Michael Cianos

Graduate Student
MA Cohort 2016

Specialization

Political Economy, Sustainable Development and the Environment

Education

Prior to completeing his Bachelor of Arts degree in Philosophy at the University of Maryland, Mike spent two of his undergraduate years at UC Santa Barbara.

Bio

In the years since college, Mike spent most of his time as an entrepreneur. Shortly after graduating, he sold a college services business that he ran for two years. After that he ran a mobile app startup for 18 months before deciding he wanted to build a career in the NGO sector. Mike took an extended internship at FINCA International, where he worked in the Social Enterprise and Financial Innovation department. Over the course of the internship, he helped architect a training program for women and youth and authored a successful $250,000 grant proposal to the UNCDF for an innovative high-volume low-denomination loan project-- both of which were based in Uganda.

Mike is currently interested in the role of social enterprise and impact investing in sustainable development, mostly in Latin America and Sub-Saharan Africa. He plans on focusing his research in this area, specifically focusing on the Sustainable Development track.

Courses

Teaching Assistant (F'16): GLOBL 2 - Global Socioeconomic and Political Processes

Teaching Assistant (W'17): GLOBL 1 - Global History, Culture, and Ideology

Teaching Assistant (S'17): GLOBL 110 - Global Culture and Ethics

Teaching Assistant (S'18): GLOBL 2 - Global Socioeconomic and Political Processes