Pictured: Allen Bush (left) and Andrew Smith (right)

ACCG welcomes fall policy and research intern Andrew Smith and returning legal intern Allen Bush. The interns will assist the policy, research, and legal staff with various projects and research assignments throughout the summer. 

Andrew Smith is originally from Valdosta and holds a Bachelor of Science degree in Geography from the University of Georgia. He is currently enrolled in the Master of City and Regional Planning program at the Georgia Institute of Technology, specializing in transportation, and will graduate in May 2019. Before arriving at ACCG, he interned with the Southern Georgia Regional Commission in Valdosta. While employed there, he produced several reports for the Valdosta-Lowndes Metropolitan Planning Organization, including Valdosta and Lowndes County Complete Streets Suitability, which received a 2017 Innovation Award from the National Association of Development Organizations (NADO) and was named 2017 Outstanding Initiative by the Georgia Planning Association. Andrew is an Eagle Scout and is interested in bicycle and pedestrian planning initiatives in small and medium-sized cities. By working with ACCG, he hopes to understand how counties can play a role in improving transportation options for Georgia residents and visitors. 

Allen Bush began his third year of law school at Georgia State University College of Law (GSU Law) where he is working toward a certification in Environmental and Land Use Law. Prior to law school, Bush graduated from Auburn University in 2012 with a degree in Chemistry. Bush is an Urban Fellow with the Center for Comparative Metropolitan Studies at GSU Law. He has worked with private law firms performing work in a number of areas of law, including property, bankruptcy, criminal, and family law. Following law school, Bush hopes to work in private practice in land use and zoning law. 

Over the course of his internship, Smith will assist policy and research staff by compiling and analyzing county election results, reviewing data on county occupation tax methods, examining TAVT revenues, analyzing county survey data related to the opioid crisis, gathering data for and helping to prepare presentations for legislative study committees and pending legislation, and providing general research and meeting assistance as needed. Bush will assist the legal department by performing deed research, reviewing contracts, aiding with a records retention project, updating publications, and performing general legal research assistance as requested.