双柏油之踵服务于博彩平台社区

谢拉·道格拉斯, success after college meant finding a way to give back to the state she calls home and working toward a better future for North Carolinians.

The double Tar Heel is doing just that as the downtown and small business development manager in 加纳，博彩平台州. Douglas is working to revitalize the downtown area and strengthen the economy of the Wake County town of 31,000 by supporting small businesses and attracting new ones to establish roots in the community.

“我们一直关注联邦和州, but we don’t talk about local government as the one that touches us the most every day,17岁的道格拉斯说, 22 (MPA). “我只是想更多地关注这一点. Being able to see the impact your local government makes was really important to me.

“这并不容易，但很值得.”

博彩平台州领先

道格拉斯一直想帮助别人.

在哈姆雷特中长大, 北卡罗莱纳-一个6人的小镇,000 people near the South Carolina border — Douglas had also dreamt of attending Carolina. 她想以柏油鞋跟的身份获得法律学位, so when she transferred to Carolina from Richmond Community College in 2017, she majored in political science and history to prepare for her future career as a lawyer.

通过她的政治学课程, she began to see a career outside of the courtroom where she could help make the impact she was hoping to make. Douglas saw there was a chance to help thousands as a public servant in local government, 北卡领先, 由…协调的计划 博彩平台大学政府学院给了她尝试的机会.

博彩平台州领先 places some of the state’s top recent graduates in paid local government fellowships across our state to help strengthen communities through public service and create the next generation of leaders for our state’s future.

自2019年推出以来, Lead For 北卡罗莱纳 has placed more than 50 fellows in public service roles throughout the state — largely in distressed counties.

2019年从卡罗莱纳大学毕业后, 道格拉斯加入了这个项目，被安置在彭布罗克, 北卡罗莱纳, 她在哪里做特殊项目. 在那段时间里, 她帮忙写了一份150美元的助学金,为了改善下水道基础设施, launched a plan to ensure more properties were ADA-compliant and created a comprehensive master plan for the town’s parks department.

Little by little, Douglas saw the benefits she was bringing to the town and its residents.

“It’s something small: Getting funds to redo a sewer system, so we put this grant together and dig better ditches to improve our drainage,”她说。. “看起来像是很小的东西. But something that small makes such a big impact because now there are drains, 现在50人的房子不会被洪水淹没，也不会流离失所. 一旦我开始看到这些，我就会说，‘好吧. We actually do have an impact on people’s everyday lives.’ That thought solidified that I wanted to keep doing local government.”

在彭布罗克待了一年之后, Douglas returned to Carolina to earn a master’s degree in public administration from the 博彩平台大学政府学院. She drew on her experiences in 博彩平台州领先 to maximize her learning in the classroom.

Two years later, after graduating in 2022, she began her role in Garner.

Shayla Douglas talks with Nate Groover, economic development director for the Town of Garner. (摄影:Johnny Andrews/博彩平台)

支持一个城镇的经济

In Garner, Douglas has one primary objective: get people downtown.

“市中心的加纳 非常小. 我们在这个地区有17家企业，”她说. “A big challenge is getting people to know downtown Garner. 这有点被忽视了.”

Douglas has organized networking events and even worked to establish the area as a social district that allows open containers of alcoholic beverages purchased from a licensed ABC permittee to be consumed outdoors. In addition to encouraging new businesses to set roots in Garner, Douglas directly supports the downtown businesses by helping them find resources for renovations, guiding them through government regulations and serving as a mediator between businesses and neighbors.

“It’s really being a vital source of support for the businesses downtown,” 道格拉斯说.

这种支持和回馈的能力, 道格拉斯说, is something she believes will keep her in local government and in Garner long-term to continue building the town’s economy.

“当我走路和与企业交谈时, and they say how thankful they are for the support and trying to publicize them, 这是真正的感激,”她说。. “That thought makes it worth it to come in every day and see that I’m actually impacting people. 我每天都在帮助别人.”