Saira Siddiqui received her Bachelor of Arts in Environmental Design with Minors in Studio Art and English from the University at Buffalo, New York. As a student, Saira held internships with the Buffalo Olmstead Parks Conservancy and the Mayor’s Office of Strategic Planning. After attaining her Bachelor’s degree, Saira decided to apply to RARE AmeriCorps – Resource Assistance for Rural Environments in hopes of gaining hands-on experience in the community development field while making positive changes in the community she serves. Following her year with the RARE Program, Saira plans on attending graduate school to further her studies in planning and community development.
Saira is placed with La Grande Main Street, which works to revitalize the City of La Grande’s downtown using the Oregon Main Street approach. La Grande Main Street is volunteer-driven by downtown business owners, community members and supported by many local organizations. The La Grande Main Street Program was officially designated by the State on September 26, 2008 as an “Oregon Main Street Transforming Downtown.” La Grande joined 10 other Oregon communities that were designated as either Performing Main Street programs or Transforming Main Street programs at that time.
With La Grande Main Street, Saira will coordinate and manage various components of the La Grande Main Street Program. Saira will be involved in all aspects of the project, including, but not limited to, daily administration, long-range planning, stakeholder engagement, and various special projects. Major activities include the daily, weekly, and monthly management of the program, the associated standing committees, and the LGMS board of directors. Saira will also provide staff support to the program and all of its activities, including meeting management, calendars of events, single-point-of-contact, marketing and communications, event coordination, project assistance and/or coordination and/or management, and technical assistance to committees as needed.
Organization: La Grande Main Street
Community: La Grande
Population: 13,095
County: Union