Mahi Lal

Mahi Lal graduated from Harvard Kennedy School in 2026 with a Master in Public Policy focused on labor economics and international development.

Her graduate research looked at why women in Turkey drop out of the workforce after having children, using national survey data to trace how childcare access and local norms shape that decision. The project was selected for the Kennedy School’s Policy Analysis Exercise Showcase. During her time at HKS, she worked with the World Bank’s Europe and Central Asia social protection and labor team, and has also worked at NITI Aayog, India’s public policy think tank, to make vocational education more equitable.

Mahi grew up in India, and that background shapes how she thinks about policy: who gets left out of a system and why. She has also spent time outside of research working with an NGO, Muheem, and the Boys and Girls Club of Wooster.

Initial Fellowship Focus: The fellow will help streamline Lansing’s permitting and development review process by reducing turnaround times, implementing a centralized tracking platform, and establishing transparent, cross-departmental timelines and communication standards. By streamlining these processes, the city will build institutional capacity for coordinated, data-driven, and equitable service delivery in the area of permitting and beyond.