Speakers

Image of LEAP 2024: Bridging the Gap: Perspectives on Nonprofit and Community-Based Internships - Abstracts

LEAP 2024: Bridging the Gap: Perspectives on Nonprofit and Community-Based Internships - Abstracts

Panel 29: Bridging the Gap: Perspectives on Nonprofit and Community-Based Internships

This panel addresses four internships in social justice. We learned lessons about stakeholder relationships, trauma-informed care, and direct action; we are unified in our desires to serve underrepresented populations, advancing local education and justice initiatives. Juliette Glass interned for Clean Transportation Communities of Southern CT, a US DOE funded partnership focused on advancing clean and equitable transportation across Connecticut. Sophie Dalton was a Communications and Community Engagement Intern at Groundwork Hudson Valley (GWHV) in Yonkers, New York, creating content uplifting GWHV’s environmental justice efforts, and developing community engagement materials at the intersection of social and environmental justice issues. Lia Di Lisio interned at the City Bar Justice Center in Manhattan, conducting needs assessments and providing 30+ clients with referrals, resources, and emotional support. Kira Kaur interned for The Advance Group, which represents political candidates, not-for-profits, corporations, advocacy groups, and labor unions to help them accomplish their strategic and organizational goals.

Moderator: Jordan Lassonde, Associate Director of the SAW Program

Riding Into The Future: An Electric School Bus Outreach Internship In Connecticut
Juliette Glass ’25, Environmental Studies major, Art Studio minor

Translating Knowledge Into Direct Action My Experience at Groundwork Hudson Valley
Sophie Dalton ’25, Gender Studies and French Double major, Reproductive Health Rights and Justice: Five College Certificate

Case Management and Emotional Support: My Time at the City Bar Justice Center
Lia Di Lisio ’26, Psychology and Italian double major, Queer, Trans, and Sexuality Studies minor

My Summer at a Political Lobbying Firm
Kira Kaur ’26, Politics major & Education minor

Speaker name: Juliette Glass
Title: Riding Into The Future: An Electric School Bus Outreach Internship In Connecticut
While you might have fond memories of riding a yellow school bus, you might not know of the health dangers or high levels of greenhouse gas emissions that diesel school buses present to millions of students across the country every day. Juliette Glass was an Electric School Bus Outreach Intern for Clean Transportation Communities of Southern Connecticut, a US DOE funded partnership focused on advancing clean and equitable transportation across Connecticut. In order to help environmental justice communities comply with Connecticut’s mandate of 100% electrification by 2030 and statewide electrification by 2040, she conducted outreach across CTC’s 3-county footprint to jumpstart school bus electrification with an early assessment of current electric power capacity and future needs for full school bus electrification. These analyses will be (a) a helpful reality check for districts, the utilities, and policymakers, and (b) prime the pump for school bus procurement and charging equipment installations.

Speaker name: Kira Kaur
Title: My Summer at a Political Lobbying Firm
This summer I worked as an intern for The Advance Group. The Advance Group represents and works alongside political candidates, not-for-profits, corporations, advocacy groups, and labor unions to help them accomplish their strategic and organizational goals. As an intern for TAG, I performed a number of tasks including data entry, outreach on behalf of clients, writing, research and event support. In my presentation I will outline what my day to day tasks were, what it was like working for the company and what I would recommend to other students looking to intern or work in a similar organization.