I served on the 2021 Affordable Housing Workgroup, which convened housing stakeholders in our public, private, and nonprofit sectors. Our full report is linked below. Since its release, Council has expanded our internal workforce housing program, allowed for more hotel/motel conversions to affordable housing, and established a 10% inclusionary zoning trend to provide affordable options in new developments.

An exciting new partnership between the City and W&M’s Charles Center is allowing students to advise Williamsburg on some of our most critical goals. In the summer of 2021, two students led the inaugural projects, with the planned African American Heritage Trail example linked below. This year, the partnership will place two more students on projects involving smart city technology and carbon emission reduction.

In February of 2021, the City Council created the Public Arts Council to approve and fund new artistic efforts in the City. In the last two years we’ve been busy, as this group has now overseen the completion of two murals in Midtown Row (one pictured above and another described in the link below) and an RFP is out for a third.

In years past, Williamsburg has rated highly as an environmentally-friendly City. However, the programs which rated us have since ceased and we have a duty to increase our emphasis on environmentalism locally. Our next step is to build off of the first-ever Greenhouse Gas Audit performed in Williamsburg, completed in November of 2022. You can find our plans to develop the next “sustainability ladder” for the City linked below, on page 6.

I mentioned above promising transparency while I was campaigning. One way I try to accomplish this is regularly visiting local groups and maintaining updated social media. The link below directs to my Facebook page, where I share often about visiting community organizations to talk on Council’s work. Please check it out for recaps on visiting W&M, local elementary schools, retirement communities, and more!

On a bike ride in early 2020, I was surprised to find a sign on Williamsburg’s Triangle Block that said “The Future Home of the MLK Memorial.” Having not heard about this proposed memorial before, I searched to find an article (linked below) discussing the long left sign. Since joining Council, I have loved contributing to a group that will finally see this project through. We now excitingly have a designer for the Memorial on board and are fundraising to once-and-for-all recognize the contributions of African American leaders in Williamsburg’s past.