Environmental Studies Student Anjali Boyd on Running for Office in Durham
Meet Durham’s newest Supervisor of the Soil and Water Conservation District, Anjali Boyd. In addition to beginning her new role serving her community, Boyd is working on her Ph.D. at Duke University at the Duke Marine Lab in the Nicolas School of the Environment. She studies foundation species like seagrass, corals and mangroves, and how to restore them in a cost effective and efficient way.
A lifelong resident of Durham, Boyd spent her time volunteering with the Durham Soil and Water Conservation District before starting graduate school. She wanted to find a way to use the knowledge she’d gained in obtaining her undergraduate degree in marine science to assist her community in Durham. Very soon she became a regular at board meetings and worked her way to become Assistant Supervisor to the Durham Soil and Water Conservation District. She then decided to run for the office of District Supervisor, an elected position. She was elected in November 2020 and was sworn into office in December of that same year. Boyd is the youngest elected official in Durham County.