Gaining a Competitive Edge in Economics

Cullen Kavoussi
MA ’17
International Economics and International Political Economy

Cullen was drawn to Johns Hopkins SAIS because of its focus in international economics and strong reputation for producing practitioners with quantitative skills. Cullen felt that the school prioritized these areas, which set it apart from other institutions.

He was also impressed by the school’s global network of more than 18,000 alumni. It was a helpful alumnus who helped Cullen land his internship last spring at the Office of the US Trade Representative. During his summer internship at the Federal Reserve Bank of New York, Cullen was (literally) surrounded by Johns Hopkins SAIS graduates.

Prior to his graduate studies, Cullen received his BA from the University of Colorado, with a major in International Affairs and a minor in Economics. He has previously worked for a nonprofit, international think-tank called the Millennium Project and at Peter D. Hart Research Associates, a political research and polling firm in Washington, DC.

Cullen is a member of the Johns Hopkins SAIS consulting club and participated in the Deloitte Case Study Competition during his first year. He was a research assistant for the professor of energy economics, finance, and security studies, helping to edit and update data for the professor’s book on commodities and energy/resource finance and a teaching assistant for econometrics.

After graduation, Cullen plans to work for the Federal Reserve Bank of New York in the Markets Group where he will be doing operations and analysis. Cullen’s end goal is to help devise and execute US economic policy, both domestically and internationally. His Johns Hopkins SAIS degree, including his experiences within and outside of the classroom, have put him in a great position to accomplish that goal!