My name is Susannah and I came to Syracuse from London, England in 1994. I was only four at the time but I still remember my giddiness; a whole new country to explore! I doubt whether my mother and father felt the same carefree excitement. They left behind their family, friends and everything familiar for the hope of new opportunities in the United States. Things worked out: my family has been working, studying, living and growing in Syracuse since our move over twenty years ago. I’ve come to deeply admire my parent’s bravery and vision, stepping away from the old, into the new and unknown and I’ve taken these values with me as I’ve moved through my life and career.
In 2011, I got a job working for the City of Syracuse’s Department of Neighborhood and Business Development as an Assistant Planner. Surrounded by brilliant and committed public servants and community members, I began to see Syracuse through the lens of policy. I spent three and a half years grappling with our community’s challenges in affordable housing, homelessness and community development. I also learned to see Syracuse not just as my hometown but as my chosen home and I loved serving it as best I could each and every day.
In 2015, I decided to return to school at Maxwell School of Citizenship and Public Affairs at Syracuse University. As an Assistant Planner, I had access to incredibly rich data sets and awesome spatial analysis software. I quickly learned to love data crunching and appreciate the power of data in understanding tough public challenges. At Maxwell, I focused on building out my foundation in statistics, computer programming and big data analysis so that I could learn to use these skills effectively and responsbily for public good.
After completing my Masters in Public Administration at the Maxwell School, I jumped at the opportunity to return to the City, but this time as the Analytics Coordinator with the Innovation Team. As the team’s new analytics coordinator, I will collect, analyze and present data so as to further understand and help generate innovative solutions to some of Syracuse's toughest challenges… and I can’t wait! I hope to bring all that I’ve learned to my work here at the I-Team and am excited to continue learning.
Feel free to follow me on twitter at @SusieB929 or contact me at sbartlett@syrgov.net.