The Greater Topeka Partnership is excited to welcome Harvard graduate student Rodrigo Dorador to the Topeka & Shawnee County Community. Rodrigo is a graduate student at the John F. Kennedy School of Government at Harvard University. He will spend the summer in the community to work on building out the communication strategy for Momentum 2022. Rodrigo will have a specific focus on methods for communicating the Momentum 2022 strategy and its progress to the community in a relatable manner.

“Having a fellow like Rodrigo in our community to work with Momentum 2022 is going to push our efforts to the next level,” said Kayla Bitler-Loschke, senior vice president of strategy. “Rodrigo brings years of experience of working on communications strategies to reach all populations in a community.”

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“I am so excited to intern in Topeka. I chose to intern with the Greater Topeka Partnership to work on Momentum 2022 because the project is an exercise in democratic governance,” said Rodrigo. “I am excited to connect with community members and engage them in the city's economic development plan. I had a chance to join the Momentum 2022 team in their wrap up session with the Bloomberg Initiative in May and I cannot describe how energized I am to be in Topeka. The community leaders are passionate and committed to making Topeka a better place. I am honored and excited to be a small part of Momentum 2022.”

This fellowship program is a by-product of the Bloomberg Harvard City Leadership Initiative. Harvard graduate students are competitively selected for fellowships in the offices of participating mayors, where students are matched according to skills sought by the mayor. Examples of projects include helping cities evaluate the impact of economic development programs, develop new affordable housing plans, and define early childhood program offerings. Fellows will be supported by the Initiative’s dedicated staff during their engagement. This year, we are proud to offer 20 summer fellowship positions.

This fellowship is open to all Harvard graduate students, including 2019 graduates and international students. Ideal candidates demonstrate strong written and verbal communication skills, possess an entrepreneurial spirit and comfort with ambiguity, have a proven ability to collaborate on teams, and possess strong analytical, data analysis, and creative problem-solving skills.