Meet the Interns: Charlie Swan

For my internship, I am most excited to meet with the other departments at LEAP and learn more about what each of them do. I am constantly trying to expand my horizons, so meeting with an extremely diverse set of individuals is very intriguing to me! So far at LEAP I have learned a lot about economic development. I have familiarized myself with some tools that I have never worked with but are important sources of economic information in the field. I have also learned about site searches, and how difficult it can be for a company to find the perfect spot to start out or expand.

My internship project is going to be based around the idea of innovative employee transportation solutions. A huge problem right now for a lot of local economies is the extreme lack of labor. Without available labor, companies are unable to produce at their most efficient capacity and can lose out on a lot of profits. A solution to this is to expand the transit network in rural areas around the country. The goal of my project is to highlight important steps LEAP and the Lansing area can take to help with outreach to these rural areas. Some ongoing programs right now that I will be researching include the CATA Redi-Ride program and west Michigan’s wheels to work program. Finding transportation options that can both benefit the employer and the employee will be key to my project. An expansion of public transportation to rural areas can lead to a much more prosperous community for everyone, and can also make our location a more desirable landing spot for potential companies.

Category: LEAP Interns