In Spring 2019, the USC Price Offices of Development and of Career Services presented a new summer fellowship program to commemorate the 90th anniversary of USC Price School of Public Policy. Names the Public-Private Partnership (P3) Fellows Program, it was designed as a high-impact career development initiative to provide substantive work and mentorship for student Fellows during Summer and Fall 2019.The program fully-funded ten Price Masters and upper level Undergraduate students to pursue private and public sector fellowship opportunities.

USC Price Master of Planning (MPA) student Joelle Montier  was the lucky recipient of a transportation sector fellowship.

Montier completed her B.A. in Communications with a specialization in Public Relations from Michigan State University. Before enrolling at Price, she worked in New York City for six years in marketing and technology. Currently, she is actively engaged in Price extra-curricular activities, and also mentors through the Mentorship for an Accessible Price (MAP) Program. Montier also developed a keen interest in transportation policy and public sector consulting during her first year at Price.

“I was fortunate to be selected as a P3 Summer Fellow at Cambria Solutions, an information technology and management consulting firm, where I concentrated on projects in the public sector,” shares Montier. Her very first project during this fellowship was supporting the Los Angeles County Metro with the implementation of Metro Express Lanes and involved transition planning and project management in a multi-vendor environment. “My tasks included the development of implementation plans among LA Metro contractors, as well as utilizing task management and document management programs like SharePoint and Asana.” said Montier.

Montier admits that as an individual who is motivated by the potential for impact, she enjoyed her time at Cambria, working on projects that will positively contribute to society. She was excited for the launch of Express Lanes knowing that she played a role in helping the many commuters of LA get to work more efficiently.

“I gained many new skills during my two months at Cambria. As this was my first time working in consulting, I quickly learned the importance of being flexible and being confident in my ability to adapt to constantly changing environments. The projects I worked on had many people and moving parts involved, which pushed me to remain organized and communicate clearly to ensure that I understood the task at hand and what was being asked of me. Furthermore, it was an invaluable learning experience seeing what public-private partnerships look like in the real world and working closely with government agencies and their contractors.”

Montier also helped government agencies and their contractors implement complex changes to their IT systems and processes. “This hands-on experience showed me how public-private partnerships work and how the government can apply technology to create and implement innovative solutions.

Montier adds that she thoroughly enjoyed her time getting to know the Cambria team and working in the private sector alongside the public sector. “I am grateful I was given the opportunity to learn how the government can apply technology to create and implement innovative solutions. I can now better understand execution related to transportation policy,” she added.

About the Author:

Adylbek Abdykalikov is a graduate student in the International Public Policy and Management Program at USC Price. He has working experience in various positions at the Ministries of Transport and Communication and Investment and Development of Kazakhstan and was in charge of Transportation and Civil Aviation policy development and implementation, and serves as lead student event coordinator for METRANS and PSR.