Summer Internship Time!

Hey Fellow Fellows,
It's been a while. I apologize.

This semester has been packed to the gills, but I'm still loving it (check back in the week of May 3rd, when everything is due... I might have a different story)

This summer, I'll be interning at California Food Policy Advocates in Oakland. I learned about them in the fall, and really was swept away after an informational interview with a recent grad who is a Nutrition Policy Advocate there. I survived the hectic summer internship search, and secured my internship with them last week. Phew!

From their website http://cfpa.net a little about their mission and work:

California Food Policy Advocates is a statewide public policy and advocacy organization dedicated to improving the health and well being of low-income Californians by increasing their access to nutritious and affordable food.

As California's only statewide anti-poverty program with a focus on hunger and malnutrition among low-income people, CFPA employs a variety of strategies to develop and implement public policies that recognize the value of adequate nutrition and its fundamental contribution to good health and development, education and productivity. These strategies include:

• Research that demonstrates the scope and nature of hunger in California and the efficacy of public and private food programs in mitigating it.
• Development and promotion of strategies and programs to meet the nutrition needs of low-income communities and individuals.
• Public education and advocacy to ensure the inclusion of nutrition in the formation and implementation of sound public policy.
• Technical assistance, training and support to low-income communities in their efforts to identify and overcome hunger and hunger-related deficiencies.
• Collaboration, through conferences, communication and coalition-building, among food program providers and other community-based organizations throughout California to facilitate their working together to mitigate hunger and poverty.

I don't know exactly what project I'll be working on this summer, but most likely it will be related to School Lunch, School Breakfast or any of the programs affected by the Child Nutrition Re-authorization.

As for leadership skills and competencies I hope to work on, I always appreciate developing and strengthening my communication skills. Powerful written communication will be essential for policy advocacy, and I will be able to practice different writing styles this summer.

I also am looking forward to learning more about the state and federal government, and the awareness when working with them that is required for effective policy advocacy leadership. I will be able to observe and hopefully participate with some experienced advocates, and I am eager to learn the process.

Finally, one skill I hope to work on this summer, which I believe is particularly necessary when fighting for policy changes, is predicting how change affects others. Being able to successfully predetermine the different objections that groups and individuals might have, gives you a leg up in being fully prepared to fight, compromise or convince them that you understand their concern.

Should be an exciting summer!