Alum Isabelle Tuncer embodies the adage, “Think global, act local.”
A Fulbright scholar who grew up in France, earned a law degree in Italy, and completed her master’s in commercial diplomacy in 2000 at the Institute, Tuncer has had a long interest in development. She found a new application for her skills and ultimately a new job after becoming involved in community and school events at her children’s elementary school. Parents saw a divide between Spanish-speaking and English-speaking parents at the school and came up with the idea of bringing in the music program, El Sistema, to bring people together.
One school turned into many more and a full-fledged nonprofit where Tuncer is now the executive director was created. The program played an important role as a safe space during the COVID-19 pandemic and continues to serve the greater community.
We kind of know increasingly that art is a way to cope on the social-emotional level. We could see that it was really making a difference.
Read the full article in Lookout Santa Cruz: How I Got My Job: El Sistema’s Isabelle Tuncer on leading a nonprofit: “My advice is to dream big.”
International Policy and Development graduate Katia Mironova shares how her coursework and internship led to a career as a monitoring and evaluation professional in Washington, D.C.
| by Paulina Corrales MPA/MAIEM ’19
Joint MPA/International Education Management graduate Paulina Corrales shares how networking with Middlebury Institute alumni helped her launch a career in global development and education.
| by Madeleine Smith BA/MPA ’22
Joint BA/MPA graduate Madeleine Smith shares how collaboration among peers and faculty help her to create change in her role at the Mission Economic Development Agency.
