Caroline Garnett

Project Assistant at the City of Austin

Austin, Texas, United States

About

As a Project Assistant for the City of Austin, I support an engineering review team for a payment-in-lieu program with Austin Watershed Protection. I am passionate about seeing the direct effects of my work on the people and the environment of Austin, and working to improve the efficiency and effectiveness of our programs. I am a dual US-UK citizen and can work in both countries without restrictions.

Experience

  • City of Austin (Austin, TX · Hybrid)
    • Project Assistant
      Jun 2024 - Present · 2 yrs 1 mo

      • Led communication between external real estate developers and cross-departmental engineering teams to smoothly maintain back office operations for a review program worth over $1.1 million annually • Investigated historical financial transactions to locate $2+ million in additional public project funds • Extracted and analyzed financial and performance data to prepare reports for executive use • Created and optimized workflows using PowerAutomate and Microsoft Copilot to reduce manual and inefficient business processes, including maintaining documentation in SharePoint • Revised public-facing program information to align with changing City policies, translating engineering terminology into a clear and digestible format for City residents • Developed standard operating procedures to manage digital records dating back to the 1980s, incorporating Microsoft PowerAutomate to efficiently categorize, store, and dispose of records

    • IT Geospatial Analyst
      Jun 2021 - Jun 2024 · 3 yrs 1 mo

      • Integrated impervious cover spatial data with customer account data to ensure customer accounts are billed accurately • Collaborated on 3-4 database-wide updates per year, editing GIS data alongside performing QA/QC • Discovered long-overdue accounts with unpaid bills going unnoticed - recuperated utility revenue by improving SQL queries and FME workspace flows, reducing the risk of future revenue losses • Led business process improvements to a utility discount program, collaborating with internal and external stakeholders to improve both the public-facing application and back office operations • Resolved billing disputes through direct communication with customers, maintaining professionalism under pressure • Wrote and updated standard operating procedure documents for internal team use

  • Geographic Information Systems Intern at Texas General Land Office
    Aug 2020 - May 2021 · 10 mos

    • Updated the geospatial database, including editing property leases and current pipeline locations • Analyzed the composition of sand cores off the Texas coast for beach restoration projects • Collaborated with the Archives department to create map-based educational materials for public and K-12 use

  • Research and Public Programs Intern at Teresa Lozano Long Institute for Latin American Studies
    Aug 2019 - Aug 2020 · 1 yr 1 mo

    • Coordinated public programs through social media promotion, and assisted with event planning • For an independent research project, investigated the contributing factors to landslides after Hurricane Maria in Puerto Rico using ArcGIS software • Assisted two professors with research in sociology, including finding potential peer-reviewed sources and organizing information from past interviews with subjects

  • Green Fund Committee Member at University of Texas at Austin - Office of Sustainability
    Nov 2018 - Aug 2020 · 1 yr 10 mos

    • Cooperated with committee members to determine funding for prospective sustainability-focused projects based on feasibility, effectiveness, and visibility for UT’s Green Fund • In total, reviewed and approved the allocation of over $300,000 in student grants

  • Office of Sustainability Education and Outreach Team Leader at The University of Texas at Austin
    Aug 2018 - May 2019 · 10 mos

    • Directed the annual Sustainability Showdown, where 5 faculty presented to over 130 students • Presented hands-on workshops for students to learn to incorporate sustainable habits into their daily lives • Coordinated faculty and local non-profit leaders to present in a bi-monthly Speaker Series