Stephen Winkler '12: How Curiosity Fuels International Impact

To this day, Winkler has curiosity and drive to not just find the first or simplest solution, but the most impactful one: a mindset he cultivated during his time as a political science major at Emmanuel College.

Since 2019, Winkler has been working for the World Bank, a multilateral development bank working to boost growth and eliminate poverty in developing countries. He started as a consultant, leading the evaluation of a community development project in Myanmar, which included a blend of field work, analysis and research.

The bulk of his work focuses on community-driven development and forced displacement. As a Social Development Specialist from 2020 to 2024, Winkler managed research programs and advised World Bank implementation teams and governments in over 16 countries on how to design and evaluate development projects.

“I’m someone who isn’t the most traditional thinker on development,” he said. “For example, I’m always asking, ‘what if we try this? What if we challenge this whole system?’”

He began building a habit for thinking outside-the-box back in 2008 after stepping into some of his first international relations courses with Associate Professor of Political Science, Dr. Petros Vamvakas. 

“The discussions in those courses just blew my mind,” Winkler said. “They created this endless curiosity in us. Even when we thought we were getting close to the solution, it was made clear there is always another layer to consider.”

From those first few seminars, Winkler saw the foundation of his career path: combining a fascination with the complexities of political and economic systems and a desire to do community-focused work where it is needed most.

He then delved deeper into the subject matter at Emmanuel and chose a concentration in international relations and comparative politics. Winkler’s first big travel experience, studying abroad in Ghana, connected the theories and concepts he’d studied in the classroom to people’s lived experiences.

That continued at his first job after graduation in Nairobi, Kenya, for a startup NGO. There he worked in the field, helping with civic engagement programs and surveys and interviews that would inform the startup’s work to support education for children in urban, informal settlements.

“I’ve worked all over the world, and Emmanuel was really key to that,” Winkler said. He grew up in Kansas, but sought out Emmanuel to immerse himself in the city of Boston.

After a few years, he transitioned from field work to graduate school, which would set him up for all the subsequent years of research he did for the World Bank. Winkler received a master’s and a doctorate in political science from the University of Washington and conducted research on public opinion and political behavior in East Africa, funded by a National Science Foundation (NSF) grant he received.

From the first time he sat in a political science seminar at Emmanuel to this day, Winkler has continued to fuel his mindset with an eagerness to learn and challenge his own ideas.

In his current role as an Innovation Officer at the World Bank, that’s his primary goal. Using his research experience and real-world insight, he helps enact innovative approaches to community and economic development.

He credited Emmanuel’s interdisciplinary approach for helping instill that mindset in him and his fellow Saints.

“The different ideas and perspectives from every course at Emmanuel can apply to any field. I learned so much from my Art History course with [Professor of Art] Cynthia Fowler, and my research methods course with [Associate Professor of Political Science] Dr. Adam Silver helped me apply a rigorous framework to my curiosities.”

And from the political science department in particular, Winkler said he built the habits that are foundational in his career every single day – “a continuous circle of curiosity to turn critical thinking into problem-solving.”