Institution: Florida International University
Graduate Program: Ph.D., Public Affairs
Education: M.A., Development Policy, KDI School of Public Policy and Management; M.A., Public Management and Economics, Université Libre de Bruxelles and Vietnam National Economics University; B.A., Economics, Vietnam National Economics University
Mentor: Dr. Hai (David) Guo, Florida International University
When Angie Nga Le graduated from National Economics University in Vietnam, her job as a communication consultant at Care International, run by the Vietnam Ministry of Rural and Agriculture, gave her “a chance to understand the management of policy at the highest levels of administration, and to understand the effect those polices had on remote people,” says Le.
While there, she led and participated in studies that focused on intended versus actual impacts of government funding to unique ethnic groups experiencing high rates of poverty.
“The more I worked, the more I wanted to understand, to feel the impact of public policy on the lives of people,” says Le.
For Le, policy is all about great design. Good policies allow those who are financially struggling to focus on the other aspects of their lives, as opposed to worrying about whether or not they’ll receive the funding they need to go on.
Le’s hunger for knowledge has led her across the globe, from Vietnam to South Korea, and finally to Florida International University (FIU), where she expects to receive her Ph.D. in public affairs in summer 2022. At FIU, she has studied the impact of grant funding on local government behavior in Florida as it intersects with K-12 education.
In Le’s dissertation, “Assessing the Impact of the Intergovernmental Grant Policies in Education – The Case of Florida,” she explores the extent to which Florida’s education grant programs actually achieve their intended or stated goals, particularly when it comes o opportunity equity and performance outcomes.
