His career in public service began as a Research Assistant with the Office of Federal Housing Enterprise Oversight in Washington, D.C. from 1993-1995.

In 1999, Koppell served as a Guest Scholar at the Brookings Institution while simultaneously holding the title of Markle Fellow of the New America Foundation.

[5] Koppell joined Arizona State University in 2010 as Director of the School of Public Affairs.

[6] In 2011, he became Dean of the Watts College of Public Service & Community Solutions,[7] succeeding Debra Friedman.

[8] In 2015, Koppell launched the Public Service Academy at ASU, a four-year program of classes, hands-on experiences and internships to create working relationships between civilians and military personnel and collaborations among the public, private and non-profit sectors.