Dwan Kaoukji has been working as a research assistant with the UIC Great Cities Institute since the Fall of 2003, when she began her Master's degree at the UIC College of Urban Planning and Public Affairs . Currently, Dwan is completing her final year of the MUPP program with a concentration in community and international development. In her work with the UIC Neighborhoods Initiative, she is editing the online and paper versions of the UICNI quarterly newsletter and teaching basic computer literacy classes at the North Lawndale Community News center (a community partner with UIC Neighborhoods Initiative) through a community technology center grant provided by the Illinois Department of Commerce and Economic Opportunity.