Bloomberg Harvard City Leadership Initiative Welcomes 2025 Summer Fellows
Select Harvard graduate students from across the University will bring their skills and experience to 22 U.S. and international cities
Cambridge, Massachusetts (May 13, 2024)—The Bloomberg Harvard City Leadership Initiative named its newest cohort of Summer Fellows today. The fellows represent five of the University’s graduate and professional schools.
The Initiative—a program of the Bloomberg Center for Cities at Harvard University—equips mayors and senior city officials to tackle complex challenges in their cities and improve the quality of life of their residents. By engaging Harvard graduate students in research and field work, the Initiative supports current city leaders while investing in future generations.
After receiving more than 100 applications from students at seven Harvard schools this year, the Initiative selected 22 highly talented and accomplished graduate and doctoral students.
Fellows will meaningfully contribute to improving government services and present project deliverables and recommendations to mayors and senior leaders in their cities, all recent participants in the Initiative’s programming:
Bologna, Italy
Simone Ginanneschi, Harvard Kennedy School
Workers’ Need for Housing in the City of Bologna
Boulder, Colorado
Maria Olumayowa Arogundade, Harvard Graduate School of Education
City of Boulder Long-Term Financial Strategy
Cali, Colombia
Sameera Salari, Harvard Kennedy School
Improving Urban Mobility Through the Use of Data
Charleston, South Carolina
Sebastian Fernandez, Harvard Kennedy School
Basin Flood Action Program
Colorado Springs, Colorado
Elizabeth Bliss-Burger, Harvard Divinity School
Improving Outcomes for People Experiencing Homelessness and the Quality of Public Spaces
Denver, Colorado
Clarisa Salinas, Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health
City Wide Goals
Evansville, Indiana
Savalee Tikle, Harvard Graduate School of Design
Evansville Center City Renewal Project
Gary, Indiana
Alejandra Pardini, Harvard Graduate School of Design
Gary First Initiative
Hartford, Connecticut
Nidhi Nair, Harvard Kennedy School
Shared Services Implementation and Data Tracking
Hobart, Australia
Oliver Oglesby, Harvard Graduate School of Design
Climate Action and Transport Choice with Safe, Accessible, Active Routes through Hobart
Hutt City, New Zealand
Adam Delgado, Harvard Kennedy School
From Consultation to Collaboration: Building Trust through Participatory Democracy
Laredo, Texas
Claudia Sachs, Harvard Graduate School of Design
Downtown Revitalization: Vacant to Vibrant
Memphis, Tennessee
Clair Spotts, Harvard Kennedy School
Using Data to Address Blight in Downtown Memphis
Nashville, Tennessee
Hanzhang Lai, Harvard Graduate School of Design
Community Engagement Strategy for Transit Improvement Project Rollout
New Haven, Connecticut
Deniann Grant, Harvard Graduate School of Education
Integrating Data to Enhance Equity Through Community Services
New Rochelle, New York
Shanequa Moore, Harvard Kennedy School
Enhancing Community Identity and Promoting Economic Opportunity through Data-Driven Insights
Racine, Wisconsin
Roberto Andrade, Harvard Kennedy School
Bridging Quality of Life, Data Analysis, and Customer Service
Rosario, Argentina
Gene Pozas, Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health
Rebuilding the Social Fabric of La Tablada: Empowering Youth for a Better Future
Santa Clara, California
Elija Kozak, Harvard Kennedy School
Public Engagement and Accountability for 2026: Superbowl 60 and FIFA World Cup 26
Seattle, Washington
Marin Furuyama, Harvard Kennedy School
Using Data to Improve Seattle’s Downtown Activation Efforts
Shreveport, Louisiana
Rachel Fischer, Harvard Graduate School of Design
Optimizing Code Enforcement and Property Standards Operations
Winnipeg, Canada
Elmo Tumbokon, Harvard Graduate School of Design
Resetting the Table: Moving Toward a Proactive Response to Vacant & Derelict Homes in Winnipeg, Canada
Fellows will work directly with city leaders to drive government performance and address pressing social problems in project areas including housing, equitable childcare, data-driven decision-making, urban revitalization and economic development, and collaborative government performance.
Each fellow in the cohort will aid their host city through recommendations, analyses, plan designs, new resources or other supports that will enable the mayor, senior leaders, and other key stakeholders to advance key priorities in the community.
“Each year it’s wonderful to see the cross section of schools represented in the Bloomberg Harvard Summer Fellowship applicant pool,” said Pascha McTyson, Director of Student Engagement at the Bloomberg Harvard City Leadership Initiative.
“This year’s Fellows are so dynamic, not just in their course of study, but also in their experiences and backgrounds. Our team is thrilled to support them on this journey in helping city leaders drive government performance and address pressing challenges.”
Kiron Chandy of the Harvard Graduate School of Design worked on building capacity to communicate and implement a climate-forward vision for the city of Torino, Italy as a 2024 Summer Fellow.
“This fellowship debunked misconceptions I had about local government in terms of professional development opportunities and is making me seriously consider working in local government upon graduation,” Chandy said.
Since 2018, the Initiative has placed 161 Harvard graduate students in paid summer roles in 131 cities across 15 countries. Some Summer Fellows have been hired for full-time roles in cities after the conclusion of the fellowship term.
This year’s cohort of Summer Fellows includes graduate and doctoral candidates from the Harvard Kennedy School, the Harvard Graduate School of Design, the Harvard Graduate School of Education, the Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health, and Harvard Divinity School.
