New Internship Opportunity

Internship Overview

The Clean Air Coalition of Western New York is a grassroots environmental health and justice organization based in Buffalo, New York. It works to build power by developing grassroots leaders who run and win campaigns that advance environmental justice and public health in the region.  The Clean Air Coalition envisions a world where our environment promotes health and equity and where communities are actively engaged in decisions that impact their lives. The Coalition works in Tonawanda to reduce emissions from industrial polluters, on the lower west side of Buffalo to reduce community exposure to diesel exhaust and in several other neighborhoods in Erie County to phase out toxic chemical storage and reduce exposure to school bus exhaust in residential neighborhoods.

We seek interns to help with our organizing, community-based research, and leadership development. All internships include some operations and development work. The Clean Air Coalition’s internships are ideal for highly motivated individuals looking to deepen and practice their skills engaging community leaders in solving environmental health and justice organizations.

Our interns work out of our Buffalo office. The Winter/Spring placements starting in January and end in May summer interns begin in June and end in August and the fall interns begin in September and end in December (exact dates are flexible).

The Coalition accepts two interns per semester. Internship goals are set between the intern and their supervisor based on the needs of the organization and the interests of the intern.   Past intern projects include producing a report on toxic releases and worker exposures in Tonawanda, developing educational materials on how Erie County government passes laws, publishing a report on Tier 2 compliance in Erie County, making recommendations to improve the Coalition’s brand and identifying national foundations interested in supporting the Coalition’s work.

2013 internship needs:

The Coalition if currently seeking interns to work on projects in the following areas:

• Political Education and Research  Projects will include creating popular education documents on local municipalities that govern our organizing areas, tracking decision makers through www.littlesis.org and researching and developing popular education materials on the City of Buffalo’s budget.
• Land Use, Zoning and Mapping Projects will include completing research on zoning in the town of Tonawanda, historical research on the industrial corridor in Tonawanda, Buffalo’s east and west side, and supporting the Gearing Up for Action program by researching the history of businesses and land-use decisions on Buffalo’s west side.
• Toxics and environmental regulations Projects will include research on Huntley, the coal burning power plant in Tonawanda and research on Special Environmental Projects.
• Spanish Language. This intern will support the Coalition’s transition to bi-lingualism. He or she will work closely with the Executive Director and west side organizer to translate educational and fundraising materials, translate at membership meetings and drive member turn out through turnout calls and mailings.
• Development. This intern will work closely with the Executive Director and Board Chair. Projects will include doing research on major donor prospects and foundations, produce support for the board retreat, annual dinner and and several targeted direct mail appeals.

The ideal candidates will have:

• Ability to work independently
• strong interest in social justice, participatory democracy, environmental justice or non-profit management
• strong communication, writing, and organizational skills
• experience or interest working with non-profit organizations
• strong skills working with Powerpoint, Word, GoogleDocs, Mailchimp, salesforce
• Research experience, in or out of the classroom, on issues related to public policy, participatory democracy, public health, urban planning, environmental justice, spanish language, or development

We strongly encourage applications from people of color, women, and LGBTQ individuals. The internship is unpaid, though it may lead to paid work depending on the intern’s performance and available resources. For more information, visit our website at www.cacwny.org

To apply, send a letter of interest, resume, and work sample (e.g. a brochure, flyer, powerpoint presentation, report, info sheet) to erin@cacwny.org. Applications will be reviewed on a rolling basis.