policy Program’s Lucker Fund. At Girl Up, I am working as a Programs Intern supporting the 2022 Girl Up Leadership Summit.
Hi, I’m Tara!
I am a Master in Public Policy student at Harvard Kennedy School in the Class of 2023. I’m excited by the intersection of philanthropy and diplomacy, and am looking forward to experiencing this in practice this summer at the United Nations Foundation. Gender equity and leadership development are important to me, and I’m so excited to be at an organization dedicated to motivating and inspiring social change among girls.
I’m passionate about using statistical methods to measure the outcome of philanthropic interventions – I’ve worked on this at the Kennedy School through courses including Quantitative Analysis and Empirical Methods, Empirical Methods (Advanced Econometrics), and Measuring and Managing Social Impact at Harvard Business School.
At the Kennedy School, I’ve done research at Harvard’s Belfer Center for Science and International Affairs, volunteered for the Student Public Service Collaborative, contributed to the Kennedy School Review, and co-founded the Rural America Caucus. I’ve taken courses in political campaigns, the evolution of American religion, policy design, economics, negotiations, and computer programming.
Before grad school, I worked at a lobbying and public affairs firm in Washington, D.C., and then at a community development foundation focused on effective philanthropy in Idaho. I have interned on Capitol Hill, as a litigation legal assistant, and in corporate social responsibility.
I hold an undergraduate degree from Dartmouth College, where I studied Government, Public Policy, and Religion, and was involved in student government, policy research, Dartmouth’s Club Ski Team, and named a Rockefeller Leadership Fellow. I’m originally from Sun Valley, Idaho.