She grew up on the Eastside of Syracuse. Her father immigrated to Syracuse from Jordan in the 1970s and her mother grew up in DeWitt. As the daughter of both a local business owner and a teacher, Emily was raised to understand the importance and value of Community. After graduating from Nottingham high school, Emily went on to complete a Bachelor of Arts in International Development at McGill University and a Master’s of Public Administration at the Maxwell School of Citizenship and Public Affairs at Syracuse University.
Emily’s professional experiences and education have provided her with a strong foundation to be a successful County Clerk. Since February 2021, Emily has been the Senior Grant and Data Specialist at Home HeadQuarters. HHQ is committed to community development through housing opportunities that target traditionally underserved groups, including homeownership financing, rental opportunities, home improvement financing, housing counseling, financial counseling, and real estate development. In her time at HHQ she has learned firsthand the value of homeownership, affordable housing, and investing in neighborhood revitalization.
Prior to HHQ, Emily managed a portfolio of grants ranging from $2,500 to $13.5M, and provided administrative support to the Development Team at the Harlem Children's Zone, an organization that focuses on breaking the cycle of intergenerational poverty through comprehensive, "cradle to career" programming.
Prior to her time in Harlem, Emily completed her Peace Corps service in a small village in southwestern Ukraine where she focused on civic engagement and decentralization with an amalgamated village council. She was tasked with learning how to speak, read, and write in Ukrainian, building relationships and gaining trust, and working with the Mayor to implement democratic practices in a post-soviet society. While serving in her Ukrainian host-village, Emily created a participatory budgeting process, trained government officials and community leaders on grant writing and project design and management, organized and implemented a TEDx event focusing on “Education in the Digital Age," created and facilitated youth camps, taught English, and interacted in Ukrainian language at an intermediate level.
Emily has lived and worked in five different countries, and traveled to countless others. Throughout her career, Emily has delivered quality public service, amplified and advocated for diversity and inclusion, upheld a strong moral compass, and has always listened to the needs of the community. Her lifelong experiences of service have provided her a variety of perspectives, which she will use to make government work for everyone in Onondaga County.
