NORFOLK, VA (WVEC) – At only 27 years old, Joe Dillard is involved in more organizations than many people who are in his age group.
His paying job finds him working at Hampton Roads Transit (HRT) as its Government Affairs Liaison.
"I had to go up and talk to (Congressman) Bobby Scott and Congressman Scott Rigell and they signed on to it," said Dillard, referring to a $1.2 million federal grant for new city buses he helped land for the area.
Although he helps improve Hampton Roads' present through his paying job, Dillard also devotes much of his time to help the future of our area.
"Global Shapers Norfolk, NAACP Norfolk, the State Conference of the NAACP, the Freemasons," stated Dillard, listing organizations of which he is part, adding, "The Greater Hampton Roads Black Democrats and Young Democrats."
Global Shapers Norfolk -- which has a mission "to activate 757 millennials to drive creative change locally and share ideas globally" -- recently commissioned and released a report that focused on a number of issues, including politics, sustainability, economic development and the decades-old debate of regionalism.
The group is asking lawmakers to take the report into consideration when drafting new policies that will affect millenials in Hampton Roads.
"We need to diversify (into) cybersecurity," Dillard told 13News Now, explaining the need to attract new types of jobs to the area. "What I would like to do is to try to get us engaged so we get those higher paying jobs."
Dillard said he also hopes that his efforts influence the lives of his children when the time comes to have a family.
"If I don't like the roads, if I don't like the way my educational school system is run, I'm in a position right now where I can really make an impact, and I would rather try and not succeed than sit on the sidelines and complain," Dillard said.