Meet Our Interns: Christina Payamps-Smith

The National Low Income Housing Coalition is fortunate to have great interns every semester and summer. Spring intern Christina Payamps-Smith, a master’s degree student at the University of Colorado-Colorado Springs, shares her experiences as an intern with us today.

For as long as I can remember I have had an interest in social justice issues. After graduating from college, like most recent graduates, I contemplated what to do next that involved my interests. After some searching, I quickly found an AmeriCorps position with an affordable housing developer. Since this time, my interest in social justice was pointed to affordable housing.

Using this experience as a jump start, I was eager to learn more about affordable housing and the environment in which housing organizations exist. I started working on my masters in public administration to gain additional knowledge. After several family moves, I found myself living in the D.C. metro area and looking for opportunities to supplement my coursework.  In my search I came across the internship openings at NLIHC and thought, after writing multiple class papers using NLIHC’s publications as resources, that this opportunity would be a perfect fit.

The experience has already proved to be exciting just a few weeks into my internship. I have had the opportunity to attend coalition meetings, meet with Congressional staffers on Capitol Hill, attend Congressional committee hearings and interact with people who are dedicated to affordable housing. My time here has educated me on the legislative process and all the people and issues that are involved. Many of the projects that I have worked on so far challenge me to develop my skills and learn new things.

For anyone considering an internship with NLIHC, I would say it is a worthwhile experience. This internship offers an opportunity to build professional skill sets and to truly gain knowledge in all areas of affordable housing.

Meet Our Interns: Shira Steinberg

The National Low Income Housing Coalition is fortunate to have great interns every semester and summer. Our fall interns have been with us for a few weeks and are excited to share their experiences at the Coalition with you. Think interning with the Coalition might be for you? You’re in luck! We’ll begin accepting intern applicants this Friday.

Finding an internship during the school year is a challenge. An internship has to accommodate the life of a student— multiple exams and essays stacked on one day, many a sleepless night, the occasional mandatory meeting—as well as have the authenticity of a “real world” job. As if that weren’t demanding enough, an internship should relate to what one would like to do with one’s life. Thus, despite receiving many internship offers, from working as a beekeeper to tutoring elementary schoolers, none of these prospective internships really resonated with me as a Government and Politics major. In addition, an internship should be something that you can not only learn from, but something that you can be passionate about. Thus, the summer before school started, the daunting challenge of finding an internship that possessed all these qualities loomed large.

Fortunately, I was lucky enough to find the National Low Income Housing Coalition’s internship program. Suddenly, finding the perfect internship no longer seemed impossible. As one of the Outreach Interns I am involved daily in the inner workings of NLIHC, which has truly allowed me to understand more about public policy in the nation and how constituents work to advocate programs to the federal government. And, yes, this is much more applicable to my major in Government and Politics than raising bees would have been.

This internship has taught me the importance and role that housing plays in today’s society. Every day someone is unable to pay rent because housing in this country is unaffordable. Through my time at NLIHC I have learned that this problem affects everyone in this country, rich and poor. The people at NLIHC have decided that this issue needs to be addressed, no matter how long it takes to change it for the better. Having an opportunity to work among some of the most dedicated and passionate people, who work to make this nation a better place, has been inspirational.

Not many people get the opportunity to intern somewhere like this; I am lucky I have had this chance. My advice? Don’t let an opportunity like this slip by. There are only so few chances to work somewhere that will understand your needs while fostering a passion for helping others through civic means.

Meet Our Interns: Riley Keenan

The National Low Income Housing Coalition is fortunate to have great interns every semester and summer. Our summer interns have been sharing their experiences at the Coalition with you over the last few weeks. This is the last of their posts before our fall interns begin. Think interning with the Coalition might be for you? Learn more here! We’re still accepting applications for both communications and research interns.

I began my research internship with the National Low Income Housing Coalition with a somewhat

Riley Keenan with fellow summer interns Marcus Mello, Becca Larew and Chelsea Dalziel

daunting task: calculating the number of housing units available to low income households in each county in each state in the United States. Although not all of my responsibilities were this complex, I think this example illustrates an important point about the research internship at NLIHC. The research department is the engine room of a data-driven advocacy machine, and as a result, there are times when research interns will feel like they are drowning in numbers. One of the most valuable aspects of the internship, however, is the opportunity to discover the many ways in which those numbers can directly impact the success of NLIHC’s advocacy mission.

Rights issues for low income individuals have been important to me since my first foray into the professional world in 2010. That summer, I interned with Reston Interfaith, an outstanding organization that runs a homeless shelter, food bank and subsidized childcare center in my hometown of Reston, VA. This experience encouraged me to get more involved with low income rights issues when I returned to school at the University of Virginia in the fall. I began volunteering with the Legal Aid Justice Center, a clinic that provides subsidized legal services to low income individuals in the Charlottesville area. When it finally came time to look for work after graduation, these experiences led me to consider opportunities in low income rights advocacy, and this position at NLIHC stood out to me as an excellent fit.

My degree from UVA is in American Studies and History, so my coworkers are often surprised to learn that data analysis is a type of work that I very much enjoy. My quantitative skills came in handy this summer with a variety of projects, including the Congressional District Housing Profiles and data analyses for our state-level partner organizations. I also found that the writing skills I developed in college were useful in my internship, as I was tasked with drafting articles on new housing research for our membership newsletter, Memo to Members. On the other hand, many of the tasks I encountered at NLIHC were new and challenged me to grow as a professional. For example, as part of a research project on state-funded rental assistance programs, I was asked to reach out via email and phone to government officials and to director-level staff at our state partner organizations. This helped me to expand my professional communication and interpersonal skills.

I chose to intern with the National Low Income Housing Coalition this summer for a simple reason: affordable housing issues affect everybody. If you are committed to working for change, are looking to gain experience with a mission-driven team and don’t mind getting your hands a little dirty in Excel, then I highly recommend this internship experience to you.

Meet Our Interns: Becca Larew

The National Low Income Housing Coalition is fortunate to have great interns every semester and summer. Over the next several weeks, each of our summer interns will share their experiences at the Coalition with you. Think interning with the Coalition might be for you? Learn more here!

Like many soon-to-be graduates, the months before my college graduation were filled with trying to figure out what to do next.  Most of my classmates decided to go straight to graduate school, but I wanted to learn more about life outside of the university setting first.  As part of my social work degree, I completed a practicum with United Action for Youth in Iowa City, an agency that works with pregnant or parenting teens and homeless youth. During my time there, I gained an insider’s perspective on different social programs, especially Section 8 housing, where many of our youth and their families lived. By working with them, I learned about the stigma attached to using housing vouchers in Iowa City and the complications renters faced because of landlords refusing to accept their vouchers.

When researching internship opportunities, I was looking for ways to gain experience in macro-level social work and advocacy. I also wanted the opportunity to move away from Iowa and go outside my comfort zone. When I came across NLIHC’s internship description on idealist.org, I thought it would be a wonderful opportunity to learn about advocating for socially just policies and to organize people around housing issues. After talking with Outreach Associate Mary Kolar about the outreach position and how involved interns are in the everyday activities of NLIHC, I was excited for my big move and to start working.

As one of two outreach interns, I was able to learn about NLIHC’s membership and why members are so important. Joining NLIHC is like becoming a member in an active community that works together to make life better for people struggling with different housing issues. Members have the opportunity to stay informed and take action on different policies that affect either themselves personally or someone they know. While interning I was able to talk to members either on the phone or when attending conferences and learned how becoming a member of NLIHC impacted them. Also I was able to do several other projects while interning including analyzing membership demographics, directly assisting people with housing problems and verifying member’s congressional districts.

As my internship with NLIHC comes to a close, I am again faced with answering the question, “what’s next?” After a brief trip back to Iowa to see friends and family and a backpacking trip through Central America, I will be returning to the East Coast to work as an AmeriCorps volunteer at Crittenton Services of Greater Washington. I know I will use my experience and newly acquired skill set that I gained from NLIHC in all my future endeavors. My advice to prospective interns would be to apply for any internship NLIHC offers because you will gain a wealth of knowledge of different housing issues and be welcomed and appreciated by the staff.

Meet Our Interns: Chelsea Dalziel

The National Low Income Housing Coalition is fortunate to have great interns every semester and summer. Over the next several weeks, each of our summer interns will share their experiences at the Coalition with you. Think interning with the Coalition might be for you? Learn more here!

For as long as I can remember, I have been passionate about public interest and social justice issues. This passion led me to become an active volunteer throughout my high school and undergraduate career, as well as to my decision to attend law school, where my desire to serve the public interest is reinforced on a daily basis.

As an active member in Charlotte Law’s Pro Bono Program, I have had multiple opportunities to assist vulnerable and underrepresented populations in my community. Being part of this program has led me to develop a desire to serve the underserved on the larger scale through research and policy work. So I was immediately interested in applying for an internship position with the National Low Income Housing Coalition as soon as I learned of the opportunity.

At NLIHC, I am currently one of two research interns. I am extremely fortunate to hold such a position, because it allows me develop a diverse skill set that would be hard to obtain elsewhere. My responsibilities as a research intern vary greatly, including writing articles for NLIHC’s weekly newsletter, Memo to Members; researching low income housing trends and programs in place to assist low income individuals; and updating state housing profiles. I have also had a few opportunities to attend congressional hearings to help show the organization’s support or opposition to certain legislation.

While it can be challenging being a new intern, it is a challenge that should be met head on. The staff at NLIHC is friendly, supportive and very appreciative of all of their interns. They understand that new interns might not be savvy to the inner workings of the organization, or to all of the prevalent issues NLIHC was established to address. They are happy to answer as many questions as you may have, as well as expose you to as much as they possibly can.

Although my internship position has not yet ended, it has already produced multiple benefits for my future. For example, holding such a position has helped me secure an advocacy intern position with the Charlotte Housing Authority that I will begin in the fall. It has also played a part in my acceptance onto the editorial board of a new law journal that focuses on civil and social justice issues, where I plan on utilizing the knowledge I have gained from NLIHC to develop and publish an article focused on low income housing issues.

If you are a public interest-minded individual seeking a diverse and rewarding experience in the heart of D.C., and interested in assisting a distinguished nonprofit organization with their mission, I would highly recommend an internship with NLIHC.

Meet Our Interns: Michael Sarna

The National Low Income Housing Coalition is fortunate to have great interns every semester and summer. Over the next several weeks, each of our summer interns will share their experiences at the Coalition with you. Think interning with the Coalition might be for you? Learn more here!

Coming off of a semester I was less then satisfied with this past spring and having burned out on the camp counselor game, I knew that I wanted to take on a new type of challenge that would help push me in the right direction for the remainder of my college experience. I began to research a program that I had heard about during a youth group trip to Washington, D.C. in high school, known as Machon Kaplan.

In association with The Religious Action Center for Reform Judaism, Machon Kaplan is a unique program that brings together Jewish, social justice-oriented college students to the nation’s capital, provides with them an internship in a local organization whose focus is on public policy, and also offers two distinct upper-division level courses to be taken for credit. Having fallen in love with D.C. during prior visits and having a passion for social justice, the decision to apply was not that difficult. After a lengthy application process, I was one of twenty participants chosen to join the Machon Kaplan Summer Internship Program this year.

Homelessness is an issue that has resonated with me since my first trips to Washington, D.C., and something that I wanted to be able to stand against. I was soon thrown into a list of names to be interviewed at the National Low Income Housing Coalition. After some frantic research about the organization and a couple of phone interviews, I was selected as the Administrative Operations Intern for my six-week stay in this city.

Never having worked in an office before, I was more than nervous coming in on my first day. Every movie and TV show that I had ever watched made being an intern seem worse than the lowest depths of hell, and coming in that first day was something I will never forget. As I was escorted up to the sixth floor—where I had my own cubicle, computer, phone and business cards— I soon realized that I wasn’t at summer camp anymore. However, as soon as I sat down with my supervisor, most all of my fears and worries disappeared.

Exploring what my main role would be during the summer, I started to realize that as opposed to falling asleep through 9 AM calculus class, I was actually going to be learning and absorbing the day-to-day workings of a nonprofit organization. I felt like I was a part of a greater whole, that I was making an impact, and that I had a hand in moving the organization forward.

I really had the opportunity to explore the different aspects of the day-to-day happenings of a nonprofit organization, as well as work with most of the different departments and teams on staff. From being part of the Thursday morning staff meetings to seeing what it takes financially to run an organization, to helping create a manual for all the NLIHC’s partner organizations, to going out to happy hour with the staff, I got to do it all.

Every day I worked with the NLIHC brought me some sort of new challenge and pushed me to think critically in a way that I hadn’t the previous semester. For the first time, I felt like I was doing something substantial on a large-scale level; that although I once felt like I couldn’t do something to legitimately stand up for what I believed in, this summer showed me that I can.

What this summer really comes down to for me is the fact that I can be a part of something bigger that can truly impact the lives of people throughout the nation and that every role can be an instrumental one.

Meet our Interns: Marcus Mello

The National Low Income Housing Coalition is fortunate to have great interns every semester and summer. Over the next several weeks, each of our summer interns will share their experiences at the Coalition with you. 

Hello everyone, my name is Marcus Mello and I am currently one of two outreach interns at the National Low Income Housing Coalition. I began my internship at the end of May and I will be leaving at the beginning of August. So far, this internship has exposed me to a wide variety of issues facing the world of affordable housing and has also given me a glimpse of what it is like to being in the real world working a 9-5 job. As an outreach intern, I have gained considerable knowledge about the significant role that maintaining and building a membership base plays in the success of a policy advocacy organization.

I was originally interested in interning for NLIHC because of both my personal background and desire to learn more about an issue that I have studied in my economics courses. Having grown up in a Section 8 household, I really wanted to learn more about low income housing programs and how the environment is shaped by policy advocacy organizations. Though I plan to pursue architecture, policy is something that I have found intriguing since my freshman of year of college and I wanted an internship that would connect my interests in both the built environment and policy.

As an intern, it can be challenging juggling multiple tasks, such as making membership renewal calls, handling the direct assistance line, and organizing membership spreadsheets, at once. However, the staff at NLIHC have been nothing less than friendly and supportive. My fellow outreach intern, Becca, and I were even able to tag along with the research team to a hearing on Capitol Hill, which was awesome to see. My favorite project so far has been categorizing NLIHC’s list of member agencies. Becca and I are in the process of creating a membership dashboard for the NLIHC board of directors, which will contain charts and graphs pertaining to NLIHC’s membership demographics.

Outside the office, I have also been thoroughly enjoying myself. Coming from a suburb outside Boston, it also has been quite an experience trekking around the nation’s capital, which I had only visited in short trips before. Future intern alert: this is the city to be in. One of my favorite adventures was going on a bike tour of the monuments and memorials with a few of the other interns here on a previous Saturday. We also frequently eat lunch together in Lafayette Park, wave at Secret Service officers, and grab fro-yo (Yogen Früz is awesome) or Rōti (future interns: you have to try Rōti). As far as the internship goes, future interns should expect to be able to work independently and take notes. There are staff meetings every week, so it is important to keep track of what you learn for future reference. Lastly, bring short-sleeved and long-sleeved clothing – the weather here is unpredictable.

Anyways, gotta get back to work. Email me at outreachintern2@nlihc.org if you have any questions or comments or just want to say hi!