About Saira Siddiqui

Saira 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. Upon graduation, Saira applied to the RARE AmericCorps Program in hopes of gaining hands-on experience in the community development field while making positive changes in the community she serves. Following her second year with the RARE AmeriCorps Program, Saira plans on attending graduate school to further her studies in planning and community development.

About La Grande Main Street Downtown

La Grande Main Street Downtown works to revitalize the City of La Grande’s downtown area using the Oregon Main Street approach.  La Grande Main Street is volunteer driven by downtown businesses owners, community members and supported by many local organizations.  The La Grande Main Street Downtown 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 which were designated as either Performing Main Street programs or Transforming Main Street programs at that time.

Saira was placed with the La Grande Main Street in 2013 and 2014. As a second year RARE participant, Saira coordinates and manages various components of the La Grande Main Street Program. She is involved with daily administration, long-range planning, stakeholder engagement, and various special projects such as the Eastern Oregon Beer Festival. Major activities include the daily, weekly and monthly management of the program and the associated standing committees and the LGMS Board of Directors. Saira also provides staff support for meeting management, calendars of events, single-point-of-contact; marketing and communications; event coordination; project assistance, coordination, and management; and, technical assistance to committees as needed.