Public Policy

August 16, 2016, Filed Under: Uncategorized

Texas Civil Rights Project Fall Internships

The Texas Civil Rights Project uses legal advocacy to empower Texas communities and create policy change.

In its twenty-five year history, TCRP has brought thousands of strategic lawsuits, defending voting rights, fighting institutional discrimination, reforming systems of criminal justice, and protecting First Amendment values. Our efforts have helped countless low-income and otherwise marginalized Texans — and have widely advanced equality and justice.

Today — with dozens of high-caliber attorneys and professionals in Austin, Dallas, El Paso, Houston and the Rio Grande Valley and an extensive network of pro bono counsel and community allies —TCRP is among the most influential civil rights organizations in the Lone Star State.

Fall 2016 Internships:

Legal Intern:

Interns in the legal department will assist legal managers and attorneys with drafting, reviewing and filings on legal documents in our current and potential cases. They will also assist with legal research and in charge of miscellaneous projects as needed. Our legal interns assist the Austin office with our legal intake program, where they hear firsthand accounts of possible civil rights violations in the community. We assist with providing legal referrals, conducting investigations and finally providing free legal representation on matters that will help us enact systematic change, empowering Texas communities and creating policy change. Our interns learn valuable experience identifying problems and solution to many legal situations, a skill necessary in the fields of law and public interest. They use these same skills in our Jail Mail program where they analyze correspondence from all across the state in search of civil rights violations in Texas’ prisons and jails. Interns are a crucial part of ourimportant work in the areas of: Disability rights, Voting Rights, Economic Justice, Victim’s Rights, Institutional Discrimination and Criminal Justice Reform.

For more information, please visit our website at www.texascivilrightsproject.org and send in your resume, letter of interest, three references and hours of availability to aura@texascivilrightsproject.org with the subject Bridging Disciplines Applicant – Legal.

Development Intern:

Interns in the development department will assist the development, communications and executive departments in projects that are vital to our role as a nonprofit. They learn and assist with research projects on the potential donors, events and grants that fund our organization. They assist all departments in the organization and planning of different events from “friendraisers” to our annual Bill of Rights Dinner. The great work of this organization depends on having the proper resources to help as many communities as we can in the most significant ways possible. This is where our development interns come in. They assist us tracking donations, maintaining our databases, expanding our outreach and keeping us organized. If you are interested in the in and out of nonprofits and public interest work, this internship is a must.

August 16, 2016, Filed Under: Internship

Children’s Optimal Health Fall Internships

Children’s Optimal Health (COH) is a non-profit organization that supports central Texas communities to improve the health and well-being of children. COH works with these partners to create maps and analyze data at the neighborhood level to improve operations, inform policy, advance research, and engage the community. These efforts are used to address issues of health disparity and equity, to visualize change over time, and to create positive impact through collective action.

COH is seeking two interns for Fall 2016 semester to support data preparation and cataloguing for community research projects. Interns may work up to 15 hours per week on site at our office on 38^th Street or remotely. These internship opportunities are unpaid, but will provide a great introduction to the field of public health and to develop skills valuable for working with community data.

1. Data preparation internship: You will learn to geocode a large dataset of addresses to help ensure data quality for a study on child health. In this internship you will be trained and certified according to FERPA and HIPAA regulations in working with private data. We will introduce you to working with databases and mapping resources that are used to both transform and utilize this data for research. This is an excellent opportunity for students planning to work in public health, medicine, education, geography, or any field which works with community data for decision making.

2. Public data research internship: You will compile a database of publicly available datasets which relate to child and family health, safety, and welfare in central Texas. These datasets are highly valuable for use in studies on child and family health, and are a huge community asset. We will direct you to those resources we are currently aware of to be catalogued, and you will have the opportunity to network with professionals working with community data to identify new and additional resources. This is an excellent opportunity for students planning to work in public health, community advocacy, journalism, or any field working with community data for decision making.

To apply for either of these COH internships for Fall 2016, please send your resume and a letter of interest to Nic Moe (nmoe@cohtx.org) by September 9^th. In your letter of interest, clarify which internship opportunity most appeals to you and what you hope to accomplish this semester.”

August 9, 2016, Filed Under: Internship

Texas Coalition to Abolish the Death Penalty Fall Internship

Texas Coalition to Abolish the Death Penalty seeks Fall 2016 Advocacy Intern

The Texas Coalition to Abolish the Death Penalty (TCADP) is the only professionally staffed, statewide grassroots advocacy organization dedicated solely to ending the death penalty in Texas. We seek to shift the political climate on the issue and decrease use of the death penalty in Texas. Our approach includes strategic communications, engagement of “unusual voices”, public education and outreach, and support of litigation strategies.

TCADP’s Fall 2016 Advocacy Intern will assist with community outreach and public education programs, research and writing, strategic communications, political research, and administrative support. He/she will interact with the Executive Director and Communications Coordinator, as well as other volunteers, TCADP Board Members, and community partners.

Responsibilities:

Support public education and outreach programs, including events featuring death row exonorees and other individuals with personal experience with the Texas death penalty system
Research and writing assignments related to TCADP’s blog and monthly newsletter
Preparation for the 85^th Texas Legislature, including recruitment of and training for the TCADP Lobby Corps
Research and writing assignments related to TCADP’s year-end report on death penalty developments
Development of educational materials for print and/or online publication
Logistical support for the TCADP 2017 Annual Conference, which will take place in February 2017 in Austin
Administrative support, including data entry, resource inventory, and social media updates

Desired skills/experience:

Exceptional communication and writing skills (ability to speak and write Spanish is a plus)
Experience with grassroots/student organizing and community outreach
Experience with online communication/social networking tools (Facebook, blogs, Twitter, Instagram, etc.)
Proven ability to work independently
Interest in working with a non-profit advocacy organization
Personal commitment to the abolition of the death penalty

All work will be performed in our South Austin office and will be supervised by TCADP’s Executive Director and Communications Coordinator. This is an unpaid position requiring a commitment of 10-15 hours/week.

To apply, send a cover letter, résumé, and short writing sample (1-2 pages) to TCADP Executive Director Kristin Houlé at khoule@tcadp.org.

For more information about TCADP, visit www.tcadp.org.

Applications will be accepted until the position is filled.