Graduates of the School’s programs embark on a wide range of career paths in the broad area of public service and public affairs. The video interviews, alumni profiles, and stories of our distinguished alumni provide a snapshot of these paths.
Carleton 75 Alumni Videos
Our decades of experience educating students of public policy and public administration has given us the privilege and honour of having incredible graduates. Watch this video to see a compilation of interviews done with a sample of these graduates. Take a few minutes to learn about their career and their experiences at the School! Or scroll down and watch video interviews with individual graduates.
Evren Tok
Current Career: Assistant Dean of innovation and Community Engagement and Associate Professor of Islam and Global Affairs, Hamad Bin Khalifa University
Degree: Collaborative PhD in Public Policy & Political Economy
Career/Program Highlights: “During my studies at SPPA as an international student, I always received significant support and orientation. […] There’s no better time to study Public Policy and there’s no better place than SPPA.”
Sandra Noel
Current Career: Director, Service Excellence, Accelerated Growth Service at Innovation Canada
Degree: Master of Arts, Public Administration
Career/Program Highlights: “When I left the school, I left as part of a much greater community. One of the things I really appreciated about coming to the SPPA was discovering so many people with the same passion that I shared, where they wanted to make a positive change in the world and they wanted to do so through public service.”
Yaprak Baltacioglu
Current Career: Chancellor at Carleton University
Degree: Master of Arts, Public Administration
Career/Program Highlights: “When I left the school, I left as part of a much greater community. One of the things I really appreciated about coming to the SPPA was discovering so many people with the same passion that I shared, where they wanted to make a positive change in the world and they wanted to do so through public service.”
Barbara Grantham
Current Career: President and CEO at Care Canada
Degree: Master of Arts, Public Administration
Career/Program Highlights: Recipient of 2020 Bissett Alumni Award for Distinctive Contributions to the Public Sector, Learn more.
Francesca Iacurto
Current Career: Senior Director, Public Affairs at National Airlines Council of Canada
Degree: Master of Arts, Public Administration
Career/Program Highlights: Former Director, Government and External Relations at Forest Products Association of Canada (FPAC)
Matt Jones
Current Career: Assistant Deputy Minister, Environment and Climate Change Canada
Degree: Master of Arts, Public Administration
Career/Program Highlights: Former Director at Environment Canada
Milana Simikian
Career: Senior Policy Advisor, Environment and Climate Change Canada
Degree: Master of Arts, Public Administration
Career/Program Highlights: “Carleton University’s SPPA is definitely the place to be for anyone who wants to be at the centre of current policy research and debate and feel like they’re part of a close-knit community.”
Julie Lancaster
Career: Consultant at Towers Watson
Degree: Master of Arts, Public Administration
Career/Program Highlights: “The program was still incredibly valuable to me even though I ended up in a sector different from the one I intended. […] I think that SPPA offers so many networking opportunities, it’s become a huge part of the program between co-op, and professors, and networking events… it’s really become a major part and I was extremely thankful for that.”
Nancy Naylor
Current Career: Deputy Minister of Education, Government of Ontario
Degree: Master of Arts, Public Administration
Career/Program Highlights: Former Assistant Deputy Minister at Ontario Ministry of Education
Daniel Poon
Current Career: Researcher with Asia & The Pacific Policy Society
Degree: Master of Arts, Public Administration
Career/Program Highlights: Former Economic Affairs Officer at the United Nations Conference on Trade and Development (UNCTAD)
Karen Shepherd
Current Career: Freelance, Public Service Advisor and Leader
Degree: Master of Arts, Public Administration
Career/Program Highlights: Previously Commissioner of Lobbying, Office of the Commissioner of the Lobbying of Canada.
Allan Tupper
Current Career: Professor, University of British Columbia, School of Public Policy and Global Affairs
Degree: Master of Arts, Public Administration
Career/Program Highlights: “First of all, Carleton provided me with an opportunity for a very reasonable cost, and being not from affluence, just gave me something I really needed and had easy access to. Carleton’s longstanding non-elitist tradition really served me well in that respect.”
John DeGoey
Current Career: Chair, FP Canada Research Foundation Board and Portfolio Manager, Wellington-Altus Private Wealth
Degree: Master of Arts, Public Administration
Career/Program Highlights: “I graduated from Carleton a little over 20 years ago, and at the time there weren’t very many jobs in the public sector. Realizing that I wanted to be more involved and giving back to the community at large, I became a financial advisor. My time at Carleton helped me to promote the ideas of the public interest and general welfare in the financial sector.”
Ann Dale
Current Career: Director, Program Head and Professor, Royal Roads University
Degree: Master of Arts, Public Administration
Career/Program Highlights: “When I was at Carleton University in the 70s, I prided myself on never having a mark above a C. I went back to school after leaving the federal government as an executive for 23 years, went back to school at 45, got my doctorate at 50, and was serious then about what I was going to do and became a full-time professor. I cannot thank Carleton enough for the well-rounded liberal arts education that I got in the 70s. It was such a diverse place to learn and study.”
Founded the National Round Table on the Environment and the Economy (Government of Canada)
Steve Desroches
Current Career: Former Deputy Mayor of Ottawa
Degree: Master of Arts, Public Administration
Career/Program Highlights: “There’s not a day that goes by at City Hall that I’m not using the skills and abilities that I gained from this program. The City of Ottawa is a $3 billion corporation, we have a wide-range of programs and services that touch residents’ lives on a daily basis. Many of these problems are complex and we need to come up with solutions that will move this city forward. I feel that my degree gave me the tools and perspective that I need to do my job at City Hall.”
Former Deputy Mayer and City Councilor, City of Ottawa
Rachel Laforest
Current Career: MPA Program Director and Associate Professor, School of Policy Studies, Queens University
Degree: PhD, Public Policy
Career/Program Highlights: “My diploma has been really useful in helping me navigate the academic world. I had huge opportunities to influence policymakers in Canada and elsewhere, including Pakistan and the Commonwealth. It’s been an interesting ride and the program has prepared me well for the policy world.”
Serena Boutros
Career: Manager at Innovation, Science and Economic Development Canada
Degree: Master of Arts, Public Administration
Career/Program Highlights: “One of the things that I valued the most at my time at the School is the relationship building with the faculty members. I was able to build great relationships with my professors and felt as though they respected the students and treated us as equals.”
Greg Sweet
Current Career: Chief of Staff, Senior Assistant Deputy Minister’s Office for Shared Services Canada
Degree: Master of Arts, Public Administration
Career/Program Highlights: “There are three things that I really take away from my time at the school. First, the fact that students are strongly encouraged to take courses from a multiple range of disciplines. Personally, in my career, I’ve been able to build on all of those in my time at different [federal] departments, whether it’s operations, or policy at Industry Canada, or good public management at the Treasury Board Secretariat.”
Terry Goodtrack
Current Career: President and CEO, Aboriginal Financial Officers Association of Canada
Degree: Master of Arts, Public Administration
Career/Program Highlights: “Back in the early 1990s, I was enrolled in the School of Public Administration, and I recall a lot of the policy pieces at that time I was able to use throughout my career. As an example, at a recent appearance before the standing committee on Aboriginal affairs, I was able to use some of the policy instrument choices and bring that into the discussion.”
Sean Moore
Current Career: Founder and Principal, Advocacy School
Degree: DPA, Public Administration
Career/Program Highlights: “For the last 30, 35 years, it’s been a privilege to continue to be associated with the school; first as a graduate student, and then as an instructor and mentor. I’ve learned much from my time at Carleton, to this day I still apply the principles of policy analysis, administration and public management that I first encountered some 30 years ago.”
Bob Masterson
Current Career: President and CEO, Chemistry Industry Association of Canada
Degree: Master of Arts, Public Administration
Career/Program Highlights: “Although I studied public administration, I think because of my work experience and my personality, I knew that a career in the public service wasn’t for me. But what I’ve been able to do, is take what I’ve learned from the school in terms of the public development process and apply what I learned.”