Every student’s path to Harvard Kennedy School is unique, and what our alumni go on to do after graduating is equally varied.
We asked several HKS alums to tell us about their experiences before, during, and after HKS, and to reflect how their time at HKS has shaped their careers and lives.
From pitching his company on SharkTank to creating art in his free time, Andrew Bentley MC/MPA 2020’s interests lie across various sectors—and HKS helped him transition from a career in tech to his current role as deputy commissioner for planning and policy at Minnesota Management and Budget.
Here’s what he shared.
“My time at HKS gave me the confidence to step into leadership roles in a values-oriented way, ensuring that my work is always grounded in a commitment to public service and centering people who have the most at stake in each program or policy.”
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2024Starts current job as deputy commissioner for planning and policy at Minnesota Management and Budget
As a senior executive in the management and budget department, Andrew oversees a division of 80 people and nine teams, including core agency functions such as communications and tribal affairs.
In this politically appointed position, he also serves as the statewide lead on interagency planning and policy strategy. He oversees statewide topics such as substance use disorder and children and families, and he partners with the Governor’s Office on key special projects such as the Minnesota Truth Council.
“Having a broad set of executive responsibilities means every day is an opportunity to learn something new. I enjoy the complexity of having work that stretches across the legislature, the Governor’s Office, state agencies, and communities. Even though we’ve had multiple crises in Minnesota, it’s enjoyable because people all across the state remain hopeful, and the people I work with are incredibly smart and dedicated to working as a team.”
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2023
Andrew maintains an active practice as a public artist, which he views as essential to his growth and effectiveness as a leader. In his first exhibit at the Minneapolis Institute of Art, he installed a 700-piece winter garden made of ice flowers and sculptures.
“The creative process helps me envision new possibilities in the world and understand my own spirit. In this way being an artist brings balance to the structured world of public administration, allowing me to lead with more imagination and calm.”
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2020
Andrew led the creation of the community safety policy area and worked with local governments to strengthen neighborhoods and find alternatives to harmful and costly interactions with the criminal justice system.
“I led a team that supported a multi-year project with the City of Saint Paul, Minnesota. We provided strategy and analysis to Saint Paul’s 47-person Community-First Public Safety Commission, drove the implementation of a new city-staffed Office of Neighborhood Safety, conducted and published qualitative research on St. Paul youth’s perceptions of safety and created community-based indicators of safety.”
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2020Graduates from HKS
“HKS placed a significant focus on self-management and people-management. This training has helped me navigate the realities of public sector work, specifically understanding how to implement policy and programs with minimal and often shifting resources.”
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2020
As a Transition Term fellow in in Montgomery, Alabama, Andrew advised Mayor Steven Reed, his cabinet, and his transition committee. Andrew and his classmates gave recommendations on transition strategy and city operations, including organizational structure, performance management, and equity and inclusion efforts.
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2019
Some of Andrew’s most notable classes included DPI-802M: The Arts of Communication with Professor Tim McCarthy, which helped improve his public speaking skills, and MLD-617M: Effective Implementation: Learning from Effective Implementers with Professor Francis Hartmann. This course helped Andrew understand that if he wanted to be an effective public servant, he had to figure out how to put himself in a position to succeed, handle setbacks, and learn to say no.
“HKS gave me a close group of friends from all over the world who motivate me and give me new perspectives on big professional challenges. I invested in getting to know my classmates as much as possible. The best part is that we have so much fun together.”
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2018Applies to HKS
Andrew applied to HKS because he valued public service and wanted to explore what working in government could look like. He was already proud of the work he had done in social movement building and social enterprise—he felt his next step was working more directly within government.
“I wanted my kids to see me in graduate school and know that they can do it too. I didn’t have that exposure to higher education growing up because my parents didn’t go to college. Now, my kids have two parents with advanced degrees, and I hope it helps them know that if they want to shoot for the stars academically, they can.”
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2016
Andrew transitioned from Google to being a stay-at-home parent to his two children. During this time, he founded Father Figure, a public benefit corporation designed to promote responsible fatherhood.
He was selected from 40,000 applicants to pitch the company on ABC’s Shark Tank.
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2014
The Digital Inclusion Fellowship Program is a year-long fellowship that provides professionals with the skills to bring digital equity to their communities. In the program’s second year, it provided over 70,000 hours of digital literacy training across 12 cities.
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2010Moves to South America to build and develop Google’s Latin American sales teams
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2010Works as a YouTube product specialist at Google
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2009
While at Google, Andrew co-founded Global Health Corps (GHC), a nonprofit that recruits and trains young professionals to work for public health organizations. GHC has placed more than 1,300 fellows in more than 400 organizations in the United States and Sub-Saharan Africa.
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2007Begins working at Google
Andrew began his career at Google working on an internal consulting team supporting advertising sales. During his 10 years at Google, both in the United States and South America, he focused on digital inclusion and helping families get online.
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2006Graduates from Northwestern University with a bachelor’s degree in journalism and a minor in political science
