Career Panel Session
Curious about where an economics degree can take you beyond the traditional roles? Join us for a panel featuring professionals in public policy, consulting, and law who have successfully built careers thanks to an economics foundation. Panelists will share career journeys, discuss the skills and coursework that helped them succeed, and provide valuable advice on preparing for graduate school or entering these industries. An informal networking session will follow the event!
Meet the Panelists:
Katie Bartuska is a humanitarian professional with over six years of experience in policy and programming, specializing in advancing gender equality in crisis-affected contexts. She most recently served as a Gender, Age, and Social Inclusion Advisor at the U.S. Agency for International Development’s Bureau for Humanitarian Assistance, where she worked to ensure that humanitarian aid met the needs of marginalized communities. Prior to this role, she gained experience with USAID’s Bureau for Legislative and Public Affairs, the Penn State Department of Economics, and the Foreign Policy Research Institute.
She holds an M.A. in International Development from American University and B.A. degrees in Economics and International Politics from Penn State University.
Katie Bartuska
Nathaniel Myers
Nathaniel Myers is a Project Manager at Technomics, an employee-owned consulting firm in Washington, D.C. He leads a team of data engineers and analysts in the Program, Portfolio, and Performance Management Service Area, developing business process automation tools and data analytics to support strategic decision-making at the National Nuclear Security Administration (NNSA). His work incorporates advanced techniques such as small language models, natural language processing (NLP), and network analysis to uncover hidden trends and patterns in complex datasets.
He holds an M.S. in Business Analytics from the University of Virginia’s Darden School of Business and a B.S. in Economics from Penn State University.
Manisha Patel is a family law attorney dedicated to representing clients through various stages of domestic legal matters. Passionate about family law from the start of her legal education, she provides compassionate and dedicated legal support to individuals navigating emotionally challenging situations. She specializes in collaborative family law and is a North Carolina Dispute Resolution Commission Certified Family Financial Mediator.
In addition to her legal practice, Manisha has served in numerous leadership roles, including as a two-term President of the North Carolina Association of Women Attorneys, President of the Greensboro Bar Association, and a board member for Legal Aid of North Carolina. She currently serves as one of the 24th Judicial District’s two State Bar Councilors and is the National Conference of Women’s Bar Associations liaison to the American Bar Association Commission on Women in the Profession.
She holds a J.D. from Elon University and B.A. degrees in Economics and History from Virginia Tech.
