Sixty Georgetown students and alumni were selected this year as finalists for the Presidential Management Fellows (PMF) Program, a leadership development program in the federal government that prepares advanced degree holders for a career in public service.
Georgetown is one of the top-producing institutions for PMF finalists among educational institutions in the country. Last year, Georgetown was also a lead producer, with 54 finalists. The latest cohort of Hoyas joins the ranks of 825 finalists selected for the program out of more than 7,000 applications, according to the PMF website.
This year’s class includes students and alumni from the School of Foreign Service (SFS), McCourt School of Public Policy, McDonough School of Business, Georgetown University Medical Center, College of Arts & Sciences, Georgetown Law Center and Graduate School of Arts & Sciences. Of the 60 finalists, 37 come from the SFS.
“Being people for others and in service of the common good is integral to our Georgetown Jesuit values and to the mission of the School of Foreign Service,“ said Elizabeth Boesen, assistant director for Public Service Initiatives in the SFS, who guides SFS applicants for the PMF program. “We’re eager to see what our SFS graduates will accomplish as they enter their careers in service to our nation.
Through the two-year PMF program, finalists will have access to an array of full-time jobs open only for PMFs in the federal government. Fellows will also receive professional development and networking opportunities with other PMFs and public servants.
Learn more about three of the finalists who are pursuing careers in public service.
A First-Generation American’s Dream to Enter Public Service
Throughout her entire career, Sarah Iskander (G’24) has been motivated to make an impact wherever she goes. 
A first-generation American whose father immigrated to the U.S. from Egypt, Iskander also wanted to stay connected with her Arab roots. After graduating from the University of Maryland in 2015, she headed to Amman, Jordan, to study Arabic as a Boren Scholar and work at the U.N. Refugee Agency during the height of the Syrian refugee crisis. Iskander then moved to Dubai to work for Virgin Hyperloop (now known as Hyperloop One) and managed the regional office as the first global hire, supporting its transition from Series-A to Series-C and making hyperloop transportation closer to reality in the Arabian Gulf.
But through her years working in the Middle East, Iskander always felt a pull to return to the U.S. and work for the U.S. government.
“I knew I had a passion for public service. It was just a matter of how I could get in,” she said. “There’s so much in government that I think could use improvement, especially around innovation and how we deploy new technologies … and that’s what’s driving me to make an impact and serve our country.”
To prepare her for a career in the public sector, Iskander enrolled in Georgetown’s Master of Science in Foreign Service (MSFS) program for its high-caliber academics. She credits the MSFS program with giving her concrete tools to navigate the complexities of world affairs, understand U.S. priorities and learn from practitioners. Through Georgetown, she also secured a Critical Language Scholarship from the U.S. government last summer to refine her Arabic skills in Morocco while studying sustainability and energy.
After she graduates from Georgetown, Iskander hopes to find a government role through PMF to continue her work at the intersection of emerging technology and foreign affairs or U.S. foreign policy in the Middle East.
“We are at an inflection point, and how we leverage emerging technologies and our innovation advantage will define U.S. leadership in this century. Through PMF, I’m committed to helping us maintain that,” Iskander said.
A Big Data Guru Looking to Join the Policy World
Vince Egalla (G’22) had been working for three years at a labor economics and statistics consulting firm in Washington, DC, when he realized that he wanted more out of his work. He wanted to serve others and his country in the public sector.
“[My desire to go into public service] starts with my childhood watching my dad who was in the Navy for 20 years be someone who is in service to society. For me, that pathway wasn’t what I wanted. But after college, I realized that doing technical work for the federal government is a service to society [because] the government is increasingly offering public services through greater technology and everyone has to interface with it,” he said.
To become more competitive for jobs in the public sector, Egalla started looking for a graduate program that would set him up for success.
The McCourt School of Public Policy and its Master of Science in Data Science for Public Policy program fit everything Egalla was looking for: the DC location, a strong policy school and a core data science foundation focused on big data and machine learning. At McCourt, Egalla got involved with Georgetown’s Massive Data Institute, which opened a door for him to work alongside public servants and data scientists at the General Services Administration.
Aside from hard technical skills in public policy, Egalla found McCourt has equipped him with essential communications skills that have served him well in his career. After graduating, he worked at Amazon supporting public sector and commercial clients and is currently working at Booz Allen Hamilton on a project supporting the U.S. Navy.
“Having presentations in every class, from data visualization to statistics to the actual public policy courses is really helpful when you get into client-facing situations,” he said. “For me, [the clients] are these captains of the Navy. Knowing how to efficiently communicate in their very limited time … has been very helpful.”
When Egalla learned of the opportunity to work directly for the federal government through PMF, he was ready to take his shot.
Egalla is now keeping tabs on positions that open up for PMF finalists, taking note of any roles in data science or IT with a special interest in agencies related to national security or economic development.
“It fills my sense of purpose. The idea of service is really the core of why I want to continue technical work with the federal government,” he said.
From Mentee to Mentor in the Federal Government
For the last two years, Mirielle Pyram (G’24) has gotten a taste of what it’s like to work in the federal government. While studying for her Master of Science in Global Health at the Graduate School of Arts & Sciences, Pyram has been working as a program analyst in the U.S. President’s Malaria Initiative in the U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID).
As a first-generation American, Pyram’s passion for global health and international development stems from her family’s roots in Haiti.
“When I was completing my bachelor’s degree and looking at international development and these different international challenges, there was a big piece at the center of a lot of the development issues, and that was health,” she said. “I came to understand that it’s really hard for a country to build and develop if health is not being centered or invested in.”
Through USAID, Pyram connected with several public servants who had been part of the PMF program, including a Georgetown alumna. As she learned more about the success stories of PMF and the leadership skills fellows gained, Pyram wanted to be a part of the program.
“I think the PMF is a unique opportunity because I’ll be joining a network of current PMFs and alumni. It’s a great opportunity to learn from people from a variety of disciplines and gain new perspectives and contribute those to wherever I end up across the federal government.”
Pyram is eager to continue building on her career in the federal government. She is most interested in program and project management roles and is excited to explore rotational opportunities to get a glimpse into the work of various federal agencies.
And just as her mentors and other PMF alumni have guided her on her path, Pyram is excited to be a mentor for others who want to dedicate their careers to public service.
“The mentorship that I’ve received from my colleagues and different alumni is really what has helped me so much in my journey,” she said. “I’m looking forward to doing the same and mentoring others who want to become a PMF or work in public service and being that support system for other people. That’s what I’m really passionate about and what I’m hoping to do with my opportunities moving forward.”
