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Jurisdiction: Town of Sawmills

University: UNC - Charlotte

Hometown: Chapel Hill, NC

Eli Elk serves as a Lead for North Carolina Fellow with the Town of Sawmills, where he supports municipal management, public access to recreational resources, and the modernization of the Town’s GIS infrastructure. During his fellowship, Eli will work closely with the Town Manager and Assistant Town Manager on a broad range of responsibilities, including updating internal policies, rewriting ordinances, supporting hiring processes, working with legal counsel, participating in planning activities, and shadowing department heads to better understand municipal operations. He will also lead a GIS overhaul of Veteran’s Park by developing an interactive, web-based map that helps residents navigate trails, recreational facilities, parking areas, fishing locations, and other amenities while providing more precise information for Town staff. In addition, Eli will support the Town’s GIS Suite Migration by evaluating hosting options, addressing existing data issues, and helping Sawmills transition toward independently hosting and maintaining its GIS services—a change expected to save approximately $8,000 annually. Through these projects, he is gaining hands-on experience in local government management, policy writing, ordinance development, planning, GIS, project management, public engagement, human resources, intergovernmental collaboration, and the day-to-day operations of municipal government.

Eli Elk serves as the Lead for North Carolina Fellow for the Town of Sawmills. A summa cum laude graduate of UNC Charlotte, Eli discovered a passion for local government while interning with Safe Alliance and looks forward to creating positive community impact through public service.

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