Kahlen Wheaton (’27)

I worked at the Metropolitan Washington Council of Governments (COG) this summer as a housing and economic development intern. As an aspiring urban planner, this gave me the opportunity to explore policy through a unique regional planning lens. Regional planning is interesting because it has a broader reach than local planning, but it is also small enough to see the changes.

At COG I worked on a few key projects. As an economic development intern I wrote a stakeholder engagement plan for the regional economic strategy that COG will be leading in the upcoming year. This allowed me to connect with other regional planning professionals across the country to discuss their strategies for stakeholder engagement, as well as meet with an MIT professor who specializes in effective community engagement. I also analyzed the economic development plans from COG’s member jurisdictions to guide the direction of the regional plan.

As a housing and human services intern I had the opportunity to research and write a handout for elected officials containing tools and strategies for navigating the changes to SNAP and Medicaid legislated in HR1. One highlight of this work was having the opportunity to meet Hon. JD Spain, Sr., an elected member of the Arlington County Board, to receive feedback on the document. I also compiled information about housing grants administered by COG to be displayed on the website. 

Throughout the summer I had the opportunity to attend committee meetings with local leaders, network with coworkers, and the freedom to shape my deliverables in ways that made sense to me. This was an invaluable summer experience!