Hailing from Peachtree City, Georgia, Alex joined UVA Batten in 2020 after completing her undergraduate degree in political science from the University of Georgia. Following her time at UVA Batten, she began her healthcare consulting career. Today, she serves as a healthcare consultant with Mannatt, Phelps & Phillips, LLP in New York. She works on a team of people (including one fellow UVA alum) to help private equity firms and portfolio companies think through the outlook for different healthcare specialities. Get to know more about Alex below!
Q. How would you describe the UVA Batten community?
A. My experience of the UVA Batten community was collaborative, supportive and deeply close-knit. Because our first year was at the start of the pandemic, we didn’t take any interactions for granted, which made the relationships especially meaningful. Faculty felt accessible and generous with mentorship. My bonds with some UVA Batten students endured well beyond graduation – I lived with a UVA Batten alum (shoutout to Erin Melly!) for two years, and my first manager post-grad was also a UVA Batten alum, which speaks to the strength of the Batten network.
Q. How were you able to explore your policy interests while at UVA Batten?
A. My internship in the Health Division at the Office of Management and Budget changed my entire outlook on the executive branch, policymaking and the regulatory process. It was incredibly eye-opening and fundamentally changed the trajectory of my career ambitions. I was originally planning to work in education policy, but my internship with the Health Division at OMB completely changed the trajectory of my career. I now work in health policy, and I gained several forever mentors from that experience. I had not previously considered working in health policy, but now I don’t see myself doing anything else.
Q. What’s one way the MPP helped you grow personally or professionally?
A. UVA Batten strengthened my analytical ability and gave me a clearer understanding of how complex and incremental policy change really is. During my internship at the Office of Management and Budget, I saw firsthand how decisions move through layers of review and negotiation, which shifted my career ambitions to healthcare policy. Beyond the classroom and internships, the friendships I formed at UVA Batten have endured well beyond graduation and remain one of the most meaningful parts of my experience.
Q. Similarly, how did Batten prepare you for your first role after graduating or your current role? What skills and experiences at Batten set you up for success?
A. When I graduated, I didn’t feel like I knew all the answers to the questions, but I certainly felt confident that I knew where to go to find the answers and how to distinguish between reputable and unreliable pieces of information. When people ask me why they should get an MPP, I tell them it will help them become a professional question-answerer, and that’s all I do in my current role.
Q. What course or academic experience was a highlight of your time at UVA Batten?
A. Two experiences stand out. The first course was “Federal and State Budgeting” with Prof. Ray Scheppach. It was one of the hardest classes I’ve ever taken, but I learned so much from his stories, and from attempting to balance the budget of the state of Georgia (I couldn’t).
Additionally, my time as a student and a graduate teaching assistant for Prof. Andrew Pennock’s “Leadership in the Public Arena” course stands out. The class was challenging both as a student and as a TA, but I feel like it helped tune my understanding of what it means to be a leader and the group dynamics at play in workplaces, family structures and more.
Q. Beyond academics, what are some other memories that stand out from your time at UVA Batten?
A. Intramural volleyball with folks in my UVA Batten cohort. We lost every game, and we had so much fun doing it. Additionally, I was the master’s speaker at convocation. It was such an honor to represent my class.
Q. What piece of advice would you give to a student considering UVA Batten?
A. If you’re considering UVA Batten, think about the kind of environment in which you do your best work. Batten’s small, collaborative community within UVA makes it easy to build meaningful relationships with classmates and faculty, and Charlottesville offers a setting where you can focus and feel grounded. For me, that combination made graduate school both academically engaging and personally rewarding.
