It’s summertime, and the interns are busy! The DowntownDC BID is very pleased to welcome Marisa Lau and nine youth from the D.C. Department of Employment Services’ (DOES) Summer Youth Employment Program (SYEP).
Marisa is an urban parks intern in the Infrastructure & Sustainability department. She is assisting with planning to improve BID area parks, focusing primarily on the Franklin Park project. Originally from New Jersey, Marisa graduated from Williams College, where she majored in political science and art history. Last year, she earned a master’s degree in city planning from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT). She has interned with the National Parks Conservation Association and served as the membership coordinator for the City Parks Alliance and the National Association for Olmsted Parks. Marisa was awarded a U.S. Fulbright grant to Cyprus for the upcoming year. Her research will focus on bi-communal strategies for water sustainability in Nicosia, the divided capital.
This year, the BID welcomes a new corps of interns from the SYEP. The D.C. residents, some of whom are college students, will experience firsthand the challenges and opportunities in the business world. They are working throughout the BID as office assistants or as maintenance aides.
They are:
- Jacqueline Bailey – Public Space Management
- Courney Chase – Public Space Management
- Raenika Dicks – Operations
- Jovan Gibbs – Finance Department
- Jamelle Harris – National Cherry Blossom Festival
- Christian Hill — Operations
- Crucita Membreno – Communications Department
- Kenneth Riley – Operations
- Dajhuan Soard – Operations
This year marks the 10th anniversary of the BID’s partnership with DOES, which attracted 14,927 SYEP participants. They are employed by 492 public and private sector employers in D.C. and neighboring jurisdictions.
Said Gerren Price, DOES’ associate director of youth programs: “There’s almost no other thing as important as having a summer job. Research shows it’s extremely critical to the future success of young people who, in this economy, may not have had the chance to work if not for this program.”