Internship Location: Madison, WI
Organization Type: Nonprofit
Policy Areas: Health
As an intern with Combat Blindness International I worked with Margaret Wolfgram on operations of the organization. CBI’s impact statement is to eliminate preventable blindness worldwide by providing sustainable, equitable solutions for sight through partnerships and innovation. They do this through many methods such as pediatric outreach programs, cataract outreach programs, ophthalmologist tech training and medical equipment grants. I initially addressed the organizations’ data collection of 50 years and sorted through all of the international hospital surgery information based on demographics and geographical location. This data was then utilized as impact data numbers for funders and grants written by Combat Blindness International. In the later part of my internship, I worked with Margaret Wolfgram to develop a new way for grant proposals to be processed by CBI. I made the process increasingly accessible to non-native English speakers and increased the organization for CBI to analyze each proposal submitted to the organization from international entities. Throughout my experience with Combat Blindness International I gained valuable experience in navigating international healthcare policies and learning behind the scenes information pertaining to grant proposals regarding healthcare. In addition, I learned the importance of impact numbers and how they can influence funding from different entities. Working with Margaret as the front-line operations manager, I gained valuable experience with communicating with the board of directors, the international partners, and the potential funders of CBI.