7.31.2018

I set up this website some five years ago as a way to for potential employers to view my writing and research samples. I thought this might be needed as I was then hoping to end up at a think tank after grad school- publishing wonderfully researched and well-written articles about all issues migration. Instead, I earned my MPA and am now two years into what will hopefully be a long career in local government.

My day to day does not involve the sort of writing I had intended to post on this website, but I do want to use this space to talk about projects that I have had the pleasure to be involved with and am currently chipping away at.

In 2017, I was tasked with coordinating the City of Aurora's first Electric Vehicle Group Buy Program. Group Buy Programs allow municipal governments or not-for-profit organizations to work with dealerships/OEMs to offer discounts on EVs and related infrastructure. The idea is to use a well-known and trustworthy platform to engage residents and let them know about state and federal tax breaks for certain EVs - as well as entice dealerships to offer further discount pricing for a short period of time for interested residents. The Denver Post and Aurora Sentinel  (link no longer available after a website revamp) - both wrote about this effort! After two years of working with a wonderful group of both private and public sector partners, the City's program was included in the Southwest Energy Efficiency Project's Handbook & Case Studies! I am immensely proud of this program and am looking forward to hosting another one this fall!

Also in 2017, I met a group of like minded volunteers at an event in Denver. We organized a Platt River clean-up event - which led to a conversation about what more we could do to ensure that the river and it's surroundings stayed clean and trash stopped making its way into the water. This question started a conversation with Denver Parks and Rec which is still ongoing. This conversation turned into a pilot recycling study that a group of three volunteers (myself included) carried out from April through July 2018. Westword called us do-gooders and gave us a bit of positive publicity. We hope our findings will lead to either a greater awareness of recycling efforts in the metro area, policy and programming changes, and even start the conversation with business owners in Denver who can be the first line of defense against recyclables that end up in our landfills.

I am also working on some interesting things for the American Pakistan Foundation - check back in another five years (ha!) and i'll post something about them! Until then, let's start a tweet chain to put all other chains to shame: @ghostofliteracy