Career Path of a Public Policy Manager at a Global Health Non-Profit
Zeke's career path, beginning with an Urban Policy degree from USC, involved a year of AmeriCorps service, highlighting "the importance of working for systemic change," followed by internships with an education reform organization and Senator Elizabeth Warren. After consulting work, the 2020 uprisings led Zeke to their current fulfilling role as a Public Policy Manager at a global health non-profit, prioritizing "staying much closer to the ground."
Public Policy, Non-profit, Community Engagement, Political Organizing, Systemic Change
Advizer Information
Name
Job Title
Company
Undergrad
Grad Programs
Majors
Industries
Job Functions
Traits
Zeke Sandoval
Public Policy Manager
Global Health Non-Profit
University of Southern California, 2019
Not applicable
Political Science, American Studies
Healthcare, Medical & Wellness, Nonprofit, Foundations & Grantmaking
Legal
None Applicable
Video Highlights
1. Zeke's career path highlights a combination of local and national experiences, starting with local organizing in high school and Americorps, followed by internships focused on education reform and working for Senator Elizabeth Warren. This diverse experience showcases the value of both grassroots and policy-level engagement.
2. His emphasis on systemic change, inspired by his Americorps experience teaching, demonstrates a career focus beyond immediate problem-solving and the importance of understanding the larger context of policy work. This perspective might appeal to students seeking more impactful roles.
3. Zeke's advice to stay grounded and focused on your initial purpose, even when working in prestigious settings like Capitol Hill, offers practical guidance for students navigating internships and future career decisions. This emphasizes the importance of self-reflection and aligning work with personal values.
Transcript
Could you walk me through your career path, starting with your experiences in college? Any internships or jobs you had before your current role?
My undergraduate degree was in Urban Policy and Public Policy. I attended USC, having grown up in Los Angeles, and I knew I wanted to stay and work in local policy and government.
There's just so much more that you can do on a day-to-day basis when you're involved locally, not to denigrate national work. It's obviously important, but for me, it was an opportunity to get more involved in the work.
I knew even before college that I wanted to get involved in politics. I didn't do student government or debate, but I did work with the remnants of the Obama 2012 campaign to get a feel for organizing.
Between high school and college, I wanted to do a year of service with AmeriCorps or City Year. I strongly recommend doing a year of service if you can manage it financially. It's a big hit, but it's a great way to get out in the world and experience things outside of a classroom.
Ironically, I was in a classroom teaching second graders. I really enjoyed that, and it hammered home to me the importance of working for systemic change. I enjoy the day-to-day grind and working with social workers doing incredible work. However, they are reacting to an unfair system.
Systemic change is needed to get where we need to go. You need both people doing the day-to-day work and people working for systemic change. I realized I'm more drawn to systemic change, but my job is to learn from those doing the day-to-day work.
Throughout college, I had internships. I worked in a similar role to what I do now with an education reform organization. That was very hyperlocal, working with the LA Unified School Board. I learned how to speak up for folks, in this case, parents of the LAUSD system, again, for systemic change.
In my final semester, I also did a traditional Capitol Hill internship with Senator Elizabeth Warren. It was a fantastic experience, and I strongly recommend anyone take the opportunity to work for a lawmaker. It's a great chance to see how the machinery of government really works.
If you do that, don't let it go to your head. I was lucky to work in an office with a strong clarity of purpose. It's easy to be influenced by the history, lobbyists, and people telling you how smart you are. It's important to stay connected to why you started.
I was only there for six months, so I didn't have the opportunity to get fully located. But even then, I realized I didn't want that to be my life, so I came back.
Before the pandemic, I was doing consulting work for a big Democratic firm, which was fine. After the 2020 uprisings, I realized I wanted to stay much closer to the ground. Being from LA, there are plenty of problems here.
I decided to stick with the consulting firm for a while and then eventually moved to where I am now, which I find much more satisfying.