Come join the Digital Team as a 2020 summer fellow

Every summer, the Digital Team welcomes a new group of fellows to support our efforts across the City of Boston. And, just like in previous years, our 2019 summer fellows didn’t disappoint.  Taking on a mix of new and existing projects, they jumped into their work and tackled some big challenges we’re facing at the City.

You can learn more about our fellows, and their efforts during the summer, below. If this type of work sounds interesting to you, consider applying for a 2020 fellowship with the Digital Team. Applications are due Saturday, February 1, 2020, at 5 p.m. You can also learn about other fellowships within the Innovation and Technology cabinet at the City of Boston.

Sifting through trash and recycling research

Maximillian Bahar, a rising junior at Boston College, worked on research around the Trash Day app. We plan to use Max’s research to provide better information about trash and recycling to constituents. His work included user testing and surveying residents. Max was also a project lead for the Digital Team’s partnership with General Assembly over the summer, and worked on testing the Boston Info Alexa Skill. The new skill will allow constituents to access official City information from their Alexa devices.

Max is studying economics and computer science. On campus, he’s captain of BC Masti, the school’s only Bollywood fusion dance team. Through BC's PULSE program, he volunteered at Victory House, a local rehabilitation center. Max is also an International Assistant in BC's International Assistant Program. There, he helped International and Exchange students settle in at the school. You can find Max on LinkedIn.

Helping move marriage certificates online

Sarah Greisdorf, a rising junior at Boston University, worked on the process of requesting a marriage certificate online. Sarah’s efforts included research on restrictions affecting marriage certificates and user testing. As a project management fellow, she was responsible for making final product decisions. She also revamped the print and mail-in forms to match the City of Boston’s brand.

Sarah is studying computer science. On campus, she’s the Director of BostonHacks, BU’s 24-hour hackathon. She’s also a User Experience Program Lead at BU SPARK! Sarah plans on graduating in December of 2020. After graduation she hopes to pursue work on her startup, Holdette, a company that produces women’s clothing with functional pockets. You can find Sarah on LinkedIn.

Curating content for the Digital Team

Caroline King, a senior at Emerson College, was focused on content creation. She was responsible for updating and maintaining the City of Boston’s main social media channels, as well as Boston.gov.

One of Caroline’s projects included crafting a summer 2019 social media content library. The posts within the library contained evergreen information from across City departments. These posts could be used, and re-used, throughout the summer. With Boston.gov, Caroline helped create and edit content. This included writing  blog posts, building events, and updating department pages. She also helped in our research around updating the City of Boston’s social media policy, and jumped in to assist with user testing and research.

Caroline studied communications and political science at Emerson College, graduating in December. On campus, she was the president of the Class of 2020. Caroline hopes to pursue a career in public relations and plans on attending law school. You can find Caroline on LinkedIn.

Optimizing our digital tools

Cosette Newcomb, a Boston native and rising junior at Boston College, rotated between different teams in the Department of Innovation and Technology. She worked on:

• Alexa Skill testing
• Software research and implementation
• webpage redesigns for Boston.gov, and
• help other fellows with user research and testing.

Cosette’s main project was enhancing the metadata on Boston.gov. She worked to bring schema to the site that improves search and visibility of City events and articles. Her work will help improve our search results for the City’s content, both on and off Boston.gov.

Cosette is currently pursuing a double major in computer science and sociology. At school, she is a member of Women In Science at BC. This past school year she taught computer science to local high school students. Cosette also works as a Student Ambassador at Boston College’s Thea Bowman AHANA and Intercultural Center. Additionally, she is a Junior Fellow for the Clough Center for the Study of Civic Democracy. You can find Cosette on LinkedIn.