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Aisha Murphy
"Rebuilding community and improving housing policy."
After the April 2011 Tuscaloosa-Birmingham Tornado Disaster in Alabama, I volunteered my time to help rebuild the community and connect with the residents.
A few days later, we visited the US Civil Rights Trail in Selma, Alabama to learn about the history of “Bloody Sunday” at the Edmund Pettus Bridge (March 7, 1965). Both events had significant implications for housing laws and policy. I was inspired to begin a public service career that was committed to providing disaster relief assistance and aid, enforcing fair housing laws, and improving and developing local communities.
Today, I am a Financial Operations Analyst at the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD). I am now a HUD Innovation Fellow in the HUD Synergy Innovation Lab Pilot Program. During my internship with HUD, I joined my colleagues on a field trip to inner city Baltimore to better understand the homeless and underrepresented housing communities. As we toured one of the Baltimore neighborhoods, we were briefed on HUD’s planning and redevelopment ideas for the community. I remember a homeless man walking up to join and engage in the conversation. The opportunity was a humbling experience that provided me with a first-hand account of how my duties and service will impact the public.
