From 2010 to 2015, I served as the digital and design lead for the Neighborhood Empowerment Network (NEN), a citywide initiative launched under Mayor Gavin Newsom and directed by Daniel Homsey. NEN was created to help San Francisco neighborhoods strengthen their resilience in the face of natural disasters by leveraging local government resources to support grassroots organizing and strategic planning.
My role spanned website design and management, visual branding, community outreach, and cross-departmental communications. I helped shape the platform’s public presence, translating policy goals into clear, community-facing messaging and visuals. This included the development of outreach materials, event branding, and digital tools to support training programs and public engagement campaigns.
NEN’s mission was unique: empower residents not only to prepare for disasters but to emerge from them stronger. Through tailored partnerships with city agencies, NEN helped community leaders build customized resilience strategies—addressing everything from communications breakdowns to resource distribution.
Design & Digital Communications
Our goal was to make NEN’s digital tools as approachable and useful as the in-person work happening across neighborhoods. I led design and management of the website, maintained outreach materials, and helped unify branding across a growing set of programs. From printed guides to online toolkits, everything was built to reflect the voices of the communities we served — clear, grounded, and locally relevant.
Storytelling Through Video
Video became one of our most effective ways to highlight local leadership and share insights across the city. I produced dozens of short films that featured interviews with subject matter experts, City staff, and community members. These were used in trainings, small group discussions, and working group sessions — wherever stories could spark ideas or inspire trust.
One of the largest projects each year was the video series for the NEN Awards at San Francisco City Hall. These segments profiled awardees from across the city and played during the ceremony, helping bring their stories to life for a broader audience and celebrating the everyday leadership that makes resilience possible.
Community Outreach & Engagement
We supported workshops, walking tours, training sessions, and recognition events — all designed to bring people together and strengthen neighborhood-level networks. In communities like Bayview, Miraloma Park, and Diamond Heights, we worked closely with residents and merchants to develop communication plans tailored to each area’s unique needs, ensuring that outreach extended beyond preparedness to long-term community cohesion.
Collaboration with Federal Agencies
As NEN’s grassroots approach gained traction, we worked increasingly with FEMA and the Department of Homeland Security, who saw the program as a model for community resilience. We contributed to report-outs, hosted site visits, and supported federal partners interested in adapting our methods. These efforts aligned with the national “Whole Community” strategy and helped bridge the gap between policy and practice at the neighborhood level.
National & International Exchanges
NEN also served as a connector for cities navigating recovery after major disasters. We hosted delegations from New Orleans following Hurricane Katrina and from Christchurch, New Zealand after their 2011 earthquake. These visits, facilitated by our director, focused on sharing our approach to community organizing and communication — emphasizing people over infrastructure, relationships over systems. Our team helped guide conversations and develop materials that could support similar efforts elsewhere.