Ms Tarah Barzanji

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2011 Fulbright Postgraduate Scholar

“A number of social problems, prevalent in family homes, have historically received low priority in Australia and continue to impede happy and healthy childhood development”

Tarah Barzanji, currently working on bureaucratic performance in the US with consulting firm Monitor Group, will have the opportunity to spend two years undertaking a Master of Public Administration through a Fulbright Postgraduate Scholarship. Tarah will focus on non-profit management and social policy implementation. Her particular areas of interest are children’s and women’s welfare.

“With scarce resources, it is tempting for governments not to prioritise ‘low yielding’ social policy, where the investment does not produce immediately visible outcomes, but instead prioritise funding towards causes where results are tangible and rapid,” Tarah said.

Tarah will team a postgraduate education in social policy and non-profit management with her experience working in the former Office of the Prime Minister, Kevin Rudd, to help the non-profit sector in Australia to better deliver social policy programs.

“Working in the Prime Minister’s Office demonstrated to me the good that can be achieved through public funding of social policy,” Tarah said.

“There is a real opportunity to elevate the profile of some social problems located in the family home, which is why I am looking to postgraduate study in a program specialising in social policy and the management of the non-profit sector.”

Tarah says that the US is the home of a thriving, large non-profit sector and a culture of philanthropy, which will provide her with exposure to best practice in non-profit management. Academically, the US is one of the few countries that offer postgraduate subjects specializing in non-profit management and will give her access to academics and practitioners in the field.

Tarah has a BA and an LLB (First Class Honours) from the University of Sydney. She entered the public service through the graduate program at the Department of the Prime Minister and Cabinet and subsequently worked as an advisor in the Prime Minister’s Office. She has previously received prizes including an Australia Day Achievement Award, the John D’Arcy Memorial Prize and the Federal Minister for Education Australian Student’s Prize. Her personal interests include writing, travel, dance and soccer.

The prestigious Fulbright program is the largest educational scholarship of its kind, created by U.S. Senator J. William Fulbright and the U.S. Government in 1946. Aimed at promoting mutual understanding through educational exchange, it operates between the U.S. and 155 countries. In Australia, the scholarships are funded by the Australian and U.S. Governments and corporate partners and administered by the Australian-American Fulbright Commission in Canberra.

Tarah is one of 26 talented Australians to be recognised as a Fulbright Scholar in 2011. Applications for Fulbright Scholarships in 2012 open on 1 June, visit www.fulbright.com.au

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