UNC sent nine interns to help with economic recovery in North Carolina through the new Carolina Economic Recovery Corps. Five of the interns are from the College of Arts and Sciences’ city and regional planning department.
Directed by UNC’s Office of Economic and Business Development, the interns are spending 10 weeks working full time with Councils of Government (COGs) across the state, and one will work with the N.C. League of Municipalities. They were chosen from 70 applicants from across the university.
After the finalists were chosen, they were required to complete an intensive day of training before they could start work June 1.
Andrew Spiliotis
The program sent Andrew Spiliotis, who received a master’s degree in city and regional planning in May, to Charlotte for 10 weeks to provide aid to the Centralina COG. While there, Spiliotis is assisting in the application process for grants funded by the American Economic Recovery and Reinvestment Act, part of the national economic stimulus package passed in February.
Spiliotis is currently assisting the Community and Economic Development Director, Laura Mundell, in the application process for a Community Development Block Grant. A CDBG is a type of grant that is used to fund community development projects that include rehabilitation and replacement for housing. The proposal, if the application is chosen, will create jobs and benefit low to moderate income residents of the municipalities of the Centralina COG.
Spiliotis believes that this internship will provide excellent career experience for his future ambitions of working in regional governments.
“I am thankful for this opportunity,” Spiliotis said. “Having worked and lived in the Charlotte region, this internship is allowing me to provide assistance to communities in a region that I am familiar with and care about.”
Alison Gillette
The program sent Alison Gillette to Rutherfordton for 10 weeks to provide assistance to the Isothermal Planning and Development Commission (IPDC). Gillette, who received a master’s degree in city and regional planning in May, is primarily working with IPDC to write and submit grants to obtain funding from the American Economic Recovery and Reinvestment Act, part of the national economic stimulus package passed in February.
“I am really excited to be in Rutherfordton,” Gillette says. “I’m looking forward to the interaction with the people. It’s a smaller community, so I can see the impact of what we’re doing.”
Gillette’s first project upon arrival is the completion of two Community Development Block Grants that are still in the works. These grants are used for community development projects such as housing rehabilitation and replacement.
Her work with IPDC also offers her the unique opportunity to get involved in the Isothermal Commission’s Weatherization Assistance Program, a program that provides funding to make the homes of the low-income, elderly and handicapped citizens more energy-efficient.
Ashley Yingling
The program sent Ashley Yingling, a second-year graduate student in city and regional planning, to Wilson for 10 weeks to provide assistance to the Upper Coastal Plain COG. Wilson is working with the municipalities represented by the Upper Coastal Plain COG to help identify and write grant applications.
Most municipalities of the Upper Coastal Plain COG are not qualified to receive entitlement grants due to their small population size. Smaller cities and towns have to apply for funds through a competitive process, rather than receiving a set dollar amount per person. Yingling is helping these cities, which have staff limitations, apply for these funds.
Yingling will focus on the Upper Coastal Plain COG’s need for Community Development Block Grants. These grants are used to fund community development projects that include rehabilitation and replacement for housing.
Yingling looks forward to the work she will do this summer in Wilson.
“I was always interested in smaller communities,” Yingling said. “I will have the chance to learn the policies of how to recover from economic downturn, particularly in smaller communities.”
One of Yingling’s other projects this summer includes evaluating brownfield sites, land formerly used for industrial purposes.
Julie Lawhorn
The program sent Julie Lawhorn, who received a master’s degree in city and regional planning, to Asheville for an internship with the Land-of-Sky Regional Council. There she will spend 10 weeks providing assistance in the planning and development of funding projects for the region. She will be helping the local governments in Buncombe, Henderson, Madison and Transylvania counties access and apply for grant money from the American Economic Recovery and Reinvestment Act.
Lawhorn will be responsible for researching and writing possible grants for the local governments in the region. One of her focuses at the Land-of-Sky Regional Council is identifying Community Development Block Grants. Lawhorn says that they will also work on clean energy, broadband, infrastructure and natural resource initiatives this summer.
Lawhorn is looking forward to contributing to local recovery efforts and applying the lessons learned in school to actual development programs.
“A lot of this job is learning about the interaction between local government and the councils of governments,” she said. “I will get to learn about mobilizing the resources of a region and how regional partnerships can work together for an effective recovery response.”
Brian Taylor
The program sent Brian Taylor, who received a master’s in city and regional planning in May, to work in a coordinating role with the N.C. League of Municipalities on the program.
Taylor is in charge of designing and managing a process for the interns to collect information on American Recovery and Reinvestment Act (ARRA) activities in North Carolina's 550 municipalities and 100 counties. The League of Municipalities, in partnership with the regional Councils of Government, is developing an inventory of all the ARRA funding opportunities being pursued by municipalities and counties throughout the state. The information collected will allow for the League and other orgnaizations to offer more tailored assistance to local governments.
"Working with the other interns has been a great experience," Taylor said. "They offered plenty of good input for the design of the inventory project. I attended the last meeting of the Council of Government directors in Raleigh, and many were already praising the work of their interns."
