USF 2024 Keynote Speakers

Ayush Manandhar’17, MPP is a Data and Policy Analyst at Acumen LLC/The SPHERE Institute. At Acumen, Ayush works with US government agencies including the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Service (CMS), the Office of the Assistant Secretary for Planning and Evaluation (ASPE), and the Medicare Payment Advisory Commission (MedPAC), to advance research and data-driven answers on US healthcare policy. Ayush uses econometric models and data analysis to research Medicare and Medicaid enrollment, study telehealth and Emergency Medical Services (EMS) uptake specifically among Medicare beneficiaries, and assess disparities across different sectors of the US healthcare system. He also authors policy memorandums for US government health agencies and works with them to provide support and guidance in their use of Medicare data for program implementation.

Ayush graduated Summa Cum Laude from Westminster College in 2017, majoring in Transnational Studies and Political Economy. While at Westminster, Ayush was a co-founder and Vice-President of Global Development and Progress (GDP), Editor-in-Chief of the Westminster Journal for Global Progress (WJGP), a Student Government Class Senator, a Campus Activities Board chair, and a Student Ambassador. He was also a member of the Honors Program and a recipient of the McFarland Family Scholarship. Upon graduating, Ayush spent an additional year at Westminster, this time as a member of staff working as the Intercultural Engagement Fellow at the College’s Center for Faith and Service.

After Westminster, Ayush entered graduate school at the McCourt School of Public Policy at Georgetown University, Washington, DC. During his time there, Ayush was an Editor for the Georgetown Public Policy Review (GPPR). He also interned at the World Resources Institute (WRI), researching on climate change and clean energy using data driven models.

After graduating from Georgetown with a Master in Public Policy (MPP) in 2020, he worked as an Assistant to the Ambassador at the Embassy of Nepal in Washington, DC, authoring speeches and policy reports for the Ambassador, safeguarding the Nepali diaspora during the global pandemic, while helping advance US-Nepal relations across different policy themes.

Ayush has been working at Acumen LLC/The SPHERE Institute since the fall of 2021. He is deeply passionate about public policy and believes in integrating data analysis and communications to bring positive long-term social change.