Community Fellows Blog Posts

I am honored to have been selected as the LSB Community Fellow working in the Office of the Mayor of San Jose for the 2019-2020 academic year. Throughout my first few weeks, I have been exposed to a small army of individuals working to find creative solutions to issues facing the 10th largest city in the United States. One thing that surprised me off the bat is how small the team in the Mayor’s office is. There are probably only about 20 to 25 full time individuals researching and crafting policy proposals on everything from affordable housing to renewable energy. One group that is especially interesting is the mayor’s innovation team, who works with local technology companies and other stakeholders to plan how the city will adapt to new tech advances like driverless cars and smart data sensors.

I’m personally working on a large variety of diverse policy projects. These include researching potential treatment options for homeless individuals with addiction, addressing potential reforms in governance related to the modernization of the Caltrain system, and utilizing data on neighborhood turnover rates to better streamline efficiency in outreach. So far these projects have both built upon my prior expertise honed from Santa Clara classes and previous internship experience, while also pushing the boundaries of my knowledge and skill set. This is especially true with the political component of the office, which can be an extremely challenging landscape to navigate. I’m learning that good policy, while benefiting the community, also needs to be both technically and politically feasible. This can be extremely daunting, but finding the right formula is also very rewarding. 

Over the coming months in my fellowship, I hope to learn more about the political process, especially how the aggregation of research, stakeholder comments from the public, and a political “agenda” come together to form a logical way forward with policy. I also hope to learn about some of the specific issues facing the Bay Area and what can be learned from other areas around the country and the world at large. Overall, I’m extremely excited to work with the incredible staff in the Mayor’s office and work to drive meaningful change in my community.