Alumni Spotlight Q&A: Meet Maitreyi Sistla ’14

Maitreyi Sistla graduated from Weinberg College in 2014, studying Economics and Global Health. Sistla now serves as the Deputy Director of the Aspen Tech Policy Hub, part of the Aspen Institute.

What inspired you to pursue a major or minor in the Department of Economics?
I’ve always been interested in public policy and social justice work, and studying economics made sense to me because it can be used to think through almost every policy question: from how to deliver healthcare to how to regulate carbon emissions. I appreciated having this broad toolkit that I could apply across a variety of topic areas. I also appreciated that I was able to look at these questions through a quantitative lens.

How did your studies in the Economics department impact you personally or professionally?
It was hugely impactful. I was actually a pre-med student during my four years at Northwestern while also studying economics. Post-graduation, I realized medical school wasn’t for me and was interested in pivoting into the policy space. Having that economics background made that pivot possible. I went from doing public health work at the Centers for Disease Control (my first job out of college) to working on urban policy issues in Chicago. I’ve also spent quite a few years working for economists that study policy issues, and the background I was given at Northwestern made that possible.
Beyond just being an Economics major, being a Weinberg student was hugely impactful for me. Writing has been such a critical component of all of the jobs I’ve held since graduating, and I now appreciate how much the Weinberg curriculum emphasized writing. I also appreciate how being a Weinberg student allowed me to strengthen my writing skills while also allowing me to take more quant-heavy courses like Economics and my pre-med classes. This broad skillset has been very helpful in my career.

Is there a specific course, event, or memory associated with the Economics department that sticks out to you from your time at Northwestern?
There are two economics courses that stick out to me at my time at Northwestern: Behavioral Economics and Transportation Economics. I consider myself a policy generalist and have worked on a wide array of policy issues since graduating — everything from health policy to cybersecurity to climate policy. The lessons I learned in my behavioral economics class on how people make decisions have been relevant across all of these subject areas. I also appreciated my Transportation Economics class because it was the first time I really realized how economics can be used to think through and solve problems across almost any subject area, including transportation.

What are you working on right now that excites you the most OR are there any accomplishments would you like to share?
Right now I am working at the Aspen Institute, helping run a program that trains technology and science experts on how to get their ideas into policy. I usually work with traditional tech engineers (e.g. folks who work at Big Tech companies like Google and Facebook) to think through how to solve technology policy issues like mis/disinformation or anti-trust issues. However, we’re currently working with a group of climate technologists and scientists, which I’ve loved. Climate science is a topic I’m new to, and have really appreciated learning more about energy and sustainability issues in the US.

How do you enjoy spending your free time?
I’ve recently gotten into biking, and have really loved it. So am now spending my weekends going on or planning bike trips!