2008 Internship Project Descriptions
North Carolina Conservation Network
The North Carolina Conservation Network
(NC Conservation Network) is a statewide network of over 120
environmental, community, and environmental justice organizations.
The NC Conservation Network works to strengthen the environmental
community's ability to shape local and state environmental
policy by facilitating coordination of campaigns, providing
updates and analysis of bills and rules, and sustaining a
growing base of activists across the state. We are looking
for five creative, bright, and hard-working interns to join
our team for the summer of 2008
www.ncconservationnetwork.org
Project 3: Water Quality and Quantity Advocacy
Project 5: Grassroots Organizing to Protect Health and the Public Environment
Project Proposal 1
Environmental Legislative Monitoring
and Affiliate Communications
Project Description: This internship
is an opportunity to experience firsthand the making of environmental
policy at the state level. The 2008 short session of the NC
General Assembly runs from May through August. Critical decisions
that directly affect North Carolina's environment are made
in committee rooms, stakeholder negotiations, and House and
Senate chambers. The North Carolina Conservation Network works
to strengthen the environmental community's ability to influence
these decisions by keeping the community informed, coordinating
direct advocacy and lobbying efforts, growing the grassroots
base of citizen advocates, and building the capacity of environmental
non-profits across the state to influence policy.
Responsibilities: This intern will primarily
be engaged with the legislative work of the organization.
During the legislative session, the NC Conservation Network
tracks legislation closely and publishes weekly email updates
to keep our 120 affiliates aware of issues moving in the NC
General Assembly. Activists and groups across the state rely
on these for timely, thoughtful coverage of legislative debates
and alerts about opportunities to influence bills. The intern
will work as a team with the Legislative Monitor to be the
"eyes and ears" of the environmental community at the State
Capitol. This will entail attending legislative committee
meetings and general sessions of the House and Senate, helping
evaluate proposed legislation, and writing updates that summarize
key debates and decisions. The intern will also have the opportunity
to attend weekly strategy meetings of the environmental lobbyists
working in Raleigh. There may also be the opportunity for
more in-depth policy analysis on one or two issues, depending
on which issues are moving this session.
Qualifications: Key qualifications include
solid writing and communication skills; ability to pick up
on nuance when listening to discussions at the legislature;
and an interest in meeting and working with colleagues across
the NC environmental community. A good sense of humor is a
plus. The job will usually require business professional dress.
Location: The intern will work out of the Conservation Network's offices in downtown Raleigh, just a few blocks from the NC General Assembly.
Supervisor: Erin Kimrey, Legislative
Monitor, erin@ncconservationnetwork.org
Additional Information: Overall, this
internship will provide an excellent opportunity to watch
North Carolina's legislature in action; to learn how state
agencies implement the laws passed by the legislature; to
see from the inside how environmental groups actually do advocacy;
and to learn about the full gamut of environmental issues
facing North Carolina.
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Project Proposal 2
Better Growth Policies at the Local Level
Project Description : Over the next decade, North Carolina is expected to continue to grow rapidly. Until now, environmental advocates have made relatively little progress at the state level in winning adoption of wise growth policies. The 2007 elections brought ‘smart growth’ candidates to office in a number of jurisdictions, opening better prospects for good growth policies at the local level. This project will consist of policy research, writing, and communication to support NC Conservation Network affiliates in taking advantage of these opportunities.
Responsibilities : Based on leads gathered from environmental groups working in communities around the state, the intern will conduct library research and gather policy materials to support advocacy campaigns for strong local growth policies. Depending on feedback from affiliates, these materials may focus on floodplain management, adequate public facilities ordinances, better local transportation planning, or other local tools to promote better growth patterns.
Qualifications : Strong writing and verbal communication skills are essential. Experience with transportation policy or city planning preferred.
Location: Raleigh, NC.
Supervisor: Grady McCallie, Policy Analyst, grady@ncconservationnetwork.org
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Project Proposal 3
Water Quality and Quantity Advocacy
Project description: Water quality and quantity are closely related issues, but their respective public policies could have followed very different paths over the last decade. Since 1996, North Carolina has adopted a series of cutting-edge water quality rules, melding federal Clean Water Act responsibilities with state solutions to address pollution from stormwater, agricultural operations, and sewage treatment plant discharges. In contrast, water quantity has remained governed by inadequate and obsolete laws. The 2008 state legislative session is likely to see an intense focus on both aspects of water policy, with key water quality rules up for legislative review, and a growing recognition (thanks to the 2007 drought) that water allocation policy needs attention as well. This project will provide support to a coalition of water quality advocates working for strong water quality and quantity policies in the state legislature.
Responsibilities: The intern will help develop educational advocacy materials for water campaigns during the 2008 short session of the NC General Assembly. The intern will also help staff of the NC Conservation Network carry out the 2008 Clean Water Lobby Day, an annual event in which advocates from across the state converge on Raleigh to talk with legislators about top water policy priorities. The intern will be an active member of a team of advocates working to protect two water quality rules and to enact sensible water allocation laws; this internship provides a great, hands on opportunity to see exactly how state level and river basin advocacy groups conduct campaigns in a state legislature.
Qualifications: The intern should be a graduate student at the Nicholas School, with strong communications and logistical skills. Strong interest in advocacy is essential; prior exposure or participation as a volunteer with advocacy groups is preferred.
Location: Raleigh, NC.
Supervisor: Grady McCallie, Policy Analyst, grady@ncconservationnetwork.org
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Project Proposal 4:
Scoping biotech and nanotech policies.
Project description: One of the NC Conservation Network’s functions is to look several years ahead to identify issues that will need attention from advocates in future years and prepare a foundation of policy work that enables the environmental advocacy community to engage effectively on those issues. Cities across North Carolina’s Piedmont crescent have hailed biotech and nanotech as an ideal economic engine for the state over the next three decades. This project is an effort to scope out the landscape of biotech and nanotech in North Carolina, and to collect a snapshot of the policies adopted by other states to promote and regulate biotech and nanotech.
Responsibilities: The intern will read widely and interview academics, business leaders, and state officials in North Carolina and specific other states to piece together a picture of the status (and projected future) of biotech and nanotech in North Carolina as compared to other states. The intern will prepare a memo distinguishing different subfields of biotech, identifying the major environmental implications of each, and reviewing the policies adopted by states to promote or regulate them. Based on this research, the intern will prepare short educational materials for a general audience, and will develop a recommendation for a draft public policy campaign to promote responsible biotech in North Carolina.
Qualifications: The intern should be a graduate student in environmental policy, public policy, or business. Excellent research and communications skills are essential, along with an ability to work creatively and thoroughly. Supervision will consist of mentoring and feedback rather than close, step by step direction. The project needs to evaluate both incentives to attract industry and innovation and regulatory efforts to protect public health and the environment, so critical, nuanced analysis will be vital.
Location: Raleigh, NC or Durham, NC.
Supervisor: Grady McCallie, Policy Analyst, grady@ncconservationnetwork.org
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Project Proposal 5:
Grassroots organizing to protect public health and the environment
Project Description : This internship involves a wide range of grassroots recruitment and development activities and is be ideal for people who are interested in gaining hands-on experience with grassroots organizing.
Responsibilities: The intern will help grow the grassroots base of the North Carolina environmental movement, assisting in recruiting, retaining and developing environmental activists across the state. The intern will be responsible for developing materials on issue campaigns to assist activists, using the internet to recruit new activists, and planning and attending outreach events to meet new activists and help existing activists learn new skills.
Qualifications : Undergraduates, preferably familiar with North Carolina and environmental issues. Strong writing and interpersonal skills are essential. Must be willing to travel within North Carolina, work a non-traditional work week, as well as work some nights and weekends. Interest in environmental policy helpful, but interest in organizing is more important. Dress will usually by business casual, but may be more formal on rare occasions.
Location: Raleigh, NC.
Supervisor(s): Veronica Butcher , Organizer, veronica@ncconservationnetwork.org.
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