Placement: San Francisco Public Utilities Commission – Power Enterprise, Community Choice Aggregation Program (CleanPowerSF)

What I Worked On: Pursuant to California State Assembly Bill 117, San Francisco elected to become a Community Choice Aggregator (CCA) to provide electric power and a broad range of related benefits to the citizens and businesses located within its jurisdiction. The City’s stated mission is for San Francisco residents and businesses to enjoy the option of a cleaner, local, and economically more secure power system—with the intention of long-term reduction of San Francisco ratepayers’ power prices. I split my time on three different projects to support this effort.

First, I developed written materials (including website content and PowerPoint presentations) that provide public information about CleanPowerSF policies, goals, objectives, accomplishments, and plans. Second, I assisted in developing forecasting tools (using Access database and Excel) that will be used to forecast the amount of energy that would need to be procured for customers, the resource mix to serve customer demand, and development of rate forecasts. Third, I worked with the CCA Director and staff to evaluate responses to requests for proposals, select a contractor and negotiate a contract for the variety of services required to run the CleanPowerSF program.

Hometown: Lawrence, KS

School: Stanford University

Fields of Study: B.A. Economics, Minor in African and African American Studies

Selected Honors: Honorable Mention, Trustee Leadership Award from the Program in African and African American Studies, Stanford University (2009); Student Leader of the Year, Delta Sigma Theta Sorority, Inc., Omicron Chi Chapter (2009); Dean’s Award for Academic Excellence (2006 & 2008); Sophomore of the Year Leadership Award, Black Community Services Center (2007)

Selected Activities and Community Involvement: President, Stanford NAACP (2008-2009); Vice-President, Alpha Phi Alpha Fraternity, Inc., (2009); Program Coordinator, Black Community Services Center (2006-2009)

Prior Work Experience: Deputy Field Organizer, Campaign for Change 2008

Why San Francisco is important to me: In my experience, San Francisco has a tradition of progressive leadership, setting the tone and taking leadership in the realm of social activism, cultural tolerance, sustainability, and similar concerns which anchored much of the shift in American over the past decades. I hope to contribute by making the city more consistent with this ideal.

Something unique about me: I took off during the senior fall of my undergraduate career and worked full time on a presidential campaign.

What I’m Doing Now:  I’m a graduate student at MIT pursuing a Master in City Planning with a concentration on Housing, Community and Economic Development.  Between my Fellowship and graduate school, I worked on a campaign for a Kansas City Councilmember and at a nonprofit, SEE College Prep.