Current Executive MPA students are invited to join us for an EMPA Alumni Career panel on "The Value of Data & Analytic Skills in your Career," moderated by Professor Claire Robertson-Kraft.
Learn more about the panelists:
Adam Serlin '17
Founder and Principal of Independent Variable Consulting
Adam Serlin is a performance management and social innovation professional dedicated to helping partners reimagine and deliver effective solutions to difficult problems. He spent over a decade designing and managing nonprofit juvenile justice and violence prevention programs in the City of Philadelphia before receiving a Stoneleigh Fellowship and partnering with the Center for Government Excellence at Johns Hopkins University to help spread his brand of data-driven performance management. Passionate to deliver affordable technology and management solutions to those on the frontlines of social change, Adam launched Independent Variable in 2020, where he lends his practice-focused lens to technology, training, research, design, or implementation projects.
Ebony D. Wortham, Esq. '22
Executive US Attorney for Community Engagement, US Attorneys' Offices
Born and raised in Philadelphia, Ebony Wortham is an ordained minister, a nationally sought-after speaker, presenter, co-author, and expert on topics at the intersection of social justice, faith, and public systems. Ebony has over twenty years of experience in the public and private sector as a practitioner, consultant, and leader. She is also actively engaged as a volunteer and advisor to numerous organizations that work to provide enriching opportunities for youth, adults, and families. She currently serves as the Executive US Attorney for Community Engagement at the US Attorney’s Office for the Eastern District of PA. Ebony is a proud member of the Forum of Executive Women, the Barristers’ Association of Philadelphia, the National Black Prosecutor’s Association, and The Links Inc.
Melissa Wright '18
Senior Director, Data and Policy, City of Philadelphia
Melissa Wright is the Senior Director, Data and Policy at the Office of Economic Opportunity for the City of Philadelphia. She works with minority, disabled, and other underrepresented business owners in Philadelphia who are seeking city contracts. She also heads the League of Women Voters' Philadelphia chapter and is the league's state treasurer. Previously, Melissa worked as an Associate Director at Econsult Solutions, Inc., working in their Government & Public Policy and Economic Development practice areas. Before that, she worked in K-12 education at both Teach for America as a Director of Performance Measurement and Evaluation and Project Manager for the School District of Philadelphia in the Superintendent’s office.
