Ishaan Barrett

I am a current Senior at Columbia University, majoring in Political Science and Urban Studies. Originally from Washington, DC, I attended the Maret School before moving to New York for college.

My research broadly engages with questions in architectural theory, economics, public policy, and urban affairs. My previous work centers on contemporary urbanism in DC and New York; mayoral governance in New York City; architectural design and urban planning; and public policy analysis and immigration law.

I have been featured in the New York Review of Architecture and published in URBAN magazine at Columbia University GSAPP, the Harvard Urban Review, the Columbia Policy Journal, Pidgin Magazine at the Princeton School of Architecture, PLATFORM, and The Barnard-Columbia Urban Review, of which I was the former Editor-In-Chief. I am the former President of Columbia Global Research and Consulting, a social impact consulting group at Columbia University that works with nonprofits around the world, concentrating on government, education, and public health.

Currently, I work as a Columnist for the Columbia Political Review (CPR) and formerly wrote a column at the Columbia Daily Spectator. My work at Spectator has been featured in the Alex Wagner Podcast "Trumpland" on MSNBC. I have previously held positions at the New York Mayor's Office of Immigrant Affairs (MOIA), FTI Consulting, and have been selected for numerous competitive research fellowships within and beyond Columbia.

I serve as the Founder and Principal of the Urban Equity Institute (UEI), a close-knit global think tank dedicated to tackling pressing, interdisciplinary social issues through innovative research. At UEI, I am also the Co-Director of the Democracy and Public Policy Practice (DPP), which leads policy work and research on democratic governance and policy reform. I also co-direct UEI's Policy Intelligence Lab (PI-Lab) that develops public sector scholarship using Machine Learning and AI-assisted research.

Affiliations

Columbia College B.A., Political Science & Urban Studies
Middlebury College Diploma, Arabic Language
Urban Equity Institute Founder & Principal
Barnard-Columbia Urban Review Former Editor-in-Chief