Energy & Climate Campaign Intern

The Wilderness Society is seeking a highly motivated individual to join our Energy & Climate Team for a summer internship as we work to ensure public lands are part of the climate solution. This position’s main objective is to contribute to the energy and climate campaign success through her/his/their support of campaign outreach and coalition building efforts.  

The United States federal government is one of the largest energy asset managers in the world yet has no comprehensive plan for managing its fossil fuel resources extracted from public lands in a way that addresses or even acknowledges climate change. Over the last decade, the lifecycle emissions associated with these publicly owned oil, gas and coal resources amounted to the equivalent of more than 20% of all U.S. greenhouse gas emissions. 

With climate change, the science is clear, and the stakes are high. Scientists are predicting significant and severe climate impacts in our lifetimes if we don’t act. Our shared public lands are part of the climate problem; but can and should be part of the climate solution.   

This summer internship will provide her/him/they with the opportunity to learn more about energy and climate policy as it relates to public lands. This individual will take part in regular coalition building and team meetings, help design and implement outreach strategies and support communications efforts that will uplift non-traditional voices on the advocacy for the climate plan for public lands.  

The Energy and Climate Summer intern will be based out of Denver, CO and will be working directly under the supervision of the Energy & Climate Campaign Managers.  

This position plays an important role in supporting an inclusive organizational culture that is grounded in trust and accountability to shared goals and outcomes. TWS has made diversity, equity, and inclusion strategic priorities for the organization and the intern will integrate these priorities throughout our work. Across our team, we aspire to be campaign oriented, nimble, collaborative, innovative, transparent, and supportive of staff – our greatest asset.  

Essential Duties & Responsibilities 

Energy and Climate campaign outreach 

o Help organize a community and coalition event with the goal of educating them on the climate or energy campaign importance and gain broader support for future engagement.  

o Identify new engagement opportunities (particularly with youth advocates)  

o Prepare draft fact sheets to engage with coalition members, local groups and grass-tops individuals.  

o Join coalition calls and support team programmatic meetings when it aligns with the internship goals.  

Support the development of campaign communications tools 

o Review and update campaign outreach material 

o If applicable, lead the translation efforts for community engagement and campaign materials 

o Help the team on identify local stories from non-traditional voices; prioritizing voices from frontlines communities and underrepresented groups.  

o Work with Campaign Managers and Communications team to edit and collect stories for our national campaigns. 

General responsibilities 

o Prepare a workplan with support from both internship supervisors.  

o Meet on a weekly basis with team based out of Denver to follow progress on internship goals.  

 QUALIFICATIONS
Experience, Competencies, and Education  

• Basic understanding of the issue of climate change and its impacts. Otherwise, willingness to learn at a fast pace. 
• Ability to work independently 
• Result-driven  
• Proven experience working with underrepresented groups and communities of color 
• Ability to communicate effectively – through verbal and written communication 
• Commitment and understanding of issues related to diversity inclusion and inclusivity. Or at least willingness to learn and use this as an opportunity for growth 
• Organized and a problem solver, meaning that the candidate has the ability to seek creatives ways to address challenges and bring alternative solutions to the team   

Desired Characteristics  

• Conversational level of Spanish  
• Experience in political campaigns or/and public policy   

As an organization, we aspire to be inclusive in the work that we do, and in the kind of organization we are. Internally, this means working as a team that listens to different points of view, recognizes the contributions of every employee and empowers each employee to bring their whole selves to work every day. Externally, this means ensuring that public lands are inclusive and welcoming, so that our shared wildlands can help people and nature to thrive. We are committed to equity throughout our work, which we define as our commitment to realizing the promise of our public lands and ensuring that all can share in their universal benefits.

To learn more about our commitment, please see http://wilderness.org/our-commitment-diversity-equity-and-inclusion-wilderness-society