HIGH ROAD FELLOWSHIPS BUFFALO, NY THE HIGH ROAD RUNS THROUGH THE CITY... Economic development can be community development. Over the recent years the High Road in Buffalo Fellows are placed with partners of the Partnership for Its processes and outcomes can be sustainable, inclusive has produced: the Public Good, a think tank providing action-research, and equitable. Post-industrial cities such as Buffalo • city-wide living wage ordinance for City contractors; policy development and civic engagement tools for over have long suffered from silver bullet solutions and • community benefit agreements for waterfront 280 community organizations. extractive models on the low road, plagued by inequality, development and banks; unemployment and job insecurity, unconditional • public subsidy reforms such as clawbacks on failed job Grounded in reciprocity between community and tax abatements and a profound lack of government creation and other promises; university, this year’s High Road placements represent transparency. • targeted hiring and pay equity policies tied to tax a diverse array of organizations, focused on issues like incentives; civic engagement, workforce development and re-entry But there is a high road. • passage of paid family leave legislation. services for previously incarcerated individuals, social enterprise, youth arts and education, labor advocacy, and High Road Economic Development The High Road has been built largely by Buffalo’s legal services. community-based organizations. Since 2009, Cornell is a policy strategy that emphasizes University High Road Fellowships have brought high quality jobs, environmental undergraduates to Buffalo for a summer immersion sustainability, corporate accountability in community and economic development with these dynamic organizations. and broad access to opportunities for all community members. 2 011 High Roaders are 2010 the first residents of PUSH Buffalo’s Net Fellows participate in Zero House 2009 a press conference (a home that produces calling for reforms of as much energy as The High Road Industrial Development it consumes). Fellowships are 2007 Agencies and give launched with five public testimony Cornell ILR assists ILR undergraduates championing high in the founding of coming to Buffalo for road development of Partnership for the summer to work Buffalo’s waterfront. the Public Good, a with PPG partners on community-based think community economic tank. development. 2 AND THROUGH CORNELL 2018 FELLOWSHIPS Tenth Anniversary of 2017 High Road Fellowships brings the total number Nationally recognized of students to 170, artists Tape Art and 2016 from 22 states and Fellows tackle drawings countries, serving 42 High Roaders sign the representing pressing organizations. 2015 Mayor’s Opportunity issues facing Buffalo: Pledge calling for Income Inequality, Cornell in Buffalo is First annual Cornell diversity, inclusion and Segregation, awarded NYS funding faculty book talk with 2014 equity. Disenfranchisement, to create a new Careers Professor Rose Batt on and Sprawl. Teams in Public Service High Road Advisory Private Equity at Work: High Road staff with transform these Initiative and continue Committee, composed When Wall Street ILR’s Social Sector 2013 “monsters” into to fund student of Cornellians and Manages Main Street. Studies Working solution-oriented research on unions. Fellows served as community leaders, is Group develop a credit counter images. 2012 Recycling Rangers at created to help guide The first non-ILR pre-course for the a number of festivals the program. students join the High Through the Get the Fellowships. For the first time, a and events to promote Road from Urban Rust Out: Shining High Road alumna public education about and Regional Studies Examples for a New returns to serve as a sustainability issues and and the College of Economy series, High High Road supervisor. practices. Agriculture and Life Road and PPG welcome Sciences with support High Road is awarded author Catherine Fellows help plan and from Engaged Learning funding to support Tumber for a program attend the national + Research. undergraduate research on how rust belt cities conference for the from Engaged Cornell. can serve as models Business Alliance for for sustainable and Local Living Economies. innovative urban living. High Roaders volunteer at 2012 placement Habitat for Humanity. 3 TABLE OF CONTENTS 2 27 34 WHAT IS THE HIGH ROAD CURRICULAR AND CAREER CONNECTIONS PARTNERSHIP FOR THE PUBLIC GOOD High Road Advisory Committee .......................... 27 Cornell Club of Greater Buffalo ........................... 27 Mentoring and Career Development ................. 27 5 STUDENT PROFILES 36 FACULTY AND STAFF 28 HAPPENINGS Friday Practicum Classes .........................................30 Special Events ............................................................... 32 4 5 IN HER OWN WORDS: “The most important thing I learned about community organizations and the social sector is the importance of collaboration. Throughout my fellowship, I observed and experienced many collaborative efforts within an organization’s staff and most importantly with people from different organizations. The social sector would not thrive without the open collaboration that I saw to make sure organizations trying to solve different problems can best accommodate the population they serve and CAMILLA work with.” From Camilla’s Final Evaluation BACOLOD FROM HER SUPERVISOR: FROM QUEENS VILLAGE, NY / ILR 2021 “Camilla met and exceeded CEO’s Center for Employment Opportunities expectations of an intern. She was For more than 30 years, the Center for Employment extremely reliable to get any task done Opportunities’ goal has been to provide immediate, and enthusiastic in learning more about comprehensive, and effective employment services for the various aspects of the organizations. men and women returning from incarceration. CEO offers comprehensive employment services exclusively Camilla’s project was to create a binder of for people with criminal records. CEO’s model is based community activities that participants and on a highly structured program of life skill education, their families could participate in to relieve short-term paid transitional employment, full-time job stress. CEO Buffalo is very grateful for placement, and postplacement services. Camilla’s service and it was truly a pleasure WORK HIGHLIGHTS: to have her on our team for the summer.” • Compiled community resources for CEO’s Gary Damon Jr., NYS Senior Site Director participants into a prosocial activity binder and a portfolio of exercises and job coaching resources. This included cultivating relationships with service providers throughout the community. • Practiced using the prosocial binder in mentoring, training and discussions. • Created a database of potential grants for the organization. • Helped onboard 28 newly enrolled participants. Assisted additional participants with mock interviews, resume writing, and researching jobs online. 6 6 open collaboration FROM HIS SUPERVISOR: “It has been a pleasure working with John at PPG this summer. John is extremely capable as a researcher and writer, and brings both political analysis and communication skills to his work. John carried out in-depth interviews with some of Buffalo’s political and community JOHN leaders this summer, and was well up to the task! He made great connections with SULLIVAN these individuals and skillfully captured their experience and insights for our study BAKER on organized labor. Given all of this, and FROM WHITEHOUSE, OH / ILR 2020 the outstanding game of Jeopardy! that he The Partnership for the Public Good curated for our team, we will certainly miss The Partnership for the Public Good is working to build having John in the office.” a more just, sustainable and culturally vibrant Greater Andrea Ó Súilleabháin, Deputy Director Buffalo through action-oriented research, policy development and citizen engagement. With over 280 affiliated partners, PPG develops an annual Community Agenda of policy planks, hosts a weekly radio show, and produces publications and other resources to give the nonprofit community and citizens a stronger voice in public policy. WORK HIGHLIGHTS: • Contributed to a team research report explaining organized labor’s role in promoting economic justice, IN HIS OWN WORDS: racial justice, and environmental sustainabilitygenuine in the interest Buffalo region. Interviewed a number of leaders from “I was struck by the fact that Assembly Member Sean Ryan, a prominent community historians to public officials to media professionals about how organized labor has helped build a more leader without much free time on his hands, spoke with me at length as if I was a equitable local economy. friend. Going into the meeting, I expected that he would rush the interview... Instead, • Conducted primary research for a report about low he let me pick his brain about subjects far outside of the scope of PPG’s, study, treated wage occupations in WNY. me as an equal, and showed genuine interest in what I had to say. I’m grateful • Updated a Buffalo Brief publication that provides a that my High Road Fellowship has given me the opportunity to have snapshot of information about Buffalo demographics meaningful with regard to employment. conversations both with my interviewees and the community leaders.” From John’s Reflection Journal 7 IN HER OWN WORDS: “Outreach entails setting up a table at festivals, town hubs, and churches and providing information about our organization.