Alumni in Action

Even the most ardent University of Virginia baseball fan will probably struggle with this bit of trivia: Who is the only player in UVA history to win a College World Series ring and then a Major League Baseball world championship ring?

Dan Laufer (Col ’06) and Ed Festa (Col ’02, Darden ’10) shared stories and advice from their respective careers in emerging technologies during last week’s Batten Expert Chats.

Last week, Annie Rorem (MPP ‘13) shared a new vision for a country of people inspired to serve the public good.

Recent graduate Rachel Davidson Raycraft (MPP/JD ’20) discusses her work as a 2019-20 World Economic Forum Research Assistant and participation in their ongoing project with the Inter-American Development Bank and Colombian Inspector General’s Office on blockchain-based procurement.  

Malcolm Brogdon (MPP '16) had a megaphone in his hand and family history on his mind. It was May 30 in his native Atlanta, and hundreds were listening to Brogdon address the fury that had swept America since the death of George Floyd.

The novel coronavirus crisis disproportionately affects already vulnerable populations — and Virginia’s refugees are no exception. In today's Washington Post, Batten alum Hannah Gavin (MPP '20) urges Virginia lawmakers to continue looking out for its most vulnerable in these unprecedented times of isolation, uncertainty and negativity.

Batten professor Andy Pennock spoke with a panel of alums representing federal, state, and local government for last week’s edition of Batten’s Expert Chat Series.

Recent Batten alums are making their mark across the sectors and around the globe. Of those seeking positions, 99% of graduates from Batten’s Bachelor of Arts degree program and 96% of those who graduated from the Master of Public Policy degree program secured a career destination within six months of graduating.

Batten alum Kathryn Babineau (MPP ’13) is a Ph.D. student in the University of Virginia's sociology department, where she studies globalization, labor rights, and public and private regulation. Previously, she worked as a human rights investigator for the Fair Food Standards Council and as a research coordinator at National Defense University.

As the co-founder of Myanmar Recycles, a plastic recycling company cleaning up the dirtiest post-consumer plastic film in Myanmar, Mimi Wu (MPP ‘09) remains committed to inciting positive change in communities around the world.

For Kathryn Babbin (MPP ’19), the Batten community cannot be underestimated. Babbin who graduated last May with a master’s of public policy was drawn to the Batten School for a variety of reasons, mainly because it offered what seemed like a tight-knit community of students, faculty, and staff, where she felt she could make a real impact.

Eric Ramputh (BA ’19) applied to the Batten School on a whim. Ramputh, who transferred to UVA and into the Batten School in 2017, recalls how he discovered the school and why it ultimately was the right fit for him.