Nicole Goldin, an adjunct professor in the Elliott School of International Affairs, is running in an uncontested race for the Foggy Bottom and West End Advisory Neighborhood Commission seat 2A02, which was left vacant after Commissioner Rebecca Coder’s death earlier this year.
Goldin, 45, who is also a senior associate at the Center for Strategic and International Studies, is running to represent the area north of Pennsylvania Avenue and L Street. She said she will work to increase park space in her jurisdiction and boost communication between GW and the ANC.
Courtesy of Nicole Goldin
Goldin studied East Asian studies at Union College from 1990 to 1994, and then attended American University for the next two years, where she received a master’s degree in international relations. She spent one year pursuing a degree in development studies from the London School of Economics and Political Science and four years studying economics at the University of London, but eventually returned to the District in 2009.
Goldin said her previous work studying various city governments through her education abroad will help her succeed on the commission because she has seen how communities can come together in different ways to find solutions to a multitude of government problems.
“I have tried to listen and learn and be part of the conversation, and I think that’s what will help me be a good commissioner,” Goldin said.
Goldin said the most prominent problems facing her jurisdiction are the absence of parks, fields and parking spaces, in addition to transportation congestion. She said Ward 2 has the fewest community garden plots in the District, and she would like to plant a community garden in her section and work with local residential groups that are interested in improving public green spaces, like the Friends of Francis Field.
“I’m in a lot of learning mode right now and having a lot of conversations with the organization, the Friends of Francis Field group, that has been working on developing the field, as well as the folks that have been engaged in setting up the dog park,” Goldin said.
Goldin said she aims to increase communication between the ANC and the surrounding neighborhood to make West End residents aware of opportunities to support issues they are passionate about. Residents have previously participated in community-wide discussions about transportation issues and concerns about noise and safety.
She said she has had initial conversations with current ANC members about adding or setting up more mailing and distribution lists to ensure residents hear directly from the commission.
Goldin added that her experience as an adjunct professor in the Elliott School’s International Development Studies Program has allowed her to establish connections in the GW community that could help garner more interest in the ANC from students, faculty and staff.
She said she will increase the University’s involvement with the ANC by adding more events held at GW – like the recent ANC town hall held at the Marvin Center – using social media and establishing regular online and offline availability to meet with students and all members of her jurisdiction.
“Having that connection, if you will, and being part of the GW community already I think reinforces not only just the interest on my part, but also the ability to make those connections and be part of that discussion,” Goldin said.
