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Civic Collaboration
Civic Collaboration is the second summer in the Summer Enrichment Program. Teams of scholars work together to take a deep dive into a city issue, collaborating with local change-makers, and determining how they might contribute to the cause in their own way.
In 2022–2023, fifteen Civic Collaboration scholar teams spent their summers in fifteen cities within North America. Read more about their projects below.
Civic Collaboration Projects, Hosts
Alberta, Canada
Calgary
The City of Calgary is expected to lead economic growth nationally and benefit greatly from the energy transition. However, it faces a challenge when it comes to attracting young tech talent from the United States and elsewhere. This team was tasked with developing actionable recommendations for Calgary to consider as it seeks to improve attractiveness and enhance competitiveness for young tech talent.
Scholars: Isa Alghorazi ’26, Chloe Gosnell ’26, Akshat Kaushik ’26, and Isabella Tunney ’26
Project focus: Attracting young tech talent
Alabama
Birmingham
Birmingham Promise provides up to four years of tuition assistance for graduates of Birmingham City Schools to attend any public two-year or four-year college or university in Alabama. This team investigated how the organization can partner with the local business community to ensure more graduates of Birmingham City Schools can enter the workforce with internship, apprenticeship, and mentorship opportunities.
Scholars: Thierry Charles ’26, Sarina Horner ’26, Ella Larson ’26, and Vish Ravichandran ’26
Project focus: Expanding youth apprenticeships
Arkansas
Bentonville
Whole Health Institute and Alice Walton School of Medicine
Whole Health Institute is a nonprofit that addresses physical, mental, emotional, and social well-being by working with health systems, partners, employers, and communities to redesign healthcare delivery. This team worked closely with Whole Health to understand how the organization can transform health and wellness in the U.S., starting with Northwest Arkansas as a model.
Scholars: Olu Kopano ’26, Isabel Lucas ’26, Stella Smolowitz ’26, and Spencer Thomson ’26
Project focus: Improving healthcare
California
San Diego
This team worked closely with the San Diego Housing Commission on its Digital Equity and Inclusion project. The team researched ways in which the San Diego Housing Commission can provide broadband services to public housing residents, either through public-private partnerships or increased outreach about pre-existing programs.
Scholars: Lara Gastelumendi ’26, Emma Lewis ’26, Snehasri Pothanker ’26, and Lourdes Reyes ’26
Project focus: The digital divide
Colorado
Centennial
Centennial is a city within the Denver Metro area of 110,000 people and thousands of businesses. The city was formed in 2001 from a collection of diverse neighborhoods. The team provided research and insight regarding water conservation for city residents.
Scholars: Kayla Engler ’26, Hattie Hensley ’26, Riley Jo Holland ’26, Emma Johnson ’26, and Layan Qaimari ’26
Project: Water conservation
Colorado Springs
Pikes Peak Community Foundation
This team partnered with the Pikes Peak Community Foundation to seek out, analyze, organize, and find commonality among the various strategic plans for the region, identify where there is overlap, and identify areas of opportunity for aligned spending to achieve shared goals.
Scholars: Brook Cheuvront ’26, Sawyer Husain ’26, Charles Konkolics ’26, and Noa Roxborough ’26
Project focus: Expanding grant-making opportunities
Illinois
Chicago
The Justice Journey Alliance, Leadership Foundation of Chicago (JJALFOC)
The JJALFOC has developed EQUALS, an interracial, peer-to-peer mentoring platform where employees can develop the confidence needed to be champions for change. This team worked closely with JJALFOC to better understand what conversations are occurring throughout the workplace, what changes towards racial equity have or have not been seen, and how to attract companies and partners in the Chicago area to be a part of the change.
Scholars: Samuel Johnson ’26, Trinity Sanders ’26, and Gracie Young ’26
Project focus: Diversity in business
Maryland
Baltimore
Morgan CARES is a hub for community and academic leaders to connect and form long-lasting partnerships. The organization strives to foster community-campus relationships that produce collaborative projects to promote health parity. This team worked closely with Morgan CARES to conduct a needs assessment to identify the current barriers to, and beliefs about clinical research.
Scholars: Alejandro Herrera ’26, Iman Mukhtar ’26, Wehazit Mussie ’26, Jacob Rose ’26, and Kailey Wadsworth ’26
Project focus: Diversity in clinical research
Michigan
Grand Rapids
The Koeze Business Ethics Initiative
This team worked with Koeze Business Ethics Initiative (KBEI) to research ways KBEI’s partner, Corewell Health, can improve the lives of community members who’ve historically had difficulty accessing a wide range of health services.
Scholars: Gowri Abhinanda ’26, Jazlyn Dunn ’26, Sashank Ganapathiraju ’26, Rotimi Kukoyi ’26, and Martha Plaehn ’26
Project focus: Expanding healthcare access
Minnesota
Minneapolis
Minnesota Interfaith Power & Light
Climate change is one of the most pressing issues in our society, as it impacts nearly every aspect of our lives. This team investigated the Inflation Reduction Act and whether the provisions and funding are accessible to all or if there are gaps between the legislative concepts and its implementation.
Scholars: Esah Argawal ’26, Eleanor Blount ’26, Elias Guedira ’26, and Kyran Taylor ’26
Project focus: Climate justice
New Mexico
Albuquerque
City of Albuquerque Mayor’s Office
The City of Albuquerque is a local municipal government located in New Mexico. It is the largest city in New Mexico and currently ranks 32nd largest in the United States. This team worked closely with the City to better understand how it can formalize an intern/apprenticeship program for young people and form a talent pipeline that benefits the varying needs of different city departments.
Scholars: Katie Fear ’26, Le Ha ’26, Jackson Miller ’26, Maanya Rajesh ’26, and Spence Whitman ’26
Project focus: City government staffing challenges
Ohio
Cleveland
This team worked closely with Policy Bridge to organize leaders and help establish an urban agenda that would engage all key decision-makers in developing shared metrics for success.
Scholars: Genevieve Holliday ’26, Mikaela Johnson ’26, Aayas Joshi ’26, Matthew Owusu ’26, and Chloe Pearson ’26
Project focus: Economic mobility
Final presentation #1 (PDF)
Final presentation #2 (website)
South Carolina
Charleston
Historic Charleston Foundation
The Historic Charleston Foundation has seen a movement in Charleston communities, many underrepresented in historical narrative, to seek ways to preserve their communities, traditions, landscapes, and buildings. This team was tasked with learning about current community-led preservation efforts, the people doing the work, neighborhood preservation values and ethics, and how the Historic Charles Foundation can catalyze and provide support.
Scholars: Avery Elder ’26, Deborah Kargbo ’26, Toby Posel ’26, Ellie Sellers ’26, and Luis Valdivia-Diego ’26
Project focus: Historic preservation in disenfranchised communities
Tennessee
Chattanooga
The Enterprise Center works in a variety of spaces throughout the City of Chattanooga. This team was tasked with a dilemma related to public health and the social determinants of health. The team explored questions such as, “What are the ways in which infrastructure, especially technologically enhanced infrastructure, can impact the quality of life, health, and happiness of residents?”
Scholars: Mark Dingfelder ’26, Flavia Nunez Ludeiro ’26, Colin O’Hagerty ’26, and Aditi Sengupta ’26
Project: The social determinants of health
Memphis
Memphis is a large, sprawling city in Shelby County, Tennessee. Due in part to the city’s geographic size, low density, and lack of adequate funding for public transportation, Memphis is one of the most car-dependent cities in the country. This team worked closely with Innovate Memphis on the Transit Vision plan to redesign the city’s bus network and provide more access to opportunities for residents.
Scholars: Emma Coye ’26, Maya DeCoux ’26, Emma Montero ’26, Anna Cathryn Perry ’26, Lauryn Taylor ’26
Project focus: Improving public transit
