Meet Eeraj and Amairani: Public Works Partners’ Newest Analysts

Public Works welcomes Eeraj and Amairani to the team as our new Analysts! Eeraj brings a background in political science and activism while Amairani will leverage her background in environmental science and environmental justice.  Both will be supporting the Client Services team. 

Eeraj Junaid 

Eeraj attended New York University where she majored in Political Science. As an undergraduate student Eeraj interned with the Campaigns and Research team at Amnesty International, was an involved student leader in the Muslim Students Association, and a student worker at the Islamic Center at New York University. At Amnesty Eeraj conducted preliminary research about the conditions of detention facilities in the United States, facilitated a demonstration in front of the White House, and organized a regional conference with the Senior team. Combining these experiences with her extracurriculars during this time helped her to identify a passion for activism, empowering vulnerable groups, and building community.

After graduating, Eeraj went on to work at a Business Immigration Law Firm where she realized that she wanted to continue advocacy work in the public and non-profit sector. In early 2020 Eeraj joined the NYC Mayor’s Office of Immigrant Affairs (MOIA) to manage the NYC Immigrant Information Desk initiative and later as a Project Manager on the Legal Initiatives team. There she worked collaboratively with her team to ensure the smooth operation of ActionNYC, a program designed to bring free and safe immigration legal services to all New Yorkers. Eeraj deeply valued MOIA’s mission to create a more equitable and inclusive environment for immigrant New Yorkers to not only live but survive. This commitment to serving community and increasing impact is what led Eeraj to Public Works.

Eeraj was excited at the prospect of working in a dynamic environment where she would engage with public and non-profit organizations on a variety of projects. Public Works combined the creativity, integrity, and dynamism she valued in past experiences into one place. She is excited to expand her portfolio and apply her unique skills and knowledge to advance the mission of the organization.

Outside of work Eeraj enjoys exploring the city, going to the movies, baking, and thrifting. She is a huge Shah Rukh Khan fan, an avid Yelp reader, and is heavily involved (pre-covid times) in the Muslim community at the Islamic Center at New York University.

Amairani Marin Tovar 

Amairani has always been drawn to the environment and how drastically different ecosystems, like a forest and the urban jungle that is NYC, can function. These interests led her to pursue a bachelor’s degree in Environmental and Sustainability Sciences with a minor in Latina/o Studies from Cornell University. During her time in undergrad, she conducted wildlife conservation research on moose in Adirondack Park, NY and forest regeneration research in upstate NY. This love for the environment pushed her to support programs that promote increased access to the outdoors in historically excluded communities. In 2018, she worked to introduce more Latinx people to The Rocky Mountain National Park in Colorado through an internship with Environment for the Americas. This experience allowed Amairani to apply knowledge from her coursework and her own cultural experience as a daughter of Mexican immigrants. She worked in the program development and outreach aspects of the project by tabling events and holding information sessions in English and Spanish to accommodate language barriers. The program was successful and concluded with a 5-day backpacking excursion through Rocky Mountain National Park!

Her past experiences working with underrepresented communities has further enforced her interest in Environmental Justice work. Her post-undergraduate internship with Surfrider Foundation centered on beach-access equity and environmental justice initiatives. This project led her to interact with various stakeholders such as government officials, non-profits, community members, and industry professionals.

Amairani was drawn to Public Works Partners for its commitment to engaging and supporting the communities in which they work. For Amairani, this is an amazing opportunity to apply her skills, while also learning from the rest of the Public Works team. She is excited to start engaging with communities and different organizations to contribute to meaningful projects happening across NYC.

Outside of work, Amairani will find any excuse to be outdoors. Graduating in the middle of a pandemic pushed her to find and explore new hiking trails. Aside from hiking, she enjoys picnics in central park and any outdoor activities or sports. When in NYC, Amairani can be seen thrifting or finding the next best Latin social dancing scene! She is also an alum, and now mentor, for Doris Duke Conservation Scholars Program.