Jim Lam is an intern on the Transportation and Thriving Communities team at Smart Growth America. In this role, he is excited to contribute to the organization’s mission to create a more vibrant, connected, and human-centered built environment.

Jim is currently a junior at Claremont McKenna College studying Government and Environmental Analysis with a focus on (Sustainability and the Built Environment). At the Claremont Colleges, Jim co-founded Claremont Urbanists, where he collaborated with students, academics, urban planners, and design professionals to help spotlight urban challenges across the country. Jim also co-leads the 7C Transportation Working Group, bringing together student governments and college administrators to enroll in the Universal College Student Transit Pass (U-Pass) program.

Before working in transportation, Jim was a policy intern at AdvanceSF, where he worked to build support for two Bay Area transportation measures (Connect Bay Area and Stronger Muni for All). It was there that he fully noticed the synthesis between world-class transportation, thriving local economies, walkable main streets, and spatial justice.