Karis Neufeld (MA, Political Science, 2024)

Karis is a Policy Manager at J-PAL Africa, based in Cape Town, South Africa. J-PAL is a global research center that works to reduce poverty by ensuring policy decisions are informed by scientific evidence. In her role, Karis bridges academic research and real-world implementation, helping governments and development partners translate proven interventions into policy and practice. 

Currently, Karis supports J-PAL’s Scaling Access to Safe Water portfolio, which builds on academic research led by Dr. Pascaline Dupas and collaborators. The project partners with ministries of health across thirteen African countries to pilot and expand low-cost water purification interventions such as chlorine solutions and Aquatabs. “My job is to make sure governments can use this research effectively,” she explains. “We help design and implement pilot programs, build technical partnerships, and eventually support countries as they scale up successful models.”

Her work is highly collaborative and international in scope. “At first, it was a lot of cold emailing and networking to identify entry points in different countries,” she recalls. “Now, I spend much of my time meeting with policymakers, running workshops, and traveling to sites to help ministries think through implementation challenges.” Fluent in French, Karis manages a primarily Francophone portfolio and frequently travels across the region. “Language skills have been essential,” she notes, “from negotiating contracts in Madagascar to talking through logistics with ministries.” Karis also served as a teaching assistant for J-PAL’s flagship Evaluating Social Programs course, describing it as “a weeklong version of Quant III but for policymakers.”

Karis’s path to J-PAL was both deliberate and nonlinear. “I actually learned about J-PAL in college and knew I wanted to work here,” she says. “It took several steps—international experience, technical skills from graduate school, and persistence through multiple applications—to get here.” She credits her training at Ohio State with helping her develop the analytical and interpersonal skills the role demands. “The quantitative methods sequence was foundational, but so were the seminars that taught me how to dissect complex research and identify what really matters for different contexts. And the grant writing course I took helped me learn how to communicate research clearly to different audiences.”

Reflecting on her transition out of academia, Karis emphasizes the value of exploration and transferable skills. “Ohio State gave me a strong research foundation and a network I still draw on. The career development courses helped me see what else was possible. I’m doing work that’s still deeply connected to research, but it’s also making an impact on people’s lives. That’s exactly what I wanted.