Placement requirements:

• Interpersonal communication skills and organizational skills.

• Attend at least one civic club meeting per week and be available for 2 hrs on Saturday to attend community events.

• Civic club meetings are in the 77088 and 77091 zip codes. Most community meetings are available via public transportation and virtual calls.

Placements description:

• Work as a thought partner to help develop an outreach strategy to assist civic associations, the super neighborhood, and other neighborhoods within the community to create functioning civic associations and robust lines of communication between themselves and other orgs that serve the community.

• Gain hands-on experience by visiting and assisting civic associations with various block walking campaigns and small strategy sessions to help them achieve their goals

Mentor Bio

Long time Acres Homes resident and Community Advocate, Rain Eatmon has had the opportunity to work alongside all levels of government in pursuit of uplifting the Acres Homes Community. Rain has worked within Council Member Tarsha Jackson's Office and State Representative Jarvis Johnson's Office and has volunteered as a member of the Complete Communities Initiative since its inception in 2017

Placement requirements:

• Ideally bilingual in Spanish or another language.

• Interest or previous experience working with indigent population.

• Students should be comfortable working with survivors of domestic violence.

• Advocates for Immigrant Survivors will support the student with trainings and mentorship to ensure they interact appropriately with clients.

Description of placement:

Student can support legal services and/or case management services depending on their strengths and interests and the organization's needs. Our immigration legal services team prepares applications and declarations, organizes supporting documents, writes legal briefs, and prepares court filings. Our case management team provides wraparound services, including safety planning, enrollment in victim-based programs, law enforcement advocacy, and referrals to community partners.

Students could work with a few clients over the semester in their immigration processes under attorney supervision. 

Mentor Bio

Sarah Bryan is a Co-Executive Director at Advocates for Immigrant Survivors and has over 11 years of experience representing immigrant survivors of crime in their path to seeking stability post victimization. She has also provided direct representation and extensive supervision in the areas of asylum, family-based petitions, naturalization, and other affirmative immigration processes. Sarah earned her J.D. from the University of Georgia School of Law and her B.S. from Vanderbilt University. 

As immigrants navigate the aftermath of victimization, they face unique barriers in accessing services due to fear of deportation, misinformation about the criminal justice system, language and cultural barriers, and lack of work authorization. Through our services, AIS not only restores and empowers immigrant survivors, but also makes Houston a safer community. 

Placement requirements:

• Ideal candidates will have previous academic experience conducting research and writing research papers

• Preference for Juniors and Seniors

• Ideally backgrounds in natural or earth sciences or similar fields of work.

Description of placement:

• Data analysis and research on science/policy intersection of water, wetlands, and/or flooding

• Community needs assessment

• Power mapping in local water policy decision-maker and policies affecting wetlands, clean waters, and flooding

• Interviews of community members, reporting of finding to community for feedback, documenting community-led tours on neighborhood water injustices

Mentor Bio

Mashal Awais joined Bayou City Waterkeeper in February 2021. Mashal utilizes her skills as an environmental scientist to partner with communities in the pursuit of healthy waters and communities throughout the Lower Galveston Bay Watershed.

Having received her Masters in Environmental Analysis from Rice University, she has worked alongside environmental justice communities advocating for communities’ right to clean air and water. Prior to joining Bayou City Waterkeeper, Mashal’s work focused on risk management in disaster recovery and mitigating health impacts from environmental pollution for fenceline and underinvested communities. She holds a Bachelor of Science in Chemistry from UT-Austin.

Mashal supports local environmental education efforts and youth-based climate resilience initiatives throughout the region. She has been living in the Houston area since 2008. As an immigrant from Lahore, Pakistan, she enjoys the richness and diversity of Houston, meeting new people, finding new music and art. 

Placement requirements:

• Strong analytical skills, comfort with navigating multiple software platforms

• Interested in research related to best practices.

• If interested in community outreach - must be outgoing and comfortable in a variety of social settings

• All candidates must have strong communication skills.

Description of placement:

Supporting the following areas:

• Program evaluation - developing tools and metrics tools and metrics to create ongoing feedback loops and outcomes assessments

• Development and donor management - developing and implementing effective ways to engage donors, including documentation on engagements

• Community outreach - client and volunteer recruitment and engagement

In all projects, interns will attend our program offerings, allowing them to interact with older adults, including individuals with dementia, and their family caregivers. The type and frequency of interactions will depend on the internship placement.

Mentor Bios

 1) Katie Scott, MPH; Katie is a Rice University graduate and holds a Master of Public Health degree in Health Promotion and Behavioral Sciences from the University of Texas School of Public Health. She has worked in health-related nonprofit programs for nearly 15 years and has led multiple local and regional projects focused on improving the region’s capability to respond to and serve people with dementia and their caregivers. In her current role, Katie is focused on developing quality programming incorporating national best practices into innovative interventions for individuals and families to improve their wellness and quality of life.

2) John Moore originally hails from Yankton, South Dakota, attended the University of Minnesota in the Twin Cities from which he received a degree in Political Science. After traveling the country working on campaigns through several election cycles, John settled down in Houston, which he has called home for the past ten years. John joined CarePartners in January 2022 and serves as the Director of Operations, overseeing the behind-the-scenes, day-to-day administration of the organization.

3) Andrea Williams is the director of the CarePartners Dementia Day Center. Andrea was driven to pursue a vocation in elder care after watching her grandmother’s dementia journey. She went on to earn a master’s degree at the University of Texas School of Public Health and has worked in dementia care for over 10 years.

Placement requirements:

• Interns should be highly organized, possess good communication and writing skills.

• Interested in diligent policy research in a fast-paced work environment

Placement description:

• Assisting with preparing Judge Hidalgo for Commissioners Court.

• Conducting research on a variety of topics for other policy team staff members

• Participating in meetings with county and community stakeholders.

Mentor Bio

Samantha Kealoha is the Deputy Policy Director for County Judge Lina Hidalgo. She is originally from Hawaii but spent the last 14 years working in the greater Seattle-area region in the government and nonprofit sector before moving to Houston in 2021. 

Sam believes the work of the County Judge's Office is important to ensuring that county government provides the services needed for residents and making underrepresented communities a priority in developing programs and services. She is especially passionate about advancing equity in workforce development policy.

Placement requirements:

• Preference for Junior or Senior

• Ideally background in sustainability, public policy, engineering, architecture, environmental science, sociology or related field

• Effective and clear writing skills, able to convey complex ideas in a simple way

• Self-starter, motivated, collaborator, team player, creative

Description of placement:

• Support in implementing and planning the county's internal Climate Action Plan and Climate Justice planning effort. 

• Conduct research and data analysis, produce reports, and exercise effective communication skills (verbal and written)

• Potential projects include:

  • Developing a place-based community engagement strategy with local partners

  • Developing a community/equity working group and planning processes to voice historically underserved communities

  • May be involved in community conversations or 1:1 interviews with community members to get their thoughts on the County's role in climate planning. 

Mentor Bio

Lisa Lin has over 15 years of experience as a sustainability practitioner in the public, private, non-profit, and higher education sectors. She began her role as the first Director of Sustainability for Harris County in January 2022. Her previous roles and responsibilities include leading the implementation of sustainable transportation initiatives at Rice University, coordinating San Antonio’s first Climate Action and Adaptation Plan during her time as Climate Program Manager for the City of San Antonio’s Office of Sustainability, and serving as the Sustainability Manager in the Mayor’s Office of Sustainability for the City of Houston.

Addressing sustainability, equity, and resilience at the County level is crucial to ensuring that these economic drivers of the region are also balanced with local climate action to mitigate development and industrial impacts as well as equitable access to health and prosperity.

Placement requirements:

• Interest in interdisciplinary work across art, science, and activist realms

• Passion for environmental justice and climate change both locally and abroad

• Desire to help build and shape a newly formed organization

• Interest in history of museums and collection practices

• Desire to connect and work across social and geographic boundaries within Houston

Description of placement:

• Build coalition among HCJM's community partners and networks

• Exhibition and programs research

• Connect with artists and scientists working on environmental and climate subjects

• Support with digital and social media campaigns

• Potential projects include: 

  • Planning and organizing a public art or science program at the museum from inception to action

  • Creating a climate change education curriculum for HISD middle and high school students

• Engaging with the community could include: 

  • Working with existing partners like IMPACT Fifth Ward, West Street Recovery, and Plan it Forward

  • Work with community members who have recorded oral histories with the museum

  • Work with community members in northeast Houston who are organizing clean up industrial contamination

  • Work with artists in the Houston area.

Mentor Bio

Aaron Ambroso is an art historian, educator, writer, and museum professional. He grew up as an artist and worked in museums in North Carolina and Houston before co-founder the Houston Climate Justice Museum. 

Can museums be forces for change and places of collaboration between scientists, activists, communities, artists, and historians? The stories we tell about the environment are a matter of survival!

Placement requirements:

• Work in a cooperative manner with fellows and program coordinators

• Ability to problem solve and must have basic computer skills

• Strong verbal communication skills

• Ability to work well with a diverse group of constituents.

Description of placement:

• Assist with community outreach to high schools and other partners within Precinct 2

• Maintain communication with the fellows during the academy sessions, develop a system to update programming based on feedback, and address other issues as needed

• Assist with planning and implementing the academy sessions

• Communicate with and assist high school students with the application process and provide expectations/requirements for the academy.

• Develop effective pre and post-session assessment tools a swell as pre and post assessment surveys for the academy as a whole.

Mentor Bio

Daniel Uribe has provided a variety of services including coordinating mediations, pro bono legal help for veterans, workforce development with youths and young adults, fellow programs with social work students and professors, and services for adults seeking employment. Daniel enjoys helping people get to where they want to go and get passed any barriers hindering their progress. 

Placement Requirements:

• Background in social science research 

• Familiarity with data, statistics, social policy analysis.

• Like working independently; not afraid to reach out and ask questions

• Interested in how data can be used for social good

• Self-directed, motivated learners tend to thrive best in this internship

Description of placement:

• The internship is centered around student-led research

• Interns are supported as they develop a research question, identify datasets, develop and conduct a research analysis, and prepare it for a final presentation and/or blog post.

• Possible project areas are housing, evictions, debt collection, environmental justice, criminal justice reform, education, or other pressing public policy issues

• Attend daily team meetings and weekly client meetings

• We always encourage our interns to reach out to community members as they try to answer their research questions. We draw upon our network of nonprofits, academics, and foundations to provide the student with introductions and information. We're also open to ideas that are more directly involved in community work.

Mentor Bio

David McClendon has a Ph.D. in Sociology from UT Austin. David has worked at Pew Research Center, Children At Risk, and January Advisors. David leads our data science and research team at JA and loves getting to work with so many different clients who are tackling some of our biggest social challenges.

Placement requirements:

• Belief in LFE mission and core values

• Bilingual English/Spanish

• Able to support and travel to Houston-area in person programming

Description of placement:

• Support with all programs and processes, including workshops and conferences

• Event planning and logistical support

• Donor/funder research

• Assist with creation of marketing material and visual design elements

• Support partnership and fellowship recruitment data collection and management

• Draft and revise content for program materials, publications, research and marketing

• Data entry and analysis

• Facilitate focus groups with Latino students, families and educators to inform MA and TX education policy

Mentor Bio:

Sandra Nunez is the Director of Programs & Partnerships for the Houston office of Latinos For Education. Her career in Education straddles formal education as a classroom educator in charter schools in the Rio Grande Valley to educational nonprofits working toward greater college access and educational equity. 

The work is anchored in leadership development programming for the adults that create the ecosystem surrounding a child's development-- parents, teachers, school administrators and aspiring board members. All efforts are aimed at activating community advocates working toward greater levels of educational equity for Latino students.

Placement Requirements:

• Demonstrates interest in contemporary art and small non-profit arts administration

• Ideal candidates are able to work both collaboratively and independently.

• Responsible with excellent communication skills.

Description of placement:

• Exhibitions

  • implementation for summer iteration of The Sankofa Project

  • implementation of The Big Show

  • Planning for Fall 2023 slate of exhibitions and early stages of our exhibition incubator model.

  • Tasks - maintaining checklists, artist and exhibition research, and assisting with loan agreement forums.

• Events - help out, as needed, for special events, including digital

• Fundraising - assist with Lending Library, The Big Show fundraiser, and planning for October HairBall fundraiser

Mentor Bios

1) Anna Walker (Executive Director) has dedicated her professional life to art and artists and is admired locally and nationally both as a curator and thought leader. She believes in a leadership approach that is non-hierarchical, emphasizes the team, and encourages collaboration among multiple voices to bring critical feedback and thought to our work. Prior to Lawndale, she worked at the Museum of Fine Arts, Houston (MFAH) and Houston Center for Contemporary Craft (HCCC). She holds a BA in Art from Otterbein University with a focus on ceramics and printmaking and an MA in Arts Administration from Indiana University

Lawndale is important because we support local artists at critical moments in their career; our emphasis is on exhibitions and programs that explore the aesthetic, critical, and social issues of our time. By tackling critical contemporary issues, we hope that our galleries and the artwork displayed offer a space for education and healing and contribute to important cultural shifts. I want us to emphasize the humanity at the core of art and culture and the opportunities that can flourish when you value artists in your community, listen to them, and provide them the resources and tools to succeed.

2) Emily Fens (Assistant Director) has worked in cultural institutions for a decade, beginning with the education department at the Houston Museum of Natural Science in 2012 and then Lawndale in 2016. She holds a BS in Neuroscience from UCLA and is a practicing artist, including recent collaborations with the Museum of Fine Arts, Houston (Music on the Plaza ft. Wild Moccasins) and Musiqa (LiveWire: an evening of modern music in conversation with dance and neuroscience).

For over 40 years, Lawndale has served Houston’s arts community with programming reflecting and responding to contemporary issues. I agree with what Anna mentioned; I especially think that Lawndale is unique in the intimacy we have in working with artists. We are able to directly listen and respond to their individual and collective needs, providing a platform for the community in collaboration with the community, while emphasizing voices historically underrecognized.

Placement requirements:

• Communication skills, graphic design preferred but not required

• Creative and self-motivated.

Description of placement:

In 2023, we will continue out work by influencing policy and funding to increase safe, accessible, multi-modal, and sustainable transportation; support environmentally just policies and initiatives that create resiliency and mitigate the impact of climate change; and co-power with individuals and communities to advocate for safe and dignified mobility alternatives. 

Support this work through: 

• Work on research and data analysis, community engagement, fundraising, or writing and editing

• Fund development and grant writing

• Community outreach

Mentor Bios

1) Ines Sigel serves as the deputy executive director of LINK Houston, a non-profit organization that that advocates for transportation equity. Since launching in 2017, LINK Houston has successfully shaped a $7-billion transit plan; compelled the Houston Mayor to fix Houston’s dangerous intersections and launch a zero-fatality safety campaign; influenced an alignment between affordable housing and transportation; and supported advocacy that led to the Federal Highway Administration halting a major highway expansion project and Harris County filing a lawsuit over inequities in the project.

2) Gabe Cazares serves as LINK's Executive Director. Gabe brings to LINK Houston years of experience leading advocacy and legislative efforts for disability rights and most recently led the Mayor’s Office for People with Disabilities at the City of Houston. As a proud Texan, a queer, disabled Latino, and a self-described policy wonk, Gabe is well poised to advance LINK’s mission toward a robust and equitable transportation network so that all people can reach opportunity.

Placement requirements:

• Proficient with Google Suite

• Proficient oral and written communication skills

• Must be a self-starter, flexible, and responsible

• Working knowledge of human trafficking in the U.S. is a plus but not required.

Description of placement:

• Support in developing a new platform to more efficiently track the date of the professionals who are using the curriculum with youth.

• Support the prevention education team with various projects, including curriculum and resource development, youth engagement materials, research, and data collection

• Conduct research on local and national human trafficking laws and youth-serving organizations

• Open to collaborating with the intern if they have any special interests they would like to work on. 

Mentor Bio

Desiree Lakey is a Houston native with a drive to serve others. She received her bachelor’s degree in health studies from Texas Southern University (TSU) in Houston, Texas. While attending TSU, she developed such a passion for community health that she went on to receive her master’s in public health at the University of North Texas Health Science Center. During graduate school, Desiree became committed to eliminating health disparities at the state and national level. She participated in breast cancer research, worked for a maternal mortality and morbidity task force, and developed curricula to aid children who have experienced interpersonal violence. Desiree enjoys being a part of the Love146 team where she continues the fight to mitigate disparities and inequities within human trafficking.

Placement requirements:

• Students should be able to understand and articulate why want to build power with AAPI women and girls to advance reproductive justice in Texas. 

• Effective communicator, able to synthesize the needs of those they serve and work with in a way that is transparent, collaborative, and culturally responsive/competent

• Committed to getting results and able to handle a unique and dynamic field environment, handle multiple projects at a time.

• Able to build relationships and love to talk with people and build them up.

• Students should be expected to do field work (door-knocking and site-based canvassing)

• Any level of fluency in Asian/Pacific Islander language is a plus; understanding the Asian/Pacific Islander communities in Houston is also a plus

Description of placement:

• Intern will be supporting with outreach, recruitment, and engagement of Texas chapter members,

• Help us build our base of members who drive or local campaigns.

• Canvassing AAPI women in Houston to build support for the HEAL Act, which would remove legal & policy barriers to healthcare access for immigrants.

• Build relationships with Members of Congress to gain their co-sponsorship after the bill is introduced. 

• Register AAPI women to vote in upcoming municipal election, going door-to-door and community sites to conduct outreach, as well organizing events

• NAPAWF will provide all community organizing training

The intern will be engaging in direct, face-to-face, in-person conversations with AAPI women in Houston to understand their stories and move them to action. Outside of field outreach, they will also be doing follow up to further engage these community members and bring them into the organization, whether through organizing events, holding one-on-one meetings, and facilitating meetings with the chapter. They will get the opportunity to meet  existing leaders and build up new leaders.

Mentor Bio

Ayketa Iverson has over 20 years of experience working in the labor movement, organizing, politics, civic engagement, community service, recruitment, and human resources. 14 of those years were spent with the AFL-CIO advancing progressively in roles that include (most recently) National Recruitment Coordinator for the Organizing

Institute.

The work we do at NAPAWF lifts up and builds power with AAPI women and girls and encourages them to be a part of decision-making processes that directly impacts them and their communities. AAPI women and girls are often marginalized, unheard and unseen regarding the issues that affect them the most (economic justice, reproductive justice, health rights, immigration, and racial justice). NAPAWF provides a platform for them to actively participate in real-time change and to positively impact their communities. This is why our work is so important.

Placement requirements:

• Comfortable speaking with people of different backgrounds

• An organized, outgoing self-starter 

• strong time management skills

• Bilingual (trilingual) in Spanish and/or Asian language is a plus, but not required

Description of placement:

• Assist in organizing the annual Youth Advocacy Summit and voter engagement outreach

• Event planning/outreach/logistics, engaging with speakers and community leaders to participate.

• Voter engagement outreach which would involve student working on intergenerational project to educate and engage community members on the impact of civic engagement. 

Mentor Bio

1) Christina Fu (she/her) is the Assistant Advocacy & Programs Manager at OCA-Greater Houston, where she is responsible for community building, community outreach, and civic engagement programming. After graduation from UT Austin with a B.S. in Mechanical Engineering, she decided to pursue a career in advocacy and community work to explore her passion for social justice and healing. 

2) Abby Gail Triño (she/siya) is the Assistant Youth Programs & Advocacy Manager at OCA-Greater Houston responsible for building civic advocacy and leadership skills to high school and college students across Texas through monthly workshops and the annual Youth Advocacy Summit. Being a first generation immigrant from the Philippines and working in different Asian/Asian-American spaces, she has become an advocate for building bridges between people of all backgrounds and a voice that promotes diversity and cultural appreciation.

Placement Requirements

• Preferably junior or senior

• No required area of study but preference to have some background in HR/admin, education, language/cultural study, humanities, social sciences, policy research

• Excellent verbal/written communication

• Relational/people skills

• Cultural competency

• Critical Thinking

• Cares about details and big picture

• Flexible and excited to learn about multiple aspects of nonprofit/youth work

• Comfortable with youth

Description of placement: 

Supporting multiple projects but a potential focus on one or two.

• Capacity  building for volunteer program - assist with further developing and improving our strategic plan for this program, monitoring and evaluation, scaling

• Community outreach and engagement - assist with meetings/presentations for community and possibly corporate partners and other interested groups, relationship-building, stewardship

• Advocacy and lobbying - researching school board, local, state, and federal policies and legislation relevant to newcomer students and their families.

• Assist in screening volunteers, managing volunteer data, develop universal orientation video, volunteer recruitment/communications.

• No matter what above role or role(s) the student supports, they will be very engaged with the community/community members.

Mentor Bio

Allison Hall's volunteering and service experience in and outside of her hometown of Houston revealed her interests and passions. These led her to a Master's in Public Administration (with nonprofit management focus) and her work today with PAIR.

PAIR's work is important because it addresses gaps in education and support that refugee youth experience. Investing in refugee youth not only equips them for success, but it impacts mentors who also learn from our students and it benefits the community overall.

Position requirements:

• Strong research and communication skills

• Spanish reading skills

• Interest in Latino culture and history

• Interest in digital humanities and archives

• Can work independently

Description of placement:

Collaborate on a historical project in its various stages as outlined below. 

• Scan archival documents, curate exhibits, and conduct data research

• Conduct primary document research, asset management, and data management (with spreadsheets)

• Work on metadata creation, metadata translation, and a public facing digital project.

Recovery has successfully completed its first Community Archiving event and the student will be able to support in the planning of an additional event and/or participate in the reception and accession of new archival collections.

Mentor Bio

1) Carolina A. Villarroel holds a Ph.D. in Spanish literature with a specialization in U.S. Latino Literature and Women's Studies.  She is the former archivist in charge of the Mexican American and African American Collections at the Houston Metropolitan Research Center at the Houston Public Library. Her expertise in U.S. Latino culture and literature has been fundamental to her positions at the University of Houston, where she is the Brown Foundation Director of Research for the Recovering the U.S. Hispanic Literary Heritage and Co-Director of the US Latino Digital Humanities Center. Carolina sees the goals of the Recovery Program as ethically creating archival spaces that are built in partnership with community members and owners of knowledge.

2) Gabriela Baeza Ventura, Ph.D. is associate professor of Spanish with a specialization on US Latinx literature in the Department of Hispanic Studies. Baeza Ventura also works as Executive Editor for Arte Público Press where she supervises the production of over thirty titles a year that include adult, young adult and bilingual children’s books. Along with Dr. Villarroel she is also co-director of the US Latino Digital Humanities Center. The work of our organization is important because it help locate, preserve and make available he written legacy of Latinas and Latinos in the US and actively working on including these materials into the curriculum

Position requirements:

• Interest or experience in community health

• General understanding of the basics of research and/or evaluation

Description of placement:

• Support the Evaluation of client projects in maternal and mental health.

• Support Data Collection for research projects or help co-author a paper.

• Collaborate with a mentor on community engagement or patient engagement projects

• Learn and practice effective strategies of collecting community input to inform projects

• Examine health and racial equity in multiple contexts 

Mentor Bio

Kendra L. Smith, Ph.D., MPH is the owner of Smith Research & Consulting LLC. Dr. Smith’s work and research revolve around building healthy and equitable communities with community at the table. Prior to leading SRC full-time, Dr. Smith served as the director for community engagement at the University of Houston – College of Medicine and associate director for community engagement and research at Stanford University within the Center for Population Health Sciences.

Placement requirements:

• No major requirements other than a willingness to work hard and an interest in changing the system.

• An interest in criminal justice issues and research experience, either qualitative or quantitative

Description of placement:

• Interns will gain an in-depth understanding of current criminal justice issues and advocacy efforts 

• Engage in research and analysis to support and contribute to current projects at TCJE

• Work on many of the issues plaguing the criminal justice system in Houston with as many tools as possible including:

  • Data analysis

  • Persuasive writing

  • Direct support and action

  • Elevating the stories of communities who bear the brunt of the system.

TCJE regularly works with the community and has sponsored the Statewide Leadership Council, a group of formerly incarcerated activists working to change the system. 

LRME interns will likely do some work with this group in order to enhance their understanding of how the system can impact individuals.

Mentor Bio

Jay Jenkins - Harris County Project Attorney

Jay has worked in Houston at TCJE since 2014. Jay graduated from Northwestern Law School in 2009 and got his Bachelor's in Biology and Classical Languages from Wake Forest University.