Brady Foehl ’22.5


Markets Policy Partners, Washington, D.C.

My remote summer internship with Markets Policy Partners (MPP) was much better than I could have asked for. I learned a lot, and it prepared me well for the semester ahead, as I was reading and writing all summer. MPP is a small subscription-based firm out of D.C., and they provide financial market analysis for a broad public and private sector audience. The firm was co-founded in 2018 by Brendan Walsh and John Fagan ’95. They send out two U.S. Treasury-style briefings a day, speak on a podcast weekly, and host or feature on webinars. I enjoyed working for John and Brendan as they have lots of experience and share many of the same values as me.

The Markets Policy Partners website.

Every day I would be assigned topics to write about, including economic data as well as the major macroeconomic themes of the day. For example, I covered the state of the Biden infrastructure bill in the Senate, or I wrote about what Fed officials were saying about monetary policy guidance. I also covered any news-worthy events that had implications on the economy or global markets. I started out by writing about a third of their afternoon briefings, but by the end, I was writing more than 1,000 words a day covering five to six different topics.

MPP has also started partnering with other firms in pursuit of business opportunities. They just founded a firm called Shenandoah Partners and are looking to raise money to invest in Rare Earth Element (REE) projects. I was able to do some work for that as well, which I found really interesting and was a bonus to the experience that I was not expecting. The REE market has historically been controlled by China, and there has been a renewed focus in Congress for a reliable, domestic REE supply. They are essential materials in electric vehicles and wind turbines, as well as military defense and weapons systems. John and Brendan are working with a team of well-connected people to help support the U.S. supply. The summer was a really exciting time for MPP, and I was glad to be a part of it.

The internship built on my economic studies at Williams, and it has only made me more excited about my future economic classes. Looking ahead career-wise, John and Brendan have said that they want me to continue working for them. Although I am going to be too busy to write for MPP during the fall, they said they will invite me into conference calls with Shenandoah Partners to keep me included. I think I will do work for them throughout the year, time permitting, and I am considering working in D.C. next summer with MPP.

I would like to thank James Marver ’72 and the ’68 Center for Career Exploration, especially Dawn Dellea, for providing career support. Mr. Marver and the ’68 Center have allowed me to pursue this opportunity and have opened the door for a potential future job with MPP.