He quit his job in the Maryland- Washington , D . C . area and moved to San Francisco to work at a local nonprofit , the San Francisco League of Urban Gardeners , better known as SLUG .
At SLUG , he was able to teach residents how to grow their own food and build community gardens . In that job , he partnered on community volunteer and job training programs with City agencies . That eventually led to a job with Public Works , where he continued to foster volunteerism and workforce development initiatives .
Mebrahtu , meanwhile , knew he wanted to be an architect since his childhood . One of his earliest memories was building structures out of Legos as a toddler in his native Ethiopia .
Although Mebrahtu always had a passion for design and building , he had no idea he would end up as a project manager working on such complex developments as the California Academy of Sciences , the San Francisco Public Utilities Commission headquarters and now on the Moscone Center expansion .
As avid soccer fan and player , Mebrahtu studied architecture at UC Berkeley and landed first an internship and then a job at Public Works . Early in his career , he began taking classes in database development during his free time as he considered a vocational change during the dot-com boom . But just as he was wrapping up his studies , the tech economy went bust and he was given an opportunity at work to have a significant role in transforming a formerly hazardous site at 23rd and Treat streets in the Mission District into a public park .
What emerged was the Parque Ninos Unidos Clubhouse , which was recognized by San Francisco Beautiful for improving and artistically beautifying the public realm .
That project inspired Mebrahtu to pursue project management .
Like Nuru , he speaks of teamwork as a key to success . “ Nothing gets done individually ,” Mebrahtu said . “ It gets done collectively as a team .”
Black History month is an annual celebration of African-American achievements and a time to recognize the central role of African Americans in U . S . history . As an organization , Public Works is proud to practice and celebrate our diversity not only during the month of February , but all year long .
Mohammed Nuru ( top row , third from the left ) and Brook Mebrahtu ( top row , fifth from left ) join colleagues at Black History Month celebration .
February 2017 - San Francisco Public Works Newsletter