Career Tracks with a Levy Master’s Degree
Policy, Industry, and Academia
After graduation, our alumni embark on critical and cutting edge careers in policy, finance, and academia informed by the intellectual traditions of the Levy Institute. Since the program’s founding 12 years ago, our alumni have already made a real-world impact in government, civil society organizations, and the private sector.
Learn more about what our alumni are doing now and what you could accomplish with a Master’s in Economic Theory and Policy from the Levy Institute.
Careers in Policy
Government
Our programs equip students with the theoretical, technical, and analytical skills to work for State and Federal governments evaluating, designing, and implementing crucial public policies. Levy’s graduate program curriculum provides training relevant to government work in the areas of financial regulation, public finance, employment, development, poverty and inequality, and environmental sustainability.
Recent Levy Graduates
- Julia Ricciarelli ’23
Commonwealth of Massachusetts | Senior Fiscal Policy Analyst - Max von Holtzendorff ’20
Canada Department of Finance | Analyst & Economist - Megan Brodzik ’18
New York State Division of the Budget | School Aid Budget Examiner - Rhett Maiorana ’18
New York State Division of the Budget | Senior Budget Examiner
Think Tanks
Levy itself is a non-profit think tank that has been producing critical research using innovative research methods for the past 40 years. Our graduate programs embed students in that active research environment, providing them with hands-on experience using Levy’s models, data, and methodologies. Training students who want to work in think-tanks to develop novel methods and policies was one of the original goals of Levy’s graduate program.
Recent Levy Graduates
- Mimla Wardak ’24
Center for American Progress | Research Associate - Nischal Dhungel ’22
Nepal Institute for Policy Research (NIPoRe) | Research Fellow - Angelica Huerta Ojeda ’22
Transforma Economia | Research Coordinator - Alexander Williams ’20
Common Wealth Think Tank | Principal Economist - Marokey Sawo ’20
Urban Institute | Research Associate, Office of Race and Equity Research - Oscar Valdes ’17
Americans for Financial Reform | Private Equity and Capital Markets Policy Analyst - Lara Merling ’16
UCL Institute for Innovation and Public Purpose | Policy & Research Fellow
NGOs
The Levy Institute has produced research relevant to and in collaboration with the world’s premiere civil society organizations since its founding. Our students have opportunities to learn from and meet with policy professionals in these NGOs at events throughout the year. The training they receive prepares them to bring a unique perspective to global issues of finance, wellbeing and inequality, and sustainability to their careers.
Recent Levy Graduates
- Julius Duran ’23
Intergovernmental Group of Twenty-Four on International Monetary Affairs and Development (G-24) | Advisor - Nischal Dhungel ’22
World Bank | Research and Development Specialist, Gender Research Specialist - Angelica Huerta Ojeda ’22
Intergovernmental Group of Twenty-Four on International Monetary Affairs and Development (G-24) | Research Assistant (2022-2024) - Lara Merling ’16
United Nations Trade and Development | Consultant
Academia
Given Levy’s strong emphasis on original research, some of our students go on to receive PhDs, build upon their Master’s theses, and teach at universities. See where our Alumni are, the research our students have produced, and read more about our core research areas at the Institute.
Our Alumni – Faculty and PhDs
- Tom Strand ’24 – Adjunct Lecturer
SUNY New Paltz - Sham Karakji ’23 – Professor of Economics
Manhattan Community College - Nitin Nair ’23 – PhD Candidate
University of Leeds - Nischal Dhungel ‘ 22 – PhD Candidate
University of Utah - Angelica Huerta Ojeda ’22 – PhD Candidate
University of Campinas, Brazil - Simon Grothe ’22 – PhD Candidate
University of Geneva - Barkin Cihanli ’20 – PhD Candidate
University of Missouri Kansas City - George Kiss ’19 – PhD
Colorado State University - Harrison Karlewicz ’19 – PhD
University of Massachusetts Amherst - Oleksandr Valchysen ’19 – PhD
University of Missouri Kansas City - Cosku Mihci ’18 – PhD
University of Massachusetts Amherst - Stephanie Attar ’18 – PhD
University of Massachusetts Amherst - Lara Merling ’16 – PhD
The Bucharest University of Economic Studies
Where Our Graduates Go
Finance
36.7%
Economist/Analyst
29.1%
Academia
19%
Public Policy
15.2%
Careers in the Private Sector
Finance
Levy’s distinguished scholars Wynne Godley and Hyman P. Minsky created renowned methods and theories for understanding finance and financial stability. Stock Flow Consistent Modeling, innovated by Godley, has become a gold standard for macroeconomic modeling. The theoretical framework for understanding financial stability created by Minsky continues to be key to understanding economic crises. With this technical and theoretical background in hand, a portion of our Alumni go on to work in private-sector finance.
Levy Grads in Finance
- Chenning Xu ’25
Hover4pi Capital Management | Research Analyst - Daniyal Zafar ’24
PMC Treasury | Risk Management Analyst - Beth Yebouet ’22
KeyBank | Risk Analyst - Jon Raefski ’22
HSBC | Investment Banking Analyst - Wynn Shepherd Miller ’20
LKG Trading LLC | Asset Manager - George Kiss ’19
Fisher Investments | Investment Counselor - John Declan Flynn ’19
Hartford Investment Management Co. | Investment Analyst - Simon Simoski ’19
RBC Capital Markets | Senior Equity Research Associate - Athullya Roytman ’18
Amynta Trader Credit Solutions | Underwriter - Oscar Valdes Viera ’17
Americans for Financial Reform | Senior Policy Analyst, Private Equity and Capital Markets
Analysis
Levy’s rigorous quantitative training gives students hands-on experience working with large datasets, models, and programs. Our graduates walk away with skills that can be applied to exciting careers in data and analysis across many different industries. You can read more about our courses here on our site.
Levy Grads in Analysis
- Ian Bowen ’22
ICF | Supervising Energy Markets Consultant - Jordan Myers ’22
Washington Nationals | Performance Analyst - Edward Dunn ’20
Equinox | Learning & Development Specialist - Esteban Rivera ’20
National Basketball Association | Player Health & Data Analytics Lead - Domenico Viola ’18
Federchimica | Economic Analyst - Mariamawit Tadesse ’16
PwC | Global Economist, Senior Manager
Alum Spotlight – Lara Merling MS ’16
A Mission-Aligned World Bank — From Ambition to Delivery.
Lara Merling, Levy MS’16 and Ph.D. from the Bucharest Academy of Economics, has worked as an economic policy researcher with the Boston University Global Development Policy Center and the United Nations Conference on Trade and Development among others. Lara is now a Research Fellow with the University College London’s Institute for Innovation and Public Purpose, and presented her research in collaboration with Mariana Mazzucato at the IMF and World Bank’s Spring 2026 Meetings.
