Meet our new summer interns!

This summer, GGWash is thrilled to welcome Natalia Ríos Martínez, Josh Montgomery-Patt, and Abby Wester to our team.

Natalia and Josh are both supporting our community development work, and Abby will be writing for the publication. You’ll see more posts from all of them over the course of the summer and we’re excited to see what we’ll learn from them.

As we work towards our vision of a Washington region where all people can live in walkable urban communities, it is critical that we are engaging the next generation of urbanist leaders. We are so excited to have Josh, Natalia, and Abby joining us this summer, and we wanted to give them a chance to introduce themselves in their own words.

Welcome Natalia, Josh, and Abby!

Hello everyone! My name is Natalia Ríos, and I am so excited to be joining GGWash this summer as a Community Development Intern.

I was born in San Juan, Puerto Rico, where I lived for 18 years until I moved to Iowa to pursue my degree. I am currently completing a triple major in Political Science, International Studies, and Public Relations at Iowa State University. During my time at Iowa State, I interned at the Iowa Department of Transportation, Civil Rights Bureau, and worked as a Government Contracting Assistant in the state Procurement Technical Assistance Center. I am also part of the Ames Transit Agency at Iowa State University.

I think public transportation is imperative for educational and professional growth. It builds a bridge between students like me and advanced opportunities. Buses and trains not only facilitate our communities to go from place to place, but they also reduce air pollution and traffic congestion.

I am passionate about public policy, human and animal rights, diversity, equity, and inclusion; therefore, during my time at GGWash, I aspire to learn more about efficient transportation, accessible housing, and meaningful public policy. I look forward to applying this knowledge as a public servant in the future so that people from all backgrounds and income levels feel welcome and celebrated in their communities.

Hi everyone! My name is Josh Montgomery-Patt, and this summer I will be supporting GGWash’s member communications and assisting with fundraising, event planning, and nonprofit management. I also will be contributing some policy articles.

I am very passionate about GGWash’s mission to provide a voice for DC residents on issues that are important to their community. Prior to this internship, I interned at Open Communities, a housing counseling and legal aid agency that represented the northern Chicago suburbs. That experience taught me a lot about community advocacy.

During my time at Open Communities, I managed the organization’s intake process and met with people who needed help with horrible situations that had been caused by both exploitative landlords and an inequitable housing policy framework. Housing is crucial to everyone, and so many issues from access to food to access to quality education depend on it, but it is often overlooked as an issue.

I am eager to work for an organization that cares deeply about housing policy and hope that I can learn more about community advocacy in the Washington region before moving there this summer. I previously lived in Rosslyn while interning for Congressman Raja Krishnamoorthi in 2020, and I cannot wait to move back.

Hello! My name is Abby Wester and I’m a senior at Mount Holyoke College, studying Political Science, Geography, and Journalism. I grew up — and am currently living — in the greater DC area, spending most of my life in Prince George’s County, Maryland. This summer I’ll be working with GGWash as an Editorial Intern, writing about transportation issues in the region, with a focus in Maryland.

I believe journalism is an important facet of our society because it keeps the public informed about issues. I have experience in journalism through writing for my school’s paper — the Mount Holyoke News — and creating my own podcast, Meme-ocracy (which looks at the intersections of politics with memes/pop culture). However, I’m new to the world of urbanism. Learning about urbanism has combined my interests in geography and politics, displaying how changes to the built environment and public policy can impact communities and ways of life.

While exploring transportation issues in Greater Washington, I’m specifically interested in discovering how they intersect with topics of sustainability and equity. I’m looking forward to furthering my journalism experience while also deepening my knowledge of urbanist issues and transportation in the region, all the while sharing what I learn with the GGWash community.

Please join us in giving them a warm welcome!