The California City Management Foundation (CCMF) is proud to provide California cities with the resources to enable summer internships—all made possible by the Judy L. Kelsey Memorial Fund. In addition to supporting the city of Willows this past summer, CCMF also supported the city of Winters, who hired Luca Navarette as their summer intern.
Luca worked with the Public Works, Fire Police and Parks & Recreation departments to convert commonly-used forms into easy-to-use, fillable forms in English and Spanish. Working with Winters’ fire chief, Luca also created bilingual emergency alert messages that could address potential emergency scenarios like fires, floods and shelters-in-place.
“Luca was great to work with and instrumental in drafting workable bilingual alert messages for public safety emergencies,” said Fire Chief Jack S. Snyder III. “He asked great questions and was very responsive in his work—a true asset for us this summer.”
To better prepare for communications regarding the city’s annual events, Luca reviewed social media from the past year and developed revitalized content for future use. In addition, he created a “Start Your Business Guide” for the economic development department, which provides the step-by-step process on starting a business in Winters. Through these projects, Luca broadened his overall knowledge of local government while also receiving hands-on experience in various departmental initiatives.
“My internship significantly enhanced my technical skills and broadened my understanding of public service,” said Luca. “By creating bilingual forms and emergency alerts, I learned the importance of accessibility in government services. Collaborating with city department heads and the Hispanic Advisory Committee also honed my communication and project management abilities, which will greatly benefit my future career in technology and community-focused projects.”
Luca’s internship experience not only strengthened his skill set but provided the city with resources that will benefit the entire community.
“Luca was a pleasure to have as an intern this summer,” said City Manager Jeremy Craig. “His work product was outstanding, and everyone really enjoyed meeting and working with him. Through our frequent discussions, Luca learned a great deal about local government and has expressed interest in perhaps working in local government after college.”
CCMF is grateful for the opportunity to help shape the future leaders of local government. The application period for the 2025 Judy L. Kelsey Memorial Fund will open in the spring. Stay tuned for more details.
