Placement: Department of Public Works: Budget, Finance & Performance Division

Projects: The Department of Public Works designs, builds, operates, maintains, greens and improves the city’s infrastructure, facilities, streets and other public rights-of-way. My primary focus is on assessing the handling procedure for requests from the public for DPW services, such as pothole repair or tree pruning, routed to the department through the city’s central 311 Calling Center. I am involved with finding and addressing roadblocks that might prevent proper response to a request.

Hometown: Fremont, CA

School: University of California, Berkeley

Fields of Study: B.A. Development Studies and Minor in Public Policy

Selected Honors: Commencement Speaker, Department of International and Area Studies, UC Berkeley, 2008; California Alumni Association Emerging Leadership Scholar, 2003-2008; UC Berkeley Barbara Rosenthal Israel Scholar, 2006-2008; Asian American Journalists Association Scholar, 2006; Goldman Sachs Global Leadership Scholar, New York, 2006

Selected Activities and Community Involvement: Editor in Chief & President, The Daily Californian, Berkeley; Speaker, Islamic Networks Group, San Francisco Bay Area

Prior Work Experience: Project Director, Haath Mein Sehat, Hubli, India ’08 (managed development of urban slum area water quality and sanitation improvement program); US Department of State, New Delhi, India ’07 (researched and wrote cables as an intern for the Economic Section of the Embassy); Houston Chronicle, Houston, Texas ’05 (wrote articles as an intern for the business section of the paper)

Why San Francisco is important to me: It has been an honor and privilege to live so close to this dynamic city from a young age. Public policy developments in San Francisco – be they related to climate change, health care or human rights – are monitored around the world and can often serve as a model for change in other locations. I know I could learn a great deal from working within the city’s ranks!ks!

Something unique about me: I backpacked from Istanbul to Cairo in the summer of 2009.

What I’m Doing Now: I’m in graduate school at Oxford, studying global public health.