MSSP Alumni Career Chat

Participants include:

Natalie Lau (MSSP’19) currently works as a Manager Trainee at the Hong Kong Monetary Authority, the de facto central bank in the city. Natalie is passionate about the intersection of policy and sustainable finance. Prior to HKMA, she worked at Capria Ventures as an ESG and investment fellow. The $400M network fund brings impact capital to early-stage entrepreneurs who help solve socioeconomic problems across Latin America, Africa and Southeast Asia. During her time in SP2, Natalie interned at the Global Impact Investing Network and worked as a fellow at the Wharton Social Impact Initiative. She has a track record in advising institutional investors and growth-stage social ventures on their business operation and impact measurement strategies. Her novel proposal on an impact database receives a global award at the St Gallen Symposium in 2019. Natalie started her career in a leading think tank in Hong Kong where she conducted policy research and published reports on topics such as ESG integration and impact investment.

Rachel Dungan (MSSP’13) is a Director at AcademyHealth, where she works to advance the field of health policy and systems research (HPSR). Rachel oversees a portfolio focused on studying effective, ethical engagement patient and stakeholder engagement – in health research and policymaking. She also helps to lead AcademyHealth’s Paradigm Project: focused on redesigning current approaches to health research, so that it can better return on its promise for real-world impact in diverse communities. Having been awarded a 2019 Fulbright Public Policy Fellowship, Rachel recently spent several months living in Cote d’Ivoire. While working with the country’s Ministry of Health and Public Hygiene, she also conducted independent research on stakeholder engagement in national health policymaking. Previously, as an independent consultant and project manager, she worked with a health technology company funded by a National Institutes of Health (NIH) Small Business Innovative Research (SBIR) grant. She also led strategic projects for Music2Life, JustRojgar, and Johnson & Johnson’s TEDxJNJ initiative. She completed professional internships with the United Nations Entity for Gender Equality and Women’s Empowerment (UN Women), Think Local First DC, the Future of Music Coalition, and Poverty Resolutions. In 2020, Rachel was recognized as a new inductee to the UPenn SP2 Hall of Fame; she holds a Master of Science in Social Policy (MSSP) from the School. She also completed Executive Certificates, through the UPenn’s Center for Social Impact Strategy (CSIS) and the Graduate Institute of International and Developmental Studies. Previously, she earned Bachelors degrees in Biobehavioral Health (Civic & Community Engagement) and in Music, from the Penn State Schreyer Honors College. Rachel has spoken at various conferences and Congressional Briefings, and she has been featured on various platforms (e.g., in the SparkVision Millennial Voices series, as a guest on the Junctional Thinking podcast).

Maofeng (Milford) Lin (MSSP+DA’17) is a Management Associate at DBS Bank in Hong Kong. Maofeng grew up in Shenzhen, China and earned his Bachelor of Arts degree at Renmin University of China. At college, Maofeng interned in different industries from financial services to global think tank, but eventually found his passion in policy and data analytics. While completing his MSSP+DA degree, Maofeng interned with Pennsylvania Small Business Development Center, where he was able to analyze different data projects and the US-Asia Institute on the Hill to develop competency in Sino-US relationship from the trade perspective. He participated in the Penn Global Internship Program and ended up interning at a leading venture capital firm in Singapore, where he was exposed to an investment deal by conducting the due diligence process.