Lead for America Spring Intern

The Lead for America Spring Interns Program Application Deadline is January 4th, 2019 at 11:59 pm EST.

Lead for America recruits, trains, and places our nation’s most promising young leaders in two-year local government fellowships in their hometowns and states to strengthen America’s public institutions, support our local communities, and cultivate the next generation of community and public service leaders.

Over the course of the two years, LFA Fellows will gain a new perspective and appreciation for local government, understand the most pressing issues facing our communities, be equipped with tools to enact communal and systemic change, establish relationships with partner universities and organizations, and gain opportunities to engage with a growing alumni network of passionate leaders, who together will continue to serve as transformational public service leaders in communities across the nation. Our first cohort of 80 Fellows will begin their training in July, and their placements in August, of 2019.

In its first year, Lead for America has been on a path of rapid growth, cultivating partnerships with the National League of Cities, the National Association of Counties, the Georgetown Baker Center for Leadership and Governance, the UNC School of Government, Tufts Tisch College of Civic Life, and Cities of Service, among several others. As Lead for America’s coalition of supporters expands, new creative possibilities are opening up, giving LFA an opportunity to shape the national discourse around leadership and service to community. Those who join our team will be part of a new movement that aspires to be broader than a fellowship program alone, and ultimately engage, connect, and amplify leaders of all ages working at the local level to cultivate a community-centered culture and society that can revitalize American democracy. Interns will simultaneously be exposed to the energy, enthusiasm, knowledge, and skills of their peers and co-workers, while also taking part in crafting the identity of this nascent organization.

Lead for America's Spring and Summer Internships can take place at Lead for America headquarters in Chapel Hill, North Carolina, or remotely.

Communications Intern. Communications Interns will join a department focused on building Lead for America’s brand and reputation from the ground up. Communications Interns will brainstorm, create, and implement communications and PR strategy, work with the recruitment and partnership teams to align messaging, and develop clear, creative, attractive, and shareable content for the website and social media.

Research Intern. will join a department committed to expanding Lead for America’s institutional knowledge to steer the organization’s partnerships, policy, programming, recruiting, and communications in the most effective direction possible. Research Interns will work on projects ranging from legislative analysis of service year appropriations, to reporting on best practices within leadership development training, to identifying and profiling potential partners and funders.

Programs Intern. Programs Interns will join a department overseeing the day-to-day operations and managing the fellowship experience. Programs Interns will coordinate logistics for the summer institutes in Washington, D.C., Boston, and Chapel Hill, conduct outreach to build new local government and community partners, work with host governments to implement the fellowship model, plan and execute on Fellow support and mentorship structures, and conceptualize innovative programs to improve the fellowship experience.

Executive Intern. Executive Interns will work directly for a member of Lead for America’s C-Suite (CEO, COO, Chief Program Officer, or Chief Community Officer), providing their manager with strategic support across all aspects of their job. Executive Interns will advise on, assist, and manage daily executive tasks, and will also be invited to attend and participate in executive meetings. Executive Interns will additionally oversee and execute on longer-term projects that can span the spectrum from communications, finance, development, programs, and operations.

Special Projects Intern. Special Projects Interns will be in charge of 1-2 large-scale projects for the duration of their internship. Special Projects Interns will work closely with one executive LFA staff member, but will be granted significant autonomy to achieve a broad objective. Sample projects include mapping out partner networks and fundraisers in a given state to prepare LFA for state expansion, spearheading a community engagement initiative on college campuses nationwide, or developing and implementing a management structure for high school volunteers.

Applications Due: 1/4/2019

Interview Notification: 1/7/2019

Selection: 1/18/2019

Decision Day: 1/21/2019

Internship Dates: 1/26/2019-4/26/2019