BUCPUA’s Natalia Chavez Named BU Initiative on Cities’ 2019 Summer Fellow

The Boston University (BU) Initiative on Cities (IOC) recently shared the 2019 class of Summer Fellows. Fellows work closely with local governments on projects that demonstrate a commitment to urban leadership. Natalia Chavez was named one of BU IOC’s Summer 2019 Fellows. Natalia earned her bachelor’s degree from Santa Clara University, is completing the Master in City Planning (MCP) Program at Boston University, and will begin the Master in Public Administration (MPA) Program at the Harvard Kennedy School in the fall of 2019. At Boston University, she served as the Public Affairs Officer for the Urban Planning Association from 2018-2019. She is also a Fellow with Net Impact Racial Equity, StartingBloc, and New Leaders Council.

Natalia Chavez is a co-founder and Communications and Outreach Director at Urbanability, a non-profit organization that strives to build livable and equitable urban communities by focusing on research, project implementation, advocacy, and policy formation. Natalia is also a Program Assistant at the Harvard Ash Center for Democratic Governance and Innovation, where she works on democracy programing and the legislative negotiations project. Previously, Natalia served as a Research and Policy Analyst at Covered California, the health insurance marketplace under the Affordable Care Act, where she conducted data management and quantitative analysis on consumer enrollment data. Natalia has also worked on state election campaigns and as a Press Aide for the Democratic Caucus of the California State Assembly.

With a background in data analysis, public policy, and community building, Natalia is committed to building healthy communities by addressing social policy problems and increasing access to economic opportunities for all. She is interested in increasing economic opportunities, health and wellbeing, access to education, and political representation for underserved communities.