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Adam Katz

Urban Planning and Policy, MS

Graduated in 2014

Adam Katz is an entrepreneur at heart. Growing up, his father had always owned businesses and instilled a passion for entrepreneurship in his son. Adam started his undergraduate degree at Northeastern University as an economics and business major, with a dual concentration in entrepreneurship and management. After two years, he transferred to UMass Amherst and earned his undergraduate degree. His interest in economics informed his desire to do economic development work; he believes combining economics with policy is the best way to improve the quality of life for as many people as possible. So, Adam returned to NU for his Master’s of Science degree in Urban and Regional Policy with a concentration in Economic Development.

Related Schools & Departments

Related Research Centers

Adam’s Path

Headshot of Professor Michael Dukakis

A big reason Adam chose NU was because he wanted to learn from former Mass. governor and political science Professor Michael Dukakis—one of his greatest inspirations in policy and leadership.

Michael Dukakis

Adam took “Urban Politics & Government." It was valuable to learn about government management from a professor actively doing the work.

Public Policy and Urban Affairs Course Catalog

Adam had an internship with United for a Fair Economy, a Boston-based non-profit fighting for economic justice through policy change. There, he created content for their site and managed other interns.

Adam always aspired to improve the quality of life in cities. In his second-year, he interned with Downtown Boston BID providing programs and services in downtown Boston to revitalize vacant storefronts.

Adam found a mentor in D’Amore McKim entrepreneurship Professor John Friar and worked as his research assistant—the lessons about business Adam learned from Friar have stuck with him.

John Friar

Adam was a research assistant at the Dukakis Center in his third year and after graduation. He examined town leaders’ policies, offering tailored advice to attract businesses and improve quality of life.

Dukakis Center

Adam currently works for Teach Coalition, a Orthodox Union project, working with nonpublic schools to advocate for quality, affordable education, and helping them get funding from government programs.

Teach Coalition
The professors here are amazing, and they want to help. Northeastern is not a school where the professors just teach their class and then leave and are not available to you. They’re not just there to grade your papers. They say, ‘Come see me. Let me help you learn. I want to be there for you and want you to take advantage of that so you can get the most out of your education.’

More Student Paths

Charles T. Wallace-Thomas IV

  • Charles took "Sustainable Renewable Energy Development in the Global South" with Professor Shalanda Baker, which pushed him to further question systems as they exist, no matter their entrenched in society.
  • He did community service as part of the Ujima Global Leaders Program through the John D. O’Bryant African American Institute. He worked on the Timebank team, helping give back to local communities.
  • Charles split his time for his first co-op between the Center for Economic Democracy and the Boston Ujima Project, where he analyzed studies on community needs, including infrastructure and childcare.
  • He was one of the co-creators of the #BlackAtNU campaign and advocated for racial literacy courses and a restorative and transformative justice center on campus.
  • Charles made his own research project- a macroeconomic index to measure democratic participation in municipal economies, partnering with NU, the Columbus Foundation and the Center for Economic Democracy.
  • He worked at the Participatory Budgeting Project as a Program Associate, helping city systems and other organizations actively decide how to invest money across different spaces.
  • Charles graduated in 2022. ..

Casey Greenleaf

  • Casey took Global Markets and Local Cultures. After traveling, she better saw how the coursework mirrored real life, and knew her education was preparing her for the world.
  • She went on a DOC to Argentina and Uruguay, and become highly proficient while living in Buenos Aires and visiting the glaciers of the Patagonia region.
  • Casey completed her first co-op at the Museum of Fine Arts as a community arts program assistant. She gained valuable hands-on experience assisting in arts classes for local communities.
  • She joined the Sociology & Anthropology Student Association during her third year. It allowed her to get to know her fellow students and mirrored the small school experience she loved.
  • Casey studied abroad in Nepal for her capstone thesis. She lived alone for a month while she researched and wrote about the lived experience of climate change in the lower Himalayas.
  • She worked for the Environmental Data and Governance Initiative, founded by Professor Sarah Wylie. She produced promotional videos, developed a virtual research event, wrote event programming, and more.
  • Casey graduated in 2020. ..

Sunita Pfitzner

  • Sunita took Revolution, Civil War, and Insurrection, taught by Professor Risa Kitagawa. The course invited students to question the motives behind acts of violence against governments.
  • She traveled on a Dialogue of Civilizations to Jordan and Egypt; while there she grew interested in Middle East politics and the Arabic language.
  • Sunita worked at the Institute for Economics and Peace in Sydney, Australia, where she analyzed data on the corruption of police forces in Mexico.
  • Sunita was a member of the International Relations Council and traveled abroad with the club to compete in Model Arab League, Model NATO, and Model UN conferences.
  • Sunita conducted research with Berna Turam, developing a greater understanding of the Mediterranean migrant crisis. She also researched the feminist response to Covid-19 with Val Moghadam.
  • She graduated Summa Cum Laude in 2022.
  • ..
Northeastern student Yasser Aponte works at The Food Project to help deliver fresh food to local communities in Dorchester, Massachusetts.

Yasser Aponte

  • Yasser was in the Foundation Year program at Northeastern. The program was a rigorous deep dive into core subject classes that helped Yasser bridge the gap between his high school and college experiences.
  • He took Issues in Cities and Suburbs with Professor Erin Graves in Fall 2018. As someone deeply invested in urban life, he found the course was an enlightened look at the problems endemic to cities.
  • Yasser joined the Boston Beer Company as a Program Operations and Event Assistant for his first co-op. He worked on inventory, public relations, brewery events, and workspace organization.
  • He implemented community gardens all over Boston on deserted plots of land during his time as the Northeastern Campus Director for the campus’ United Nations Millennium Fellowship.
  • Yasser maintained a farm in Dorchester for The Food Project. He harvested crops, distributed produce through donations and food markets, and worked on overall logistics.
  • In 2020, Yasser won the Community Service Leadership award, given to students who show exemplary community engagement. He was recognized for his work at The Food Project, Northeastern Crossing, and more.
  • He graduated 2022 with his Bachelor’s in International Affairs and Religious Studies and his Master’s in Security and Resilience Studies, through Northeastern’s PlusOne program...