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NEW TEAM INTRODUCTIONS – SHAMEN RADCLIFFE

By October 21, 2019 No Comments

I am ecstatic to return to Boston as the Urban Sustainability Director’s Network (USDN) Greenovate Building Diversity Outreach Fellow!

My name is Shamen Radcliffe and I am from Rochester, New York. I am looking forward to implementing strategic community-economic development initiatives for low-income and minority communities with Greenovate Boston, and gaining experience that will prepare me for  a career in the government administration sector.

I graduated from the University of Rochester in 2014 with a Bachelor of Arts in History and a minor in Legal Studies. As a University of Rochester student, I was dedicated to three organizations that focused on urban issues: the Douglass Leadership House (DLH), the Minority Male Leadership Association (MMLA), and the Gandhi Institute for Nonviolence. As a 2013 Rochester Urban Fellow, I worked at two nonprofit organizations: Project HOPE and Genesee Land Trust. I worked with the Genesee Land Trust to improve the overall health and well-being of the Clifford and Conkey Avenue neighborhoods through four target areas: drug and alcohol, youth development, public safety, and personal life style changes and health opportunities.

Background in Boston

After graduating from the University of Rochester, I became a 2015 City Year Boston Corps Member. I had the opportunity to serve as a tutor, mentor, and role model in the Boston Public Schools and the Boston community and helped students stay on track to graduate. I provided  behavioral, attendance, group, and one-on-one support at the Blackstone Innovate School, and integrated my social justice perspective in my work at BPS.

A focus on urban community and economic development

I am currently a rising second-year masters candidate in Community Development and Planning at Clark University. This past year, I had the pleasure of working on an analysis project to increase awareness of the agriculture and manufacturing sectors in Winchester, New Hampshire as an consultant through the Community Development Training Institute (CDTI).

As an African American male from a socially disadvantaged background, and a first generation college graduate, I am thrilled and honored to hone my strategic community engagement skills.  As the 2016 Greenovate Building Diversity Outreach Fellow, I will focus on climate preparedness engagements through Boston’s new Climate Ready Boston initiative, and strengthen Greenovate Boston’s outreach in low-income populations that are most impacted by climate change. My ultimate goal is to spread awareness of Greenovate Boston, so that residents can utilize its resources to build climate resiliency within their communities. I am excited to connect with the Boston community and to establish creative ways to see how residents from most vulnerable populations think about climate change.