Andalisa Lopez, MSW/MSSP’18

Andalisa Lopez is a 2018 graduate of the MSSP and MSW programs at the School of Social Policy & Practice at the University of Pennsylvania. Andalisa developed a passion for engaging with communities while an undergraduate student at Muhlenberg College in Allentown, PA. At Muhlenberg College, she organized various social justice and community initiatives including mobilizing students to think critically about international aid projects and volunteering at a local youth development nonprofit. Following her graduation from Muhlenberg College, Andalisa worked at a children’s literacy nonprofit organization in Washington, DC before returning to school to study both Social Work and Social Policy at SP2. While a dual-degree student, Andalisa balanced rigorous coursework with field placements at HIAS PA as a Refugee Resettlement Case Manager and as a Policy Intern at the Pennsylvania Immigration & Citizenship Coalition. While Andalisa remains deeply committed to community engagement, she became passionate about program evaluation and data analytics while completing the MSSP degree coursework. Andalisa found a position that combines both her community engagement and data analysis passions; she works as a Data & Evaluation Analyst at North Philadelphia’s Congreso de Latinos Unidos.

“SP2’s dual MSW/MSSP program provides students with a well-rounded education and ensures they are critically interrogating issues of race and economic inequality through fieldwork while preparing students to meaningfully enter policy discussions. I believe my experience at SP2 was made even richer through my dual coursework. The MSSP program, in particular, created a strong community bond among our cohort as we worked together on group projects and policy presentations. The MSSP program allowed me to explore and strengthen my understanding of quantitative analysis, program evaluation, and economics, which led me to my career as a Data & Evaluation Analyst at a multiservice nonprofit in the North Philadelphia community.”