ABOUT LATINOJUSTICE PRLDEF

Founded in 1972 as the Puerto Rican Legal Defense and Education Fund, LatinoJustice PRLDEF (LJP) has been a leading civil rights and social justice organization for five decades. LJP’s core issue areas include voting rights and redistricting, economic justice, immigrant rights, criminal legal system (policing and prison) reform, racial justice, leadership development, and issues related to Puerto Rico. LJP uses impact litigation, advocacy, and community education and engagement, among other strategies, to protect and advance the rights of Latinx and other communities of color. LJP has offices in New York City, and Austin, TX.

About The Advocacy Internship

Working under the direct supervision of the Chief of Advocacy, the Advocacy Intern will report to our Texas Southwest Office (SWO) and will play an important role supporting SWO’s Criminal Justice team to increase legislative and administrative efforts in advocacy and community engagement campaigns. The Advocacy Intern will be passionate about bringing reforms meant to challenge the criminal legal system; the intern will have basic knowledge of criminal, legal, and voting rights issues; and will be a strong communicator with a collaborative spirit. This Internship will support the Advocacy Team overall and spend approximately 50% of their time on criminal justice issues arising out of the SWO region.

General Duties

• Provides support to the Advocacy Team on issues relating to voting rights, criminal legal, economic justice and immigrant rights.

• Helps identify policy reforms that will benefit the Latinx community directly.

• Researches laws and legislative amendments and proposals across a range of issue areas.

• Assists with drafting comments and memos of support or opposition across a range of issues.

• Provides administrative support for staff-run training and workshops, especially during legislative sessions, about how the legislature works, to lobby the legislature, how to testify, how to write policy, and other related topics.

• Helps identify new coalition and stakeholder partnerships in the SW region for criminal legal and immigrant rights.

• Assists with evening phone banks for voting rights outreach and provides research support for voting rights projects.

• Collaborates with the Communications Department as needed to support Advocacy campaigns.

• Assists, where feasible, with community engagement efforts in the Southwest region.

• Regularly participates and supports LJP’s efforts in coalition meetings across a range of issues.

• Regularly participates and engages in internal Advocacy team meetings

Qualifications

• Strong communications skills

• Knowledge of Microsoft Suite, Outlook, and Teams

• Ability to support in all aspects of community engagement meetings, including public speaking and administrative support

• Ability to communicate, write, speak, and create communications for the community we serve strongly preferred

• Formerly incarcerated individuals and other systems-impacted individuals are strongly encouraged to apply.

Requirements

• An interest in criminal justice, voting rights or immigration rights advocacy required.

• Strong writing skills, for community education, advocacy, organizing and policy, required.

• Ability to follow a Hybrid schedule, to be discussed at time of internship offer.

Internship Details

• This Internship requires a commitment of 12 hours a week for fourteen weeks which may be divided between in-office/in-person and remote work as mutually agreed upon by the worker and the Chief of Advocacy. We are happy to support applications for academic course credit and will provide a stipend of $4200 for the entirety of the internship which will be distributed as follows:

• 7 weeks for Fall Semester (after the first 4 weeks $1050, and another $1050 after the following 3 weeks)

• 7 weeks in the Spring Semester (after the first 4 weeks $1050, and another $1050 after the following 3 weeks)