Environmental Justice Internship (MD State Gov)

OVERVIEW:

The Maryland Department of the Environment is seeking a student intern to work on environmental justice (EJ) initiatives related to quality communication with communities and other stakeholders. The primary objectives are (1) to assist a student to complement his/her academic career with work-place experience, (2) to formulate a pilot program focused on environmental justice and community outreach, (3) develop and edit communication pieces regarding EJ and communities, and (4) assist with upkeep of the EJ portion of the MDE website. 

INTERNSHIP: 

The internship will be an unpaid, credit bearing academic/work related experience. The intern is expected to work at least 10 hours a week on the project over the course of the semester. 

PROJECT GOALS: 

MDE would like an intern to research and develop a community outreach tool for communities affected by various environmental issues. 

1. Pilot Project: This will be a pilot project implemented in a few communities. The first phase of this project will be to research how different communities prefer to receive information, i.e. community meetings, community newsletters, etc. The second stage of the project will focus on consolidating and analyzing this research while developing a tool for surveying communities about their interests and preferred methods of communication. In the third stage of the project, the student will implement the survey tool to determine the preferences of the various pilot communities and then analyze the results. Ultimately, the Department would like to be able to use this tool repeatedly as communities express interest in projects and/or issues of concern.

2. Assist the Office of Environmental Justice & the Office of Communications in editing, drafting, and revising brochures for stakeholders about MDE programs and processes as it relates to EJ. 

3. Attend policy meetings to observe and recommend ways to address and improve EJ policy at the Department. 

SUPERVISION: 

This internship would primarily be supervised by the Environmental Justice Coordinator at MDE; however, the student would also interact and work with the Air and Radiation Management Administration at MDE, the Office of Communications at MDE, and the Commission on Environmental Justice and Sustainable Communities (CEJSC). 

HOW TO APPLY: 

Please email a cover letter and resume to Lisa Nissley, Legislative Liaison & Environmental Justice Coordinator, lisa.nissley@maryland.gov.