2025 Policy & Nonprofit Leadership Interns Selected

SHECP is pleased to announce the selection of this year's interns for the 2025 Policy & Nonprofit Leadership Internship program. These internships offer a unique opportunity for returning SHECP interns to gain greater understanding of the dynamics of organizational leadership and the creation of successful anti-poverty policies.

“We are thrilled to see the continued growth of the Policy and Nonprofit Leadership Internship in its third year,” said Jen Handy, Associate Director of SHECP. “Thanks to the incredible support from our member institutions, we’ve been able to double the number of interns for Summer 2025 and partner with two new agencies. This expansion reflects both the success of the program and the increasing interest among students in addressing issues of poverty through policy and nonprofit leadership.”

This summer, the Policy & Nonprofit Leadership internship program will return to the Brookings Institution, the National Community Action Foundation, and the United Planning Organization:

• Annie Huang, a World Politics and Mathematics major at Hamilton College, and Kevin Martinez, a Sociology and Government major at Hamilton College, will both be working as Rural Policy Interns at the Brookings Institution. Both Annie and Kevin will be working with the Global Economy and Development (“Global”) program at Brookings, a program that aims to shape the policy debate to improve global economic cooperation and fight global poverty and sources of social stress.

• Luke Spumberg, an Economics major and Legal Studies minor at Bucknell University, will be working as a Policy Intern with the National Community Action Foundation (NCAF). Luke will conduct research and prepare written products that support NCAF's legislative initiatives that support and advance the work of Community Action Agencies such as the Community Services Block Grant, Weatherization Assistance Program, and the Social Determinants of Health.

• Lizuly Meraz, a Religion and Political Science major at Middlebury College, will be an Economic Security Analyst with the United Planning Organization (UPO). Lizuly will work with UPO's Legislative Advocacy Department to advocate for budget and policy changes that promote racial and economic equity. Additionally, Lizuly will conduct research to assess the economic security of D.C. residents working at low wages and make recommendations for policies to support them. 

  
  

As part of the expanded program, the Policy & Nonprofit Leadership internship program is partnering with two new agencies, the National Alliance to End Homelessness and the National Urban League.

• Katie Schadler, an English Literary Studies major and Creative Writing minor at Bucknell University, will be working as a Policy & Nonprofit Management Intern with the National Alliance to End Homelessness, using data and research to understand policies addressing homelessness. Katie will research existing or proposed legislation or policies at the state and federal level, and support the Alliance’s National Conference on Ending Homelessness in June.

• Taniyah Johnson, a Public Policy major at Georgia Tech, will be working as a Policy Intern with the National Urban League's Washington Bureau, preparing memos on congressional proceedings, researching and tracking litigation, and developing advocacy materials. Along with fellow NUL interns, Taniyah will present research and recommendations to NUL senior leadership and will participate in the 2025 National Urban League Conference in Cleveland, Ohio.

  
  

The PNPL internship is an opportunity for students to explore the intersection between poverty and policy, building upon their experiences from their previous SHECP Summer Internship. Avani Kashyap, a 2024 PNPL intern with UPO, said, “This second internship showed me ways to create my own perspective and advocate for something that I believed in, relying on other people’s experience and knowledge.”  

The Policy & Nonprofit Leadership Internship program will run concurrently with the SHECP Summer Internship Program, from the beginning of June to the end of July. At the end of the program, interns will have the opportunity to present their research and reflections at the SHECP Annual Conference at Marymount University in Arlington, VA. This program has been made possible by funding from the Middlebury Conflict Transformation Collaborative. Additional support has been provided by Hamilton College and the Georgia Institute for Technology. For more information about the Policy & Nonprofit Leadership Internship, visit: www.shepherdconsortium.org/policynonprofitleadership.