Washington Internships. Deirdre Martinez

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СКАЧАТЬ and prestigious internships do tend to have earlier deadlines, the other practical reason for the early deadline is that applicants have to go through a security clearance process. More on security clearance in the next chapter.

       The People You'll Meet

      This of course varies widely depending on your assignment and your networking skills. One student who was assigned directly to an Assistant Secretary at the Department of Commerce spent all of her time working closely with senior staff and came away with a solid understanding of the work of the office and lots of good contacts. Another student at the Department of Health and Human Services was assigned generally to an office and really never got past answering phones, so was not able to connect with staff in a way that showed off his research skills. Again, it's best to be clear in the interview what the workload will be and how you will be assigned work so that you can make an informed decision about the internship offer.

       What You'll Get

      Federal agencies often use internships as a way to recruit individuals for full-time work, so choosing an internship in an issue area that is of particular interest to you could well lead to employment after college or at the very least some well-placed references.

INTERNING IN AN ADVOCACY ORGANIZATION OR THINK TANK

      GOOD BOOKS

      Interest Group Politics by Allan J. Cigler and Burdett A. Loomis (2006)

      “Advocacy Organizations in the U.S. Political Process” by K. T. Andrews and B. Edwards, Annual Review of Sociology 30: 479-506 (2004)

      In this section we'll talk about two similar types of organizations: advocacy groups and think tanks. Advocacy groups are nonprofit organizations that run the gamut from tiny to impressively large. Unlike think tanks, advocacy groups don't typically have lots of Ph.D.s on staff who write big books and spend their Sunday mornings on television (though some do). Advocacy groups are perhaps a little more connected to issue campaigns on which their organization takes a position and conducts, well, advocacy to achieve their goals. This might include getting the word out to their members, who then contact their Members of Congress; meeting directly with Members of Congress or providing congressional testimony; and holding events that might get picked up by the media. For example, Common Cause is a very old and well-respected organization that sees itself as a “vehicle for citizens to make their voices heard in the political process and to hold their elected leaders accountable to the public interest.” That means they take an issue—say, for example, money in politics—and conduct some research, talk to people, and then try to change how things are done. In the money in politics example, they spend a lot of time trying to change campaign finance law so that wealthy people don't have more influence in politics than everyone else, which is their view of the status quo.

      The profile for think tanks is a little different, though sometimes the differences are not terribly clear. Like some of the most well-established advocacy organizations, there are a number of think tanks in Washington that are very well funded and have large staffs. While the work varies widely, at think tanks the work is more focused on research and on informing policy debate, rather than directly influencing policy debates. This is not to say that they don't have a clear political view; almost all of them have a consistent political perspective on policy issues and most are fairly open about where they fall on the political spectrum. To get a better sense of what think tanks do, see the profiles that follow.

       American Enterprise Institute

       http://www.aei.org

      AEI is a conservative think tank, founded in 1943. It is associated with neoconservative domestic and foreign policy views. According to the institute its mission is “to defend the principles and improve the institutions of American freedom and democratic capitalism—limited government, private enterprise, individual liberty and responsibility, vigilant and effective defense and foreign policies, political accountability, and open debate.”

      AEI has a large internship program, accepting fifty students each spring, summer, and fall. The work is substantive, and students are assigned to an issue area that matches their interests (economic policy, foreign and defense studies, social and political studies, media affairs, The American magazine, publications editing, information systems, marketing, and human resources). Interns are also assigned a policy mentor in their area of interest. Internships are unpaid, but AEI interns don't have to worry about a food budget; AEI interns enjoy a complimentary gourmet breakfast and lunch. AEI also arranges a number of lectures and discussions with impressive speakers and coordinates a number of tours for each of their intern classes.

       Center for American Progress

       http://www.americanprogress.org

      On the opposite side of the political spectrum you will find CAP, which was started in 2003 by John Podesta, former chief of staff to President Clinton. CAP's stated mission is to create a “long-term, progressive vision for America—a vision that policy makers, thought-leaders and activists can use to shape the national debate and pass laws that make a difference.” Their staff and fellows work on a wide range of policy issues, organizing events, producing reports, and providing congressional testimony.

      With a staff of 150, CAP brings in fifty interns each term to work on one of their issue teams. Interns participate in meetings, contribute to research projects, and are invited to discussions with organizational leadership. The program provides a stipend, but no gourmet lunch.

       Where You'll Be

      There is a vast range of nonprofit advocacy organizations in Washington representing particular interests. On one end of the spectrum are small organizations working on a single issue and with very limited budgets and hence staffing. EPIC, the Education for Peace in Iraq Center, has two rooms above a shop on Capitol Hill. There are thousands of organizations like EPIC working on campaign finance, gun control, the death penalty, you name it. Their staffs might be limited to a founder and an assistant, or may be a little bigger as a result of a successful grant application. On the other end of the spectrum are multi-issue flagship organizations that have been around for decades, are highly visible, and have strong fundraising capability. They may have staffs of a hundred or more and can afford to recruit academics and others from the top of their respective fields. These think tanks and advocacy and membership organizations often own impressive real estate scattered across Washington, where their names are proudly displayed above the front door. Organizations such as these (Brookings Institution, Cato, the Children's Defense Fund, the Heritage Foundation, AARP…) typically have large, organized internship programs that sponsor a dozen or more interns every summer.

       What You'll Do

      Many of the smaller organizations have limited resources, which means they usually don't have enough staff to do everything they would like to do, and are not able to pay high salaries to the staff they have. This has several consequences. First, these employers tend to have a staff that is committed to the organization's cause. Second, staff are given freedom to take on new projects, which can be an opportunity to establish themselves as an authority on an issue. Third, interns are welcome and are often provided the opportunity to contribute meaningfully to the work of the organization. An intern working for an advocacy organization may be asked to prepare reports or fact sheets that the organization will publish, to write congressional testimony, or to conduct research on a new issue area. Working for EPIC, for example, you might write for their СКАЧАТЬ