Uniting
Research and Policy

Kerem Tasdan is a first-year MPP student at the Harris School of Public Policy, originally from Macomb, Illinois. His academic interests focus on international trade, infrastructure development, and conflict resolution. Kerem is particularly passionate about developing strategies for cross-cultural communication to more effectively convey and implement public policy.

Before joining Harris, Kerem worked as a junior associate at Mercury Public Affairs, where he supported the public affairs and political consulting teams with business development and grant research for various state and regional industries. He also interned with the Office of U.S. Senator Dick Durbin, where he directly assisted constituents and conducted outreach on a range of federal agency matters.

Kerem earned his Bachelor of Science in Political Science and Economics from Illinois State University in 2024. While on campus, he served as a Senator in the Student Government Association, an Election Fellow for the Center for Civic Engagement, and a delegate for the National Model United Nations team. He also conducted research on systemic racism and county-level median household income, along with an interdisciplinary analysis of the U.S.–Afghanistan conflict's impact on U.S.–South Asia relations.

LinkedIn:

www.linkedin.com/in/kerem-tasdan