Abby Thiel

November 8, 2022 in Intern Profiles

The Ohio State University,
School of Environment and Natural Resources Major: Environment, Economy, Development, and Sustainability (EEDS)
Major Specialization: Community Development Minor: City and Regional Planning, Geographic Information Science

Planning Intern
City of Hilliard
June 6 – August 12, 2022

Thiel.115@osu.edu

Abby was the summer intern for the City of Hilliard’s Planning Division. She supported the Planning Director and Planning Manager with preparations for monthly Planning and Zoning Commission meetings and Board of Zoning Appeals meetings. This included leading site plan reviews for an Amazon Web Services data center, and a private dental office, as well as leading variance applications for these development proposals in BZA meetings. The City of Hilliard is working to receive a SolSmart designation, and Abby coordinated the City’s application, ensuring that the City met application requirements. Abby

also researched public outreach strategies that would help the City inform residents about a new electric aggregation ballot measure that will come before Hilliard voters in November.

Upon her graduation next May, Abby plans to join the workforce before returning to school for a graduate level degree. This internship with the City of Hilliard has led her to strongly consider local government as a career path, something she hadn’t previously considered. Abby views working in local government as a tangible way to advance her goal of helping to develop sustainable development principles to foster positive social and infrastructural change.