Welcome to the new site! Below is the intro post for my new job :)

This post originally appeared on the Innovate Syracuse blog.

Nice to meet you! My name is Samantha and I’m the new Program Coordinator for the Syracuse i-team. I will be working with the team to connect and communicate with you as we develop initiatives that solve some of the city’s biggest challenges!

I’m a recent graduate from Syracuse University with my BA in Public Relations and Public Policy. During my time at SU I was lucky enough to become involved with the Syracuse community by interning and volunteering at the Northeast Community Center and Wilson Park Community Center. Through my coursework I was also able to work with several other community organizations. 

I’ve had the opportunity to experience many of the wonderful things this city has to offer, ranging from festivals, to sporting events, to great restaurants, and more. I am hoping to use my skills and degree to help make Syracuse an even greater place to live, and I can’t wait to continue to explore the city of Syracuse while I do it.

My coursework in public policy allowed me to focus on topics related to poverty alleviation and local government policy solutions to poverty. Specifically, I looked at how poverty relates to housing, transportation, education and youth violence. My public relations coursework was focused in public affairs and nonprofit communications. On campus, I served on the executive boards for the Public Relations Student Society of America and for ‘Cuse Spot, a student-run organization that plans university programming at the city’s community centers for Syracuse city youth.

When I’m not working, I enjoy traveling and exploring, cooking, wine tasting, reading a good book (or attempting to write one), good conversation and spending time with friends and family. But in general, I’m passionate about people, about communicating with people and about helping people.

Congressman John Lewis once told a hall full of PR practitioners (myself included), “you people always seems to get in the way.” We all laughed. He went on to tell his inspiring story of his work in the Civil Rights Movement, and, as I was attempting to make the connection between his story and public relations, he stated, “What we did is we got in the way. And that’s what you all do best.” It was a call to action, to get in the way of the status quo and create change.

That’s exactly what we do here on the i-team. We get in the way, and identify new solutions to problems in order to create positive change in our city. Here, we have a great opportunity to work on the things that are important, right in the place we call home.

So feel free to reach out! Comment on this post below. Send me an email at slinnett@syrgov.net. Or tweet at @SamanthaJ011.

Until we meet again!