It was standing room only for this year’s Professor Saul M. Katz Lecture on Economic and Social Development, as the School of Public and International Affairs and Ford Institute for Human Security welcomed Nitin Madhav (MPIA ’92 & MPH ’94) back to campus.
Students from SPIA and the School of Public Health gathered alongside staff, faculty, and community members to hear Mr. Madhav’s remarks, "The (not so good) Side Effects of Good Intentions: What happens when you don't think through policy options." Madhav drew upon his decades long career with the United States Agency for International Development (USAID) at the intersection of public health, national security, and foreign policy, sharing insights into the world of foreign policy decision-making and offering advice for those just beginning their journey.
“At some point in your lives, every one of you will have an opportunity to influence policy decision making,” he said, “whether it’s for the federal government, where you can potentially affect the lives of millions of people, at a smaller scale inside the organizations that you all will work in, or even in your own neighborhood… I’ve had the best career – and I really want that for every one of you here!”
Madhav joined USAID in 1999 as a Technical Advisor for the Child Survival Grants Program and held numerous leadership roles within the organization until its closure in July 2025. He was most recently the Director of Central Asia and Afghanistan Affairs and previously served as the Acting Deputy Assistant Administrator for Afghanistan, Officer-in-Charge for USAID’s Burma, China, Tibet, Cambodia, Mongolia and Laos Programs, and the Officer-in-Charge of Pakistan Programs. He also worked on USAID’s flagship child survival project, BASICS, backstopping programs in West Africa, Ethiopia, Eritrea and the countries of the former Soviet Union.
Throughout the lecture, Madhav encouraged students to do their homework and look beyond the immediate outcomes of policy decisions to what those choices could mean years and even generations later. He also emphasized the importance of listening to those with more experience while having the courage to speak up when bad policy decisions are being made. With anecdotes from his own life, he shared the value of leaning into community, taking advantage of opportunities when they arise, asking questions, and accepting help. 
“One way to broaden your path is to get a seat at the table,” he said. “Sit in on policy discussions, absorb ideas, and offer to do the first draft. Find mentors, get feedback, offer to be a plus one at a meeting. Thirty-five years ago, I was like you all – a student at this school. A guy from Pittsburgh with concrete ideas about my future. When that path took a turn and I found myself sitting at the table in the White House Situation Room, I felt like an imposter. But my community backed me up – they supported me and helped me prepare for the next meeting and the next until I realized I deserved a seat at that table.”
The event concluded with a question-and-answer session moderated by SPIA Associate Professor and Director of the Ford Institute Dr. Müge Finkel. Some audience members used the opportunity to tie topics mentioned by Mr. Madhav in his presentation to their research or work in the classroom, while others sought advice as they look ahead to their own careers.
The Katz Lecture was established in 1994 to carry on the work and legacy of Pitt Professor Saul M. Katz. Dr. Katz joined the Pitt faculty in 1960 as one of the founding faculty members of the school and was instrumental in shaping both the school and the fields of social and economic development through practice, teaching, research.