TAM Alumni Panel

Mario Martinez ’16

Data Analyst at Centro Legal de la Raza
As a TAM student, Mario studied overseas in Ankara and Berlin. He interned with UNDP in Istanbul in 2015 and received DAAD funding during his year of study in Germany. Mario earned the joint METU-HU degree in German-Turkish Studies.

Now he serves as a data analyst at Centro Legal de la Raza. He was previously their Post-Release Accompaniment Program (PRAP) Coordinator assisting bond and parole-eligible community members secure their release from immigration detention. Mario has helped coordinate regional deportation defense programs since 2017 at immigration courts, detention facilities, and rapid response networks. He has developed data-driven strategies to enhance these programs and quickly respond to sudden policy shifts or emergencies. During the COVID-19 pandemic, these strategies were utilized to identify medically vulnerable individuals to file urgent humanitarian parole requests, support litigation, and inform statewide policy advocacy. Mario’s passion for utilizing information to help his community has led him to explore how to leverage Artificial Intelligence tools to improve the provision of legal services. Mario holds an M.A. in Social Sciences, and he completed graduate internships abroad focused on international human rights issues, international development, regional legal networks, and refugee issues in the European Union. These experiences allowed him to develop an international perspective on global migration and enabled him to further develop his professional skills to support the immigrant community in the U.S.

Abby Lantz ’21

Presidential Management Fellow, Bureau of Conflict and Stabilization Operations (CSO) | U.S. Department of State
Abigail (Abby) Lantz is currently based in Rome. She graduated from TAM in 2021 with degrees from UNC and Gothenburg University. She is now a Presidential Management Fellow and has worked with the Bureau of Conflict and Stabilization Operations (CSO) at the U.S. Department of State. As a PMF, she started with the Department of Commerce’s International Trade Administration, working as an International Trade Specialist. While in the TAM program, she interned with USAID’s Bureau for Conflict Prevention and Stabilization (CPS) and received two FLAS awards for Arabic, as well as the Jean Monnet Center of Excellence EU Summer Research Award. Before TAM, Abby spent four years working at The Pew Charitable Trusts in Washington D.C. As an Associate I for the Financial Security and Mobility team, she conducted policy research on the financial well-being of American workers and families. In this role, Abigail executed a major qualitative research project studying Americans vulnerable to poverty. Abigail also worked as a Program Assistant for Pew’s Government Relations team, communicating and strategizing Pew’s federal policy objectives. Abigail previously interned at the U.S. Embassy in Paris, where she drafted diplomatic cables on French counter-extremism efforts in the aftermath of the 2015 Charlie Hebdo terror attacks. She has also interned at the MacArthur Foundation, the Office of the Mayor of the City of Chicago, and the U.S. Senate. Abigail graduated in 2014 with a B.A. in Public Policy from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill and was a scholarship student-athlete.
 

Philip Lind ’22

Secretary General Swedish Young Christian Democrats

Philip is a Swedish national who completed his undergraduate degree in the US. When he was a double-degree seeking TAM student, he spent his second TAM year in Gothenburg, Sweden and interned for the US Chamber of Commerce. Since November, he has been the Secretary General of KDU (Christian Democratic Youth Organization) in Sweden. His main responsibilities are administrative and organizational, but he also takes part in shaping the politics of KDU for the EU election next June. Philip notes: “TAM was a great time and prepared me well to start working in politics.”