As we come to the close of an extraordinary year marked by upheavals and the straining of democratic institutions, the Goldman School of Public Policy remains grounded in this: Hope is not just a feeling, but a practice.
In 2025, we have exercised our “hope muscle” by recommitting ourselves to our mission of advancing excellence in teaching, research, and community engagement. Through your giving, engagement, and interest in GSPP, you have also exercised hope and partnered with us to strengthen democracy, transform society, and serve the public good. For this, I’m deeply grateful. — Dean David C. Wilson
EQUIPPING FUTURE Policy Leaders
Students remain at the heart of the Goldman School's mission. Their dedication, optimism, and values-driven leadership continually energize the entire GSPP community.
GSPP Students By The Numbers
- Total number of GSPP graduate students: 305
- Total Capstones: 138
- Total Summer Internships: 101
- Internships by Sector: Government (22%) | Non-Profit (34%) | Private (16 %) | Academic (28%)
The entire GSPP community works together to empower our students to reach their professional dreams. For example, our four career advisors conducted 705 advising appointments this year. And nearly half of summer internships (42) were unpaid, so Goldman School donors stepped up to provide summer stipends.
Faculty Excellence in Focus
Goldman School faculty continued to advance groundbreaking research and teaching, making exceptional contributions across a range of public policy fields. A sampling:
- Dorothy Kronick's expertise on Venezuelan electoral integrity, democratic backsliding, crime, policing, and economic history has appeared in top-tier journals and major media outlets.
- Carlos Schmidt‑Padilla's expertise on crime, human capital, migration, and policing in Latin America was featured in BBC reporting about a deadly police raid in Brazil.
- Diag Davenport connects students with data-intensive projects at the intersection of AI and social policy through the Data Science for Good clinic.
- Jake Grumbach's Democracy Policy Lab recently released the State Voting Laws Roundup, a partnership with the Brennan Center for Justice to track state voting legislation around the country.
- Caitlin Patler’s research on immigration and the impact of immigration policies on immigrants and their families across generations earned her the 2025 Award for Public Sociology in International Migration from the American Sociological Association.
- Adam Leive's research provides data-driven insight into the workings of health insurance markets.
GSPP Live: Big Ideas, Bold Conversations
In 2025 GSPP and its centers hosted more than 30 public programs on democracy, equity, energy and climate, national security, and more. As one example, check out the conversation between Professor Robert Reich and Michael Lewis as they explored the cultural, political, and economic forces that have brought our democratic institutions to a critical crossroads.
Blueprints for a Stronger Democracy
GSPP's Democracy Policy Initiative (DPI) continued to meet this unique moment in American history through research, community engagement, and strategic convenings.
Number of people engaged in democracy policy through lectures, presentations, events, and community convening: 1,690
- The Democracy Policy Fellows are eight catalytic leaders in journalism, education, racial justice, and civic innovation, selected for their commitment to strengthening democracy.
- Democracy Policy Lab measured the quality of American democracy, from the State Democracy Index, which assesses democratic performance in all 50 states, to the State Voting Laws Roundup, which tracks expansive and restrictive voting laws.
- GSPP’s Democracy Policy Initiative and the Brennan Center for Justice convened academic, community, government, nonprofit, philanthropic, and private-sector leaders to engage critical questions and issues for democracy in America at the (Un)Common Challenges conference. Session topics included the future of universities, federalism, the role of civil society, and the media. View the panel recordings.
Advancing Public Leadership in Sacramento
GSPP now has a strong presence in Sacramento with executive education classes in agile government and Master of Public Affairs (MPA) offerings aimed at developing the leaders needed to lead and drive meaningful change in government, nonprofit, and private sectors. Recently, Nani Coloretti (MPP '94), Cabinet Secretary in the office of California Governor Gavin Newsom, spoke with Dean David Wilson about how her GSPP education equipped her for the roles she's had throughout her illustrious career.
"The Goldman School training helps you be unafraid to do something hard." — Nani Coloretti
FLOURISH
The Goldman School’s Constructive Dialogue Initiative continued to champion respectful conversations that deepen understanding across differences through a seminar that gave students the opportunity to practice dialogue skills and share stories about navigating disagreements with family, co-workers, and friends. Learn more about the FLOURISH framework and the principles for engaging in constructive dialogue.
"Dialogue skills are not peripheral to policy work — they are essential to sustaining trust, building community, and strengthening our collective capacity to govern." — Professor Erika Weissinger
Shaping the Tech Future
UC Berkeley’s Tech Policy Week and Summit brought together policymakers, industry leaders, researchers, and advocates to tackle topics like AI governance, digital rights, cybersecurity, and the evolving relationship between innovation and the public good. The week also featured the Executive Fellows in Applied Tech Policy and the Tech Policy Fellows, who contributed practitioner insight and real-world perspectives to the discussions.
LEADERship FOR Climate, Communities, and Country
Former Secretary of the Interior Deb Haaland keynoted the third annual Berkeley Public Policy Conference and Alumni Gathering, which featured 500 members of the GSPP community gathered on the UC Berkeley campus to network, and learn from one another.
"Politics doesn't change people's lives. Policy does." — Secretary Deb Haaland
Looking to the Future
As we close out 2025, we’re proud of our continued national leadership, recognized by U.S. News and World Report as #1 in policy analysis and #3 in the overall category of public affairs. And we're eager for more opportunities to exercise our "hope muscle." Our work is only accelerating, and YOU are an essential part of shaping what comes next.