Internship Location: Madison WI
Organization Type: Nonprofit
Policy Areas: Environment
At Clean Wisconsin, I worked as a Science & Policy Intern under their Science Program. I was involved in writing research briefs on the human health impacts of different environmental contaminants and the policies regulating them. I learned a lot about the process of writing and editing communications meant for the public and policymakers – data and scientific terms had to be distilled into simpler forms. I was able to use skills I learned in the evidence-based policymaking course (PA 240) such as creating readable data visualizations and presenting evidence in an unbiased way. I was surprised at just how much editing had to go into each brief! The editing process probably took twice as long as doing the research and writing. I also learned the importance of knowing when enough is enough – editing could go on forever if you let it. This internship was the perfect marriage of my interests in science and policy making! It was great to see how my analytical skills could be used for the public good. I was also able to interview multiple colleagues about their education and career path, which was really valuable to me as I consider my own career. Overall, Clean Wisconsin was a great environment to work in – everyone there was passionate about their work and very welcoming. I learned a lot about nonprofits’ role in advocating for policy and how science/evidence is so important!