Twice a year, the World Bank releases its Poverty & Equity Briefs (PEBs), which provide concise, country-specific updates on poverty and inequality trends across more than 120 nations. In February, Batten alum Cameron Haddad (MPP ’19), who now oversees the PEB series, was looking for consultants to support the editing process. Remembering how valuable hands-on experience had been during his own time as a student — particularly when working on a World Bank project with Lucy Bassett, professor of practice and co-director of Batten’s Humanitarian Collaborative —Haddad knew Batten students would be uniquely equipped for the task.

With support from Bassett, who had recently taught a course, “Child & Youth Policy,” exploring key frameworks for measuring poverty and inequality, Haddad recruited two MPP students, Mikayla Havison and Alvin Tran Nguyen, both of whom are graduating this week. 

“As an external reviewer for the World Bank’s Poverty & Equity Briefs, I was responsible for ensuring the accuracy, clarity, and consistency of 128 country summaries,” Nguyen said. “The experience gave me a window into how multilateral organizations translate complex data into accessible, policy-relevant content. It sharpened my technical editing skills and deepened my appreciation for the rigor required to present economic information meaningfully.” 

He added that learning how poverty manifests across countries “made multidimensional poverty much more tangible. It also showed me the limits of conventional poverty metrics in capturing the lived experiences of communities facing instability, environmental degradation, and social vulnerability.”

Havison also found her experience with the World Bank rewarding. “Editing reports for the World Bank gave me a unique opportunity to see my policy work make a real-world impact. I learned what it takes to translate research into a format that others can use as a foundation for change.”

For Haddad, the collaboration was a full-circle moment, bringing his Batten education and global policy work together to create hands-on learning opportunities for the next generation of Batten students. 

“As a student at Batten, having opportunities outside of the classroom to apply my policy education helped me better understand my policy interests,” he said. “Our team needed reviewers who were sharp and thorough, and I knew that we could rely on Batten students. We were very pleased with the work that Alvin and Mikayla provided for the PEB reports, and I hope the experience contributed to their own growth as future policy professionals.” 

This year’s briefs can be found here. Building on the success of this partnership, Bassett and Haddad are now exploring ways to formalize and continue the opportunity through the Humanitarian Collaborative student fellowship program in future years.

###