Who We Are

Gary Segura

Dean of the UCLA Luskin School of Public Affairs

“I am honored and excited to be selected as dean of the Luskin School of Public Affairs, and to come to UCLA. The Luskin School and its distinguished faculty represent an outstanding intellectual community whose work makes important contributions in addressing human problems at the individual, community, national and global levels. The three nationally prominent departments and the affiliated centers are asking and answering critical questions about the challenges — personal and structural — that real people face every day. It will be my privilege to join them and do whatever I can to broaden and deepen their impact in Los Angeles, across California and beyond.”

Michael Storper

Director, Global Public Affairs @ UCLA Luskin ~ Faculty Cluster Leader, Global Processes and Institutions ~ Professor of Urban Planning

“When I think of global public affairs, an image comes to mind. It is of Spanish ships sailing into Manila harbor in the 1580s, where they meet the merchant boats from Fujian in China. Why this image? What the Spanish most wanted was access to Chinese luxury goods. They had stumbled across the New World looking for a maritime route to Asia. Then they stumbled on silver in Bolivia, which they figured they could use to pay for Chinese goods. The Emperor of China didn’t want more Europeans on Chinese soil, so Manila was the key trading post that knitted together this globe-spanning system of trade, conquest, exploitation, city-building, transport, and inter-culturality. It replaced the thousand-year old global trade highway, the Silk Road. We are living through breathtaking new global interactions today. They create risks, opportunities and potential tragedies, just like previous ones. Global public affairs is about learning how to understand and thereby become constructive, socially-conscious actors so as to better shape these processes."

Stephen Commins

Associate Director, Global Public Affairs @ UCLA Luskin ~ Director, International Practice Pathway ~ Faculty Cluster Leader, Global Environment and Resources ~ Lecturer in Urban Planning

"Global Public Affairs @ UCLA Luskin strikes a balance between the ‘what’ of global issues through rigorous academic preparation and the ‘how’ of professional practice through fieldwork opportunities and mentoring."

Dan Flynn

Communications and Alumni Relations Manager, MPP ’21 Candidate

"Global Public Affairs is the best way for students at Luskin to get outside of the Los Angeles bubble and begin to grapple with policy challenges of the international system. GPA fellowships and travel grant students exposure to a wealth of opportunities across the country and internationally."

Madeleine Sims

Curriculum Project Manager, MURP ’20 Candidate

"Global Public Affairs @ Luskin provides students with opportunities to engage with the world through diverse course offerings, engaging lectures, and sponsorship for field work. These opportunities allow students to deepen their understanding of world issues and the place their work can have in implementing change."

Charlotte Fagan

Events Program Manager, MURP and MBA ’21 Dual Degree Candidate

"Global Public Affairs @ UCLA Luskin connects academics and professional development to instill in students a lifelong sense of curiosity and engagement with the world. GPA shows how the boundaries between local and global are constantly contested in our globalized world."

Former Deans and Supporters of GPA

Franklin D. Gilliam, Jr.

GPA Founding Dean, Former Dean of UCLA Luskin School of Public Affairs, Professor of Public Policy and Political Science

"Global Public Affairs @ UCLA Luskin represents a strategic investment in scholarship, teaching, and engagement that responds to the dynamic forces of globalization. In turn, this requires public and not-for-profit decision makers to think differently about the allocation of public goods and services. Bringing together the best thinkers and practitioners, Global Public Affairs @ UCLA Luskin seeks to build a robust curriculum for our students, an exciting and multidisciplinary research agenda for our faculty, and create a framework for developing the best practices."

Lois Takahashi

Interim Dean of UCLA Luskin School of Public Affairs, Professor of Urban Planning

"Global Public Affairs is an invaluable addition to UCLA Luskin, offering a multidisciplinary approach to public policy. This certificate program allows students to take courses from across the curriculum, drawing on faculty from 11 departments at UCLA. In an increasingly globalized world, there is no better time to apply research and scholarship to hands-on experience in international environments. Global Public Affairs at UCLA Luskin offers both these components to advance student learning and prepare graduates for a successful career in public affairs, whether it be abroad or in the U.S."

Former GPA Associates

Jenny Yu

MURP ’16

“Global public affairs are increasingly local. The issues abroad are having an impact on our livelihoods at home. Global Public Affairs @ UCLA Luskin provides a forum for students and scholars to engage in dialogues about these critical global public affairs issues.”

Rosana Carranza

MURP ’16

"Global Public Affairs @ UCLA Luskin provides intellectual and professional preparation in some of the most pressing issues of our day, including migration, health, and the economy. Luskin students who want to think about these issues through a global lens are welcome to pursue our certificate program-- we look forward to working with you."

Brittany Woods

MSW ’17

"As a social welfare student, GPA means addressing social welfare issues from a global perspective and taking the initiative to advocate for social justice at the international level."

Reid Meadows

MPP ’17

"In an increasingly globalized world with few barriers to communication, students must have an international perspective in their education if they are to become thoughtful public leaders. The Global Public Affairs program at UCLA is accomplishing exactly that goal by exposing students to the many issues we see across the world and challenging them to search for solutions."

Christina Callegari

MSW ’18

"At UCLA Luskin, we as students, leaders, and change agents, have the incredible opportunity to learn about the world around us in order to bring about change in our communities. GPA@UCLA Luskin, seeks to incorporate a global perspective into our practice as developing professionals. Thus, equipping us to lead in an ever-connected world."

Angela Jeong

MSW ’18

"GPA@Luskin provides a widened knowledge, experience, and perspective for Luskin students who are encouraged to become local and world leaders."

Ramandeep Kaur

MPP ’18

Nikki Lewis

MPP and MSW ’19 Dual Degree

"The opportunities provided by Global Public Affairs @ Luskin affords students the chance to use immersive experiences, lectures by and conversations with practitioners, and a variety of cross-sector courses to connect what is learned in the classroom to their futures in the wok force."

Ankhet Holmes

MPP ’19

"Global Public Affairs @ Luskin brings the world to its students through academic course offerings, career talks, practical lectures, and scholarships to work abroad. GPA enables us to learn about the far reaching implications of the lives we lead. It is then up to us to choose how we’ll make change at the local or global level, knowing the two are intertwined."

Samuel Stalls

MPP ’19

"Global Public Affairs @ UCLA Luskin gives students the opportunity to deepen our engagement with world issues through events, classes, trips and funding for internships. This allows us to see how events in California both influence global trends and are influenced by those trends."