Emily Robbins, Founding & Inaugural MetroBridge Program Manager, Stepping Down After Three Years

After three years as MetroBridge Program Manager at the Initiative on Cities (IOC), Emily Robbins is stepping down from her role at Boston University.

“It has been incredibly rewarding to build a program that engages students in local government and reveals how decisions made by city leaders shape our lives and communities,” reflected Emily. “I’m hopeful that MetroBridge will encourage more Boston University students to consider a career working on urban issues either as a practitioner or a researcher. I look forward to seeing how the program grows and evolves in the coming years.”

Emily and the IOC launched the MetroBridge Program in Fall 2018, creating a new approach to embedding real-world projects for local government into courses across the University by connecting local government partners with BU faculty. Since its inception, MetroBridge has created unique learning opportunities for over 450 students through 34 courses, providing support to 18 different local government partners.

“In her time at BU, Emily built an extraordinary program,” said Katharine Lusk, IOC Co-Director. “MetroBridge has created urban experiential learning opportunities for hundreds of members of the BU community who have applied their talents and energy to tackling real world problems in our region. We’re looking forward to building on this strong foundation.”

IOC Faculty Director Graham Wilson added, “Emily’s work contributed powerfully to IOC’s mission of bridging between cities and academics.”

Student projects included building inclusive citizen engagement plans, exploring best practices in mental health programs, surveying the needs of elderly residents, developing community health interventions, researching how to improve transportation safety, and many more.

“Thanks to her, MetroBridge seamlessly brought governments and students together to do important work on many projects across a variety of topics,” remembered David Glick, MetroBridge Faculty Director and Associate Professor of Political Science at BU. “As importantly, when inevitable challenges, including COVID-19 arose, she was able to keep individual projects and the whole program on track, and to continue expanding MetroBridge to more courses and communities.”

Emily’s last day will be Friday, March 5, 2021. The Initiative on Cities wishes Emily the best, and is forever grateful for her countless contributions to Boston University, the IOC, and the MetroBridge Program.

Interested in joining our team and carrying on this great work? Apply here.