Bela Walkin, a graduate of the McCourt School of Public Policy, is working as a senior policy analyst at the Washington Metropolitan Area Transit Authority (WMATA), using her education to help shape public transit in the nation’s capital, according to a Mar. 30 announcement.
Walkin’s work highlights how public policy education can directly influence urban transportation systems and improve daily life for residents. Her background and experiences have given her insights into how cities move people and the impact that has on communities.
Growing up in Lake Charles, Louisiana, Walkin said she had little experience with public transit until studying abroad in Paris during college. “Using world-class public transit daily was life-changing,” Walkin said. She later worked as a management consultant in Houston before returning to France to teach English near Lyon, where she found that reliable bus networks improved her well-being.
Walkin arrived at McCourt motivated by what she called “this philosophy of public transit and urbanism as the building blocks for thriving communities.” During her studies, she interned on Capitol Hill and spent time with the Office of Management and Budget’s Statistical and Science Policy team. She also served as an editor for the Georgetown Public Policy Review podcast. Reflecting on reaching out to author Jeff Speck for an interview, Walkin said: “The experience taught me that simply asking for what you want can create opportunities.”
Her capstone thesis focused on neighborhood walkability and commuting choices. When WMATA posted a job opening shortly before her graduation, she applied; “My now-boss read my thesis during the interview process. I guess it was good enough for me to land the job,” Walkin quipped.
Now at WMATA, Walkin works on projects such as rail service planning and station accessibility using skills from McCourt’s data science courses. She advises students interested in similar careers to consider local government roles: “You are so much closer to your community and the problems you are trying to fix when you work on local issues,” she said.
Looking ahead, Walkin hopes to continue growing her career at Metro while contributing to regional transportation projects: “I wouldn’t be here without my experience at McCourt… The education I received opened the door to this opportunity.”
