JAMES RAMPERSAD

(631) 459-3562 | jmanrampersad@gmail com | https://www linkedin com/in/james-rampersad/

Education

Howard University Washington, D.C.

Bachelor of Arts in Economics, Minor in Philosophy

August 2019 - May 2023

Relevant Coursework: Community Development, Urban Economics, Intermediate Macro & Micro Economics, Capital & Banking

Professional Experience

Enterprise Community Partners | Asset Management Intern | Baltimore/Silver Spring, MD

June 2023 - Present

● Monitor performance of operating properties, evaluate periodic financial statements, annual budgets, and audits for Community Development portfolio, conduct site visits for assessment, assist in property insurance claims

Project Destined | Ambassador | Washington, D.C./Remote

November 2022 - Present

● Expand the mission of financial empowerment by effectively communicating to students and institutions about the commercial real estate internship, resulting in enrolling 5,000+ college and high school students in the program

● Collaborated with Senior Leadership to strategically organize an on-campus information session on the signature commercial real estate program, reached out to over 20 HBCU institutions, and subsequently received the title of HBCU Hero Ambassador

CBRE HBCU Bridge Program Fellow/Lead | Remote October 2022 - November 2022/February 2023 - April 2023

● Corresponded with 10 representatives in the Diversity, Equity, & Inclusion department at one of the largest commercial real estate and investment firms, CBRE, gained vital advice and world application, methods of inspiration, and the willingness to pursue

● Interpreted discussions and onboarded 50+ fellow students from Historically Black Colleges & Universities, became the bridge for the sponsored speakers through weekly meetings, updated the fellows on required tasks such as LinkedIn posts, etiquette, etc.

Annaly U S Residential Mortgage Markets Bridge Program Fellow | Remote February 2023 - March 2023

● Learn from professionals of Annaly Capital Management Inc. about the housing finance industry, mortgage markets, and sizable U S fixed-income asset classes, including loan to value ratio, interest rates, amortization, among more topics

Communications Manager | Remote October 2022 - December 2022

● Drafted, edited, and sent out mass marketing emails to thousands of potential candidates worldwide to apply for the internship

● Promoted special program opportunities and events to attract more talent and renew interest

Affordable Housing Development & Financing Bridge Program Fellow | Remote

September 2022 - November 2022

● Taught by 30 affordable housing professionals from Beacon Communities, Eden Housing, and Housing Partnership Network on the fundamentals and causes for the lack of housing, the tools and resources to reduce housing costs, along with more inclusivity

● Gained valuable knowledge, from Low-Income Housing Tax Credits to firsthand building of shelters for addicts and the homeless Commercial Real Estate Intern, Team Brookfield Properties D.C. | Washington, D.C./Remote

May 2022 - August 2022

● Evaluated and presented an investment memo of a property in Northwest Washington, D C with a team of 15 students to real estate professionals from Cushman & Wakefield, JLL, Newmark, Tishman Speyer, etc., placing 3rd in the worldwide competition

● Hands-on experience at a Brookfield Properties project in construction, along with one of their professional offices

BLK Capital Management, Corp. | Community Member | Remote

February 2023 - Present

● Attend weekly lectures from executive board speakers and corporate sponsors with this student-run nonprofit that focuses on educating members on the field of active investment management, accomplished through real-time investing across the globe

LEADERSHIP & DEVELOPMENT

National Black MBA Association | Business and Economic Development Committee | Washington, D C

● Organize speaking events ranging from guests in education, entrepreneurship, hospitality, and more

African American Real Estate Professionals DC | Young Professionals Committee | Washington, D C

February 2023 - Present

February 2023 - Present

● Educate members on the state of the real estate industry and how to support one another by forming connections through panel discussions, prominent professional association known for its programs and activities, broader scope for diversity in the sectors Management Leadership for Tomorrow | Turn Pro Participant | Washington, D C /Remote November 2022 - Present

● Selected to engage in this professional development MLT program for high-achieving diverse talent; complete business case studies and intensive projects to hone analytical, quantitative, and communication skills; attend conferences hosted by leaders across a myriad of leaders, including consulting, consumer packaged goods and healthcare, financial services, and technology

Alternative Spring Break | Participant/Team Leader | San Juan, Puerto Rico/El Paso, Texas

March 2022/March 2023

● Renovated the Connected Life Puerto Rico local bilingual church, drill-cut metal, and cleared out trees & debris within neighboring gardens and sidewalks, with a team of over 25 individuals; Developed pathways to food & housing stability for youth

AFFILIATIONS & SKILLS

Affiliations: BeGreatDC, Black Commercial Real Estate Network, Black Professionals in International Affairs, CNHED, Greater Washington Urban League, Housing Association of Nonprofit Developers, NAHRO, National Association of Black Accountants, National Economic Association, Omicron Delta Epsilon, Real Estate Board of New York, Scholars of Finance, Society for Financial Education & Professional Development, Sponsors for Educational Opportunity, The Council of Urban Real Estate, UNA-NCA

Interests/Languages: Economic Inclusion, Entrepreneurship, Mentorship, Real Estate & Impact Investment; Spanish and Swahili

Profile

Self-driven and multi-skilled researcher at the Brookings Institution Africa Growth Initiative (AGI). Proven leadership experiences and demonstrated skills in Stata, statistical analysis, data management, and data cleaning, with a strong background in research focusing on impact evaluations, education policy, employment policy, trade and regional integration, climate change, and gender. Additionally, I possess knowledge in qualitative analysis techniques, including text mining and text analysis.

Prior experience working as a Consultant Analyst at the World Bank, as an Analyst at the Ministry of Economics Finance in Togo, and as a Research Assistant with the University of North Texas and the University of Ottawa,

Education

Master in Economics of Development

Vanderbilt University, Nashville, Tennessee

Bachelor of Arts in Economics and Mathematics

Rutgers University, New Brunswick, New Jersey

May 2022

May 2019

May 2016 Oklahoma City Community College, Oklahoma City, Oklahoma

Associate of Science in Business

Relevant Coursework

Mathematics: First-year Ph.D. course in Statistics Analysis, Real Analysis, Elementary Differential Equation, Linear Optimization, Mathematical Theory of Probability, Mathematical Theory of Statistics, Linear Algebra, Multivariable Calculus, Calculus.

Economics: Microeconomics, Macroeconomics, Econometrics, Economics of Poverty and Discrimination, Economics of Forecasting and Big Data, Project Evaluation, Macroeconomics Research, Excel Spreadsheet Macros (VBA) for IT application.

Blog Posts And Publications

• "Jump-starting Africa’s economic recovery in a post-pandemic world: A conversation with African policymakers " (with Chris Heitzig) Washington, D.C.: Brookings Institution (November 7, 2022).

• "Figure of the week: Figure of the week: Access to water, sanitation, and hygiene (WASH) services in sub-Saharan Africa" (with Tamara White) Washington, D.C.: Brookings Institution (March 2022).

• "Figure of the week: Labor trends for women in Africa" (with Tamara White) Washington, D.C.: Brookings Institution (March 2022).

• "Figure of the week: Vaccine inequity in Africa" (with Tamara White) Washington, D.C.: Brookings Institution (February 2022).

• "Africa in the news: Major oil and gas discovery in Namibia; coup d’état in Burkina Faso; and COVID update" (With Leo Holtz, and Abraham White) Washington, D.C.: Brookings Institution (January 2022).

Skills

• Software: Excel and Excel VBA (excellent), Stata (excellent), R (Intermediate), Python (Beginner), Nvivo, Concur

• Language skills: Fluent in French, Hausa, Ewe, and Moba.

• Technical Skills: Data Analysis, Research, Communication (writing), Problem Solving, Team Building, Attention to Detail.

Research Experience

Brookings Institution, Research Analyst, Africa Growth Initiative (AGI)

Summer 2022 - Present

• Successfully launched over 15 public and private events within a year, engaging high-level African policymakers, including the President of Botswana, African ministers, central bank governors, and the African Union Ambassador to the USA.

• Associate Producer of the Foresight Africa Podcast: responsibilities include writing podcast summaries and titles, as well as editing audio and transcripts. The podcast is the only Brookings Podcasts to enter a second season.

• Researching the impact of the African Growth and Opportunity Act (AGOA) on economic development in African countries: this involved drafting a comprehensive literature review on AGOA, analyzing its trends and utilization rates over the past 25 years, and examining its effects on workers, underserved communities, regional integration, and economic development.

• Led strategic initiatives in climate change, trade & regional integration, and technology & innovation by developing a comprehensive framework to guide research and drive impactful development outcomes over the next 3-year period.

• Prepared visualizations for AGI's annual flagship report, Foresight Africa 2023, which entailed data cleaning, analysis, and identification of economic indicators to be included in the report's graphics.

• Serving as the primary researcher on AGI's strategic priorities in trade and regional integration, climate change, and gender.

• Overseeing event conceptualization and management, articulating objectives and target audience in collaboration with scholars.

• Review invoices to ensure accuracy, facilitated the director's approval, coded p-card charges in Concur in collaboration with the Finance Manager, and submit expense reports as well as p-card statements to the Finance team.

Brookings Institution, Research Intern, Africa Growth Initiative

• Drafted economic news analysis and policy analysis reports for various African countries.

• Conducted data gathering, cleaning, and interpretation, utilizing statistical analysis techniques in Excel.

Spring 2022

• Performed thorough literature reviews and effectively presented research findings using tables, charts, and figures.

The World Bank Group, Analyst (consultant)

• Executed literature reviews on unemployment protection policies during COVID-19.

Spring 2021

• Produced data cleaning and analysis using STATA to present charts and graphs for employing workers' historical trends.

• Prepared presentation for economists on the employing workers of “The Doing Business 2021” report.

• Provided research assistance for contributors and reforms in 190 countries and translated surveys from English to French.

University of North Texas, Research Assistant

Fall 2021- Spring 2022

• Collaborated with Professor Hanchen (Raphael) Jiang on policy issues of employment, poverty, and inequality using Difference in Difference (DID) or Randomized Assignment (RA).

• Analyzed critical literature reviews on human capital formation and skills formation using JabRef for article collection.

The Palladium Group, Qualitative Analyst Intern

Summer 2021

• Drafted a research paper on the level of effectiveness of the Economic Growth practice’s performances from 2010 to 2020

• Completed text mining and text analysis to identify useful common indicators and effect sizes from previous projects using R and NVIVO.

• Examined project costs benefits analysis and synthesized project impacts.

• Administered monitoring, evaluation, and learning (MEL) support to the Economic Growth (EG) practice.

• Implemented and maintained a knowledge management database and learning activities plan for the EG practice.

Vanderbilt University, Project Evaluation Researcher

Fall 2021

• Examined the impact of the fictionalized case of the Health Insurance Subsidy Program (HISP) on health-related out-of pocket expenditures for low-income households.

• Used STATA to apply on HISP dataset, the causal inference methods of Randomized Assignment, Difference-in Differences, Instrumental Variable, Regression discontinuity design, and Matching.

The University of Ottawa Department of Economics, Research Assistant Summer 2019 – Fall 2019

• Provided research assistantship to Professor Roland Pongou.

• Literature review on the determinants of mental health and the impact of mental health on education.

• Collected data on lineage type and merge them with Demographic and Health Surveys through STATA.

Ministry of Economics and Finance of Togo, Research Analyst

• Interpreted and provided graphs on the short-term economic and financial reports.

• Analyzed the short-term implications of socio-economic and sectoral policies.

• Verified whether the Department respond to the regulations of the Central Bank of West African States.

Summer 2017

Moore Statistics Consulting LLC, Intern Winter 2019

• Offered Lecturer on R programming to an audience of 25 people and provided codes necessary to run Time Series Plots and Sample statistics in R.

• Worked on Stata programming software by running regression and building graphs.

Microfinance Institution- Mutuelle d’épargne et de crédit Islamique du Togo, Intern

• Informed customers on the Islamic free interest rate loans at-home visits and in-person office visits.

• Calculated interest rates and opportunity costs between normal loans vs Islamic interest-free loans.

• Managed multi-line telephone system and balanced cash collected and monetary funds.

Teaching And Work Experience

Vanderbilt University, Department of Economics, GPED Tutor

Summer 2012

Fall 2021 – Spring 2022

• Tutoring theory of microeconomics, Econometrics, and Statistics Analysis to first-year master’s students.

• Assisting students with their homework, and test preparation, and helping review concept gaps.

Vanderbilt University, Department of Economics, Math Camp Instructor

Summer 2021

• Taught incoming students the math concepts they will need to be successful in the first-year core courses such as microeconomics, macroeconomics, statistics analysis, and econometrics.

• Built a curriculum for the first year of the Graduate Program in Economics of Development (GPED).

• Constructed Assignment, graded, and formulated a grading scheme.

Oklahoma City Community College, Accounting Lab Tutor Fall 2015 - Spring 2016

• Tutored Financial accounting and Managerial accounting.

• Instructed students on how to maintain double-entry bookkeeping of each financial transaction that a company makes.

• Created financial statement, Income statement, Balance sheet, and Statement of stockholders' equity

Leadership

EXPERIENCE, VOLUNTEERING,

And Community Services

Graduate Program in Economics of Development (GPED) Student Representatives

• Organized academic, social, and other activities significant to the graduate community.

• Collaborate to ascertain and represent graduate student opinions and concerns to school administration.

Civic Honor and Campus Impact Program, Volunteer Fall 2014-Summer 2015

2021-2022

• Offered over ninety hours of intensive volunteering work on and off-campus at the different agencies in Oklahoma City that needed volunteers.

• Volunteered with: Alzheimer Association, Christmas Connection, Moore–Lindsay House Museum, Food Bank, etc

Douglass Student Recruitment Network, Community Service Leader August 2016- May 2019

• Hosted overnight programs to orient prospective students to join the Douglass Residential College.

• Designed and developed activities with other organizations to enhance student interest in women's leadership programs.

• Organized group volunteering activities in new Brunswick’s volunteering agencies to give back to the community.

Douglass Residential College Program, Douglass Woman Fall 2016 – Spring 2019

• Women empowerment program that prepares women for 21st-century leadership and success.

• Introduced to different theories of feminism, women's rights, and the history of women's leadership.

HONORS, AWARDS, AND ACCOMPLISHMENTS

• Brookings Global Spot Award, for hosting successful public and private events, May 2023

• Vanderbilt College of Arts & Science Fellowship, Fall 2020 – Spring 2022

• Dean List, Spring 2017, Fall 2018

• Douglass residential college Scholarship, September 2018- May 2019

• Awarded a Certificate in Financial Economics, May 2019

• Awarded a Certificate from Doug las Residential College as Douglas Woman, May 2019

• International Student scholarships, Spring 2015- Spring 2016

Education

University of North Georgia