Where are they now? Former GUB team members

Meet Jackie Cameron

Jackie was an intern with Growing Up Boulder in 2017, while studying Society, Media, and Technology at The University of Colorado Boulder. After graduating in 2019, she went on to start her own educational nonprofit, Pittsburgh Learning Commons, that aims to facilitate partnerships that enable greater youth voice and efficacy to pursue their interests and deepen their impact on their world. Jackie also co-founded and helps run a community center, Community Forge, out of a former elementary school in Pittsburgh, PA.

"GUB deepened my practical skills to pursue democratic education and support spaces for youth decision-making and participatory design. It also showed me what it was like to work with a truly collaborative team (much love to Mara and Cathy)."

Meet Sara Taketatsu

​Sara interned at Growing Up Boulder in 2018, while earning a degree in Environmental Design with a focus on Architecture at The University of Colorado Boulder. After graduating in 2019, she has been working full time as an architectural designer at Sopher Sparn Architects right here in Boulder! Sara is currently looking at graduate programs to apply for, with a desire to find a course that emphasizes community-based design!

"Being a GUB intern gave me a brand new perspective on the value of community input in design and the incredible importance of capturing the voices of everyone in a community who will be impacted by the final product, especially kids!"

Meet Hannah Sullivan

Hannah was an intern with Growing Up Boulder from 2016-2017, as she studied Environmental Science & Environmental Design at CU Boulder. After her work with GUB, Hannah was interested in gaining experience in grant writing. She received a position with Global Greengrants Fund, a Boulder non profit environmental organization that works to fund grassroots environmental organizations and projects all around the world. After this, Hannah went on to write grants for eGo Carshare, where she got to experience all sides of the grant writing process. Her grants brought in money to be used towards installing an eGo car in a low income housing project in Denver. After graduating, Hannah sought a career in teaching English as she had learned through her experience working with GUB that she truly loved working with youth. 

"The values instilled in me through my work with GUB are exemplified everyday in my work now as an English Language Assistant. I ensure that all my students have an opportunity to share their preferences, opinions and ideas for every project and activity we work on together. I want to be sure that I provide them with a learning atmosphere that caters to them."

Meet Megan Huber

Since being an intern with Growing Up Boulder in 2015, Morgan has gone on to be a transportation planner in the private sector. Her work focuses on active transportation projects that create safe and equitable transportation options for all users across Colorado. I am also involved with the Colorado WTS chapter. WTS strives to empower and advance women in the transportation industry. Recently, Morgan's involvement with WTS has allowed her to co-chair the Transportation YOU committee. Transportation YOU exclusively focuses on encouraging young girls in STEM opportunities both while in school and in their career paths!

"I never realized how much my internship with GUB would influence my life after school! In my professional life, I engage with the public often. In this role, I am able to advocate to include kids and young people in the public outreach process, and with WTS I have been able to encourage young girls in many STEM opportunities through various avenues."

Meet Katherine Buckley,

"Interning for Growing Up Boulder was a great opportunity and the best decision I made in school. While working with youth on planning and design, I learned how important it is to work with different age groups to represent all sorts of perspectives. It was a unique experience that opened my eyes to the various aspects of city design. The Burke Park Project was amazing! I really believe we positively impacted the students’ lives by giving them the chance to contribute to their community. We gave them the right tools and information and empowered them to use their imaginations to design their ideal park. It was a small scale studio class and the kids were so excited and proud of their work. For me, the most rewarding moment was at the city held community meeting where a few students proudly presented their hard work to local residents who enthusiastically listened. I loved being part of the GUB team and am very thankful for that opportunity. The experiences taught me a lot about what I value and allowed me to start narrowing down what kind of career I might want. It also helped me obtain a comprehensive planning intern position with the City of Boulder.  Thank you!!"

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