Jase Olavarria is busy applying his DPP skillset this summer. Olavarria is a Master of Public Administration student working at both the Town of Berlin and Justice Resource Institute (JRI). As a Land Use Administrator in Berlin, he handles citizen inquiries regarding the town’s zoning policy and helps update zoning regulation amendments. Olavarria pursued this opportunity to gain experience in local government and learn how to promote equality and desegregate cities in Connecticut through zoning law. In this role he has been able to apply his analytical skills and relay pertinent information to residents as they conduct projects on their property.

In his role at JRI, a nonprofit Human Services organization providing adolescents and young adults with therapeutic and behavioral based services, he is developing his nonprofit skillset as a part-time administrative assistant. Olavarria is practicing his communications skills while working in a team setting and helping onboard new social workers and clinicians. As the liaison between his agency and the HR department, he has learned quite a bit about the operations of a nonprofit organization, and is excited to apply the lessons he has learned to his own nonprofit in the future.