For Melissa Leal-Esquivel, local government is appealing for a simple reason: She can see the impact of her work in the community.
She joined Paradise Valley Town Hall roughly three weeks ago as part of the Marvin Andrews and Jane Morris Local Government Fellowship, an Arizona State University program that places graduate students pursuing public administration or public policy degrees with local governments to gain hands-on experience.
The fellowship is in its 20th class, with 12 fellows working with local governments for two years at a time. Paradise Valley is participating in the program for the first time. Leal-Esquivel previously spent a year with the city of Tolleson through the fellowship before moving to Paradise Valley for her second year.
