Through a partnership with Milwaukee Turners, a non-partisan civic group, MSOE’s Honors Program is striving to make a difference in local government. The Catalyst Grant Program, which is a collaboration between Microsoft and the Urban Institute, awarded funding to Milwaukee Turners for the purpose of advancing technology to serve racial justice reform.

The Milwaukee Turners goal is to improve accountability of the Milwaukee Police and Fire Departments with the creation of an app. Sophomore computer engineering major Mac Williams has had the opportunity to lead the mobile and web app creation, partnering with the organization as an honors program student. The MSOE Honors Program gives students opportunities to go beyond the classroom and build relationships with Milwaukee community members and complete projects that pair their academic skills with community service.

The mobile app will enable members of the Milwaukee Turners to record information at the Milwaukee Fire and Police Commission Meetings conveniently on their phones. Then, users can log in to the web app to view the meeting transcriptions, documents and other relevant information. With a way to store and record information, community organizers will have a better sense of how the departments’ policies are created and funding is allocated.

Starting the project as only a freshman, this opportunity has given Williams the chance to connect with the community as well as understand all aspects of app creation.

“There is a lot more than just writing code for an app; coordinating meetings, making presentations and keeping up with new ideas and app evolutions is not an easy task,” said Williams.

For Williams, all his efforts are worth it for the end result: ensuring that all voices are heard.

“Getting out and participating in government and society is fundamental to being an American, whether it be voting, running for an elected position, being a member on a city board or auditing the systems within. All of these actions inspire change, and this is why I believe that this project is so important: the more people that are seeing what happens on the commission, the more focused the commission will be on maintaining a fair and equal system of operation for every citizen of Milwaukee.”