Internships at the Arab American Institute are an exciting opportunity for undergraduate, masters, and law students or recent graduates to gain experience in civil rights advocacy, public policy, and civic engagement. During the fall and spring semesters, AAI accepts four exceptional applicants—three are placed internally in our office and one placed externally at The Brookings Institution.
Spring 2019 placements at the AAI offices include:
Field Intern (1 spot available): Works with AAI's field team to support our central mission of promoting democracy through civic engagement and political representation. The Field Intern has the important role of helping build coalition capacity to support essential grassroots programming, such as our Yalla Vote voter mobilization and education campaign, and assist with community development initiatives. Responsibilities include organizing and hosting individual and cooperative Yalla Vote voter registration events, contributing to issue-based organizing resources and toolkits, connecting with college and community organizations to grow networks, and providing updates and analysis for publication on AAI's website.
Government Relations/Legal Intern (1 spot available): Works with AAI's government relations department and Policy Counsel on legislative advocacy, concerning both foreign and domestic policy, and multiple aspects of potential and ongoing cases. Responsibilities include preparing a daily briefing on emerging policy and news-related developments, providing research, writing, and editorial assistance for AAI's Congressional Scorecard, drafting FOIA requests, attending events in the DC policy community relevant to AAI's issue areas, and generating original analysis for publication on AAI's website.
Policy Intern (1 spot available): Works with AAI's policy team and senior staff on pivotal civil rights and civil liberties issues affecting Arab Americans and allied communities, which include: academic freedom and First Amendment rights, the 2020 Census, hate crime, surveillance, and immigration. Responsibilities include providing research, writing, and editorial assistance for short- and long-term projects, attending meetings with coalition partners and government agencies, assisting with coordination of Congressional briefings and other events, and generating original analysis for publication on AAI's website.
External internships include
- Brookings Institution Communications Intern (1 spot available): This internship provides a pre-professional learning experience that offers meaningful, practical work experience related to the student’s field of study or career interest. It will provide an opportunity for career exploration and development as well as a chance to learn new skills. Intern should have interest in communications and research to apply principles and theory learned in the classroom in a professional environment.
What are the benefits of being an AAI Intern?
While at AAI, interns have the opportunity to work in-depth on a number of relevant policy issues and develop important skills that aid in long-term professional development such as program development, project management, event planning, and research and writing.
Applicants can expect to develop experience in several of the following areas:
- Program and Policy Development
- Government Relations
- Community Mobilization
- Communications and Media Outreach
- Event Planning
How do AAI Interns make a difference?
An internship with AAI offers students and young professionals a chance to dive into the world of DC politics and domestic and foreign policy. Interns contribute substantially to the work of the institute, assisting with critical tasks that support AAI’s mission. Depending on the position, interns can expect to work on a variety of projects including updating issue briefs, developing white papers, and assisting with community outreach events.
Please Note:
The AAI internship program is very competitive. Interns must be available to start their internships on Monday, February 4, 2019, and commit through May 3, 2019. Applicants who are unable to fulfill these requirements will still be considered, but are not guaranteed acceptance into the program. Preference for spring internships will be given to those who are available to work full-time. Applicants must either be U.S. citizens or permitted to work in the U.S.
Compensation:
Interns receive either college credit OR a stipend of up to $1,000 per month, based on hours worked.
How to Apply
Applicants should email the following items to internship
aaiusa [dot] org:
- Resume (1 page)
- Cover letter
- Contact information for 2 references (professional and academic only), noting your relationship
- A short writing sample that is on a relevant topic of your choice (Max. 1,000 words)