Aparna Priyadarshi

• Manage a team of five research analysts in conducting prospect research for the University of Illinois Chicago (UIC), including: (i) providing managerial oversight and direction on supporting their assigned Advancement units (ii) conducting portfolio reviews, (iii) supporting professional development • Work with the Director of Research at the Foundation and Vice Chancellors within UIC Advancement on higher-level strategic initiatives including portfolio optimization initiatives and data modernization efforts across the University of Illinois system, refining prospect management policies, hiring, and managing resources

• Led a 7-member team in implementing a $2M Harvard University research study, an impact evaluation which measured the impact of a mobile-based advisory service on 14,000 rice farmers via a randomized controlled trial (RCT) approach Title: “Evaluating the Impact of a Digital Agriculture Advisory Program in India” • Led key RCT management areas, including data collection execution, finalizing the research design with Principal Investigators, managing stakeholder relationships (government officials and donors), and managing research associates • Led the design, planning, and implementation of Crop Cutting Experiments (CCEs) over two seasons on the ground to obtain ground-truth rice yields to calibrate the study’s remote sensing-based yield measurement model • Developed a systemized approach to improving programmatic advisory content to increase farmer adoption of recommendations • Conducted an A/B test that measured the impact of sending SMS messages with customized fertilizer recommendations • Led the execution of a new mobile-based service which sends coffee farmers customized weather forecast alerts

Managed the Data Analytics team in implementing the following two Python-based tools I created: • A time-series based ARIMA model in Python to forecast the average maize price ($/kg) in Nigeria in future months • A machine learning-based risk assessment tool in Python using a ‘random forest’ algorithm to predict farmers' creditworthiness using psychometric survey responses • Led the field team in administering a psychometric survey I designed to 6,000+ farmers to collect data on farmer credit risk Babban Gona ('Great Farm' in Hausa) is an award-winning, highly scalable social enterprise, which offers training and development, financial credit, agricultural inputs, and harvest & marketing support to smallholder farmers in Nigeria.

Awarded the Isaac Anderson Rauch Award for Excellence in a Capstone Project, given to "the student team that has produced the best overall Capstone workshop project. The winning team is selected on the basis of analytical rigor, quality of final deliverables, and the potential impact of the project." • Created a risk assessment tool in Python using a 'random forest' machine learning algorithm built to evaluate prospective farmers' potential creditworthiness; wrote an extensive step-by-step documentation guide on how to use the tool • Conducted a thorough data analysis and evaluation of Babban Gona's current risk assessment procedure for evaluating farmers in their credit program • Developed a psychometric survey for Babban Gona to administer to prospective farmers for their program; survey informed by a literature review on psychometric testing in the agricultural sector • Authored a report titled "Improving Farmer Selection for the Babban Gona Farmer Agricultural Franchise in Nigeria"

• Led a team in performing data analyses using business intelligence software, regularly presented analyses to Research & Sales Management • Performed data & statistical analyses in Excel on key research metrics, enabling Research Management to make decisions on optimizing department’s time with clients, analyst compensation, employee headcount, and stocks under research coverage • Built programs in Visual Basic to generate standard & ad-hoc performance reports, resulting in a more efficient process of providing performance data to ~200 equity analysts • Created and hosted a firmwide panel event: “Communicating with Clients”, attended by employees across 5 core firm divisions at Morgan Stanley's headquarters

Vytegra, Russia (2013) • Completed a research project on retail business in Vytegra, concluding that Vytegra has shifted to a free market economy since the collapse of the Soviet Union. Senior thesis: “An Economic Analysis of the Small Retail Market in Vytegra” • Interviewed Vytegra’s Municipal Head of Economics and local customers, asking questions on pricing of goods, local tax practices, business ownership, and credit accessibility Monrovia, Liberia (2012) • Through USAID’s Excellence in Higher Education for Liberian Development (EHELD) program, constructed a cost/benefit analysis for a grant proposal’s request to install 25.9 MW solar panels for the University of Liberia-Fendell campus’s Engineering Building in replacement of its diesel generators, finding $360,000+ in savings/year • Along with two teaching fellows from Michigan’s Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering, aided the design and implementation of an irrigation system for a vegetable farm in Kpondeh’s Town village

Courses Taken: Advanced Microeconomics Advanced Macroeconomics Advanced Economic Development (STATA) Principles of Accounting Emerging Capital Markets: Theory & Practice Quantitative Analysis II (STATA) Quantitative Methods in Program Evaluation (STATA) Data Analysis for Policy Research & Program Evaluation (STATA) Computing in Context (Python) Finance for the World’s Poorest - Microfinance Methods in Development Practice Capstone Workshop in Develoment Practice (Babban Gona) Impact Evaluation Methods in Development Columbia Business School - Social Entrepreneurship Conceptual Foundations (International Relations Theory & Applications) Political Development in the Developing World Political Risk Analysis Leading & Managing in Moments of Adversity and Opportunity Intermediate Hindi II Professional Development