Nii Addy

I'm originally from Accra, the capital of Ghana, West Africa. After years spent bonding with a bunch of other guys at St. Peter's Secondary School, I spent two wonderful years teaching at Bishop Bowers School - the elementary school I had attended. I think it was there that my professional interest in education was born. However that interest remained mostly latent when I enrolled at Swarthmore College, Pennsylvania, dabbled in Engineering and majored in Economics. Upon graduating I did consider applying for Stanford's International Comparative Education (ICE) PhD program, but decided I needed a break from school. Instead I chose to work on energy-efficiency programs with ICF Consulting in Washington DC and then after a couple of years obtained the Master in Public Affairs (Development Studies concentration) at Princeton University. Subsequently, I worked at Mathematica Policy Research, Inc., where I participated in evaluations of various education and social programs. I have also been a consultant with organizations such as the World Bank.

I finally decided to fully respond to my interest in education by applying to Stanford's School of Education. Here, I specialize in International Comparative Education and Organization Studies, and I have been exploring organizational aspects of education policymaking. My primary advisor is Prof. Martin Carnoy. Being at Stanford has meant having access to some of the greatest minds in my areas of interest. My studies have been particularly shaped by my professors and colleagues in the School of Education, the Graduate School of Business, as well as in the Sociology Department. My long-term goals include fostering international collaborations and training transnational professionals, especially those interested in the African Diaspora. I enjoy working with students, watching soccer, playing tennis, and walking a lot!