Internship Location: Washington DC
Organization Type: Nonprofit
Policy Areas: Health policy
I interned with the Government Relations and Practice Department at the American Society of Hematology (ASH) headquarters in Washington, D.C.. This experience was extremely engaging and gave me the opportunity to fully involve myself with the organization. My projects focused on researching sickle cell disease to create resource cards on a website, organizing policy letters, creating factsheets, and helping with various committee events. I worked closely with various staff in my department and got to learn the roles and responsibilities of different employment levels at an advocacy organization. The committee meetings I was able to sit in on showed me how the members of ASH (hematologists) discuss policy issues and invoke change. ASH works closely with congress to enact changes in public health policy and has a large role in patient and provider advocacy. Additionally, the staff were happy to let me sit in on department meetings and talk to me about their journey in policy and advocacy, a career I had never considered before. This internship showed me the importance of advocacy groups in amplifying the voices of patients who don’t have direct access to congress. Through the many layers of engagement and programs for people who have or treat blood disorders, congressmembers are more aware of these issues and can sponsor beneficial legislation.