CTLCV Intern Alumni
If you're looking for some real-world experience advocating for the environment, think about interning with us. Read on to see what recent interns had to say about their experience with us. Read about our Internship Positions here.
I am a junior at the University of Connecticut majoring in Resource Economics with a concentration in Environmental Policy and Economics. I had previously been enrolled in a different program at UConn, but I discovered my passion for the environment after spending two months in Guatemala my freshman year. It was then that I witnessed the consequences of environmental degradation, and decided to pursue an education in environmental policy. I began my internship at CTLCV hoping to learn more about the role of a nonprofit in the political process and the influence it can have on environmental issues. I was able to accomplish this and so much more. As an intern during the 2012 fall semester, my efforts focused on transportation issues in Connecticut and the Annual Environmental Summit. I loved working on transportation because it taught me not only about the flaws in the present system, but also about all of the possible solutions for more sustainable transportation. Helping with the Summit and actually getting to attend was great in demonstrating how environmental organizations can work together to have an impact on policy issues. My time as an intern showed me firsthand the intricacies that must come together for a nonprofit environmental organization to succeed. In addition, Lori and Kirsten balanced giving guidance and responsibility perfectly and were the greatest to work for! Contact: emilybergan@gmail.com
Brittney and EmmyLou
I graduated from Northern Arizona University with a Bachelor’s in Environmental Humanities and a minor in Geology. I am currently working on a Masters of Environmental Law and Policy at Vermont Law School. The CTLCV was kind enough to allow me to use my time as an intern for class credit at my school. They were also kind enough to allow my dog to join me at work!
My internship was summer of 2012. I helped CTLCV release their annual Environmental Scorecard and to prepare for election endorsements. My internship taught me a lot about lobbying and the electoral process, which will aid my education that focuses on the judiciary. This experience will help me to be a more-rounded candidate when I begin to look for jobs post-graduation. I am indebted to CTLCV for allowing me the opportunity to be a part of this wonderful organization!
My internship was summer of 2012. I helped CTLCV release their annual Environmental Scorecard and to prepare for election endorsements. My internship taught me a lot about lobbying and the electoral process, which will aid my education that focuses on the judiciary. This experience will help me to be a more-rounded candidate when I begin to look for jobs post-graduation. I am indebted to CTLCV for allowing me the opportunity to be a part of this wonderful organization!
Sophie
While a senior at Trinity College in Hartford, Sophie worked with CTLCV during her fall 2010 semester. Sophie's primary project involved creating a wiki from CTLCV's Environmental Briefing Book, to allow the content to be continuously updated. Sophie also helped corral information on hundreds of legislative candidates for CTLCV's endorsement process, and with organizing the League's annual conference.
A native of Boise, Idaho, Sophie started leaning toward environmental work by the time she was 17. "I've always wanted to be a teacher and at first I wanted to be a math teacher," says Sophie, adding, "but it kind of slowly progressed to environmental education instead."
A native of Boise, Idaho, Sophie started leaning toward environmental work by the time she was 17. "I've always wanted to be a teacher and at first I wanted to be a math teacher," says Sophie, adding, "but it kind of slowly progressed to environmental education instead."
Erin
I am senior at Bates College with a double major in Environmental Studies and Women and Gender Studies, as well as a minor in Spanish. During my junior year, I spent a semester studying abroad in Peru with the School for International Training: Globalization and Indigenous Peoples. I decided to major in Environmental Studies after becoming inspired by a few Professors at Bates and participating in the Environmental Coalition, which I was a co-leader for two years. At Bates, I also have been the Environmental Director of the Outing Club, an EcoRep working with the Bates Environmental Coordinator, a member of the Bates Energy Action Movement, and the Assistant Writing Editor of the Outdoors magazine.
I interned at CTLCV during the summer of 2010. Interning at CTLCV has been rewarding, challenging, and inspiring. It is exciting to learn about and work on pressing environmental issues in Connecticut. I have learned so much about Connecticut’s environmental issues, state policies, and the workings of a non-profit environmental advocacy group. Unlike other internships, at CTLCV you are given key responsibilities. Throughout my internship, I enjoyed staying up to date on current environmental issues, writing articles for the blog, and working on the Briefing Book, Candidate Survey, and Scorecard. Both Lori and Kelly have been extremely supportive and helpful during my internship—they are the best people to work for! Contact: ebourgau@bates.edu
I interned at CTLCV during the summer of 2010. Interning at CTLCV has been rewarding, challenging, and inspiring. It is exciting to learn about and work on pressing environmental issues in Connecticut. I have learned so much about Connecticut’s environmental issues, state policies, and the workings of a non-profit environmental advocacy group. Unlike other internships, at CTLCV you are given key responsibilities. Throughout my internship, I enjoyed staying up to date on current environmental issues, writing articles for the blog, and working on the Briefing Book, Candidate Survey, and Scorecard. Both Lori and Kelly have been extremely supportive and helpful during my internship—they are the best people to work for! Contact: ebourgau@bates.edu
Michael
I’m a junior at Yale and grew up in New Haven. I’ve always loved the outdoors, and spent many family vacations at national parks hiking, kayaking and rafting over the years. When I got to Yale I decided to be an Environmental Studies major. Though I’m concentrating in environmental history at school, I am also very interested in the policy side of environmentalism. As such, CTLCV seemed like a perfect place for me to intern. I came into this summer hoping to learn more about the key environmental issues in Connecticut and see how environmental advocacy worked. The internship here gave me even more than I could have hoped for. I was able to familiarize myself with many issues in Connecticut by working on the final stages of the Briefing Book and writing posts for the blog, and I learned a great deal about the environmental community of Connecticut in general. I also got to learn some of the intricacies of the state government in Connecticut as I worked on both the endorsement process and the scorecard. As a result, I now feel that I am a more educated voter in general in the state. Working at CTLCV was the perfect summer internship for me! Contact: michael.wysolmerski@yale.edu
Nichole
I began interning at CTLCV in January of 2010 and have since become an employed staffer. During my internship, I worked on the legislative watchlist and assisted in scoring members of Connecticut’s General Assembly on their environmental leadership. I am a public policy major at Trinity College with a focus on environmental policy. I took one class with board member Russell Brenneman and, since then, have become deeply dedicated to preserving and conserving Connecticut’s natural resources and wildlife. Contact: nichole.strack@ctlcv.org.
Nick
I worked for the CTLCV between the summer of 2009 and spring of 2010, as an intern from Trinity College and later as an employee. I worked as a researcher and ghostwriter for the 2010 scorecard, on volunteer/internship management, and as the principal coordinator of the 2010 Briefing Book project. After graduating from Trinity College with the Levy Prize in Urban Research for my Lost in Dialectic a Critical Introduction to Urban Space in the Hartford Region, 1633-2010, I began working as a Research Associate at the college's Center for Urban and Global Studies, where I am co-authoring a chapter on the History of the Hartford Region. Contact: bacon.nick.a@gmail.com
Will
My name is Will, from the ’11 class of Trinity College. I have a confession to make: my majors are English Literature and Philosophy, with a minor in Film Studies (I like to refer to them as part of a self-designed major called “Drifter”). Until interning at the Connecticut League of Conservation Voters, my experience with environmentalism was strictly theoretical (i.e. broad abstractions that would push pragmatism to the periphery). Luckily, once I had the opportunity to work for the CTLCV, I was given greater exposure to the governmental system of policy-making that helps protect, reinforce, and create environmental legislation (ideally). My major assignment for the CTLCV was to help revise their Briefing Book, a document meant to educate voters and legislators on the pressing issues in environmental law. This required clarifying the historical context, as well as incorporating new information on a variety of different yet intersecting issues.
Clearly, I was working on a difficult and encompassing task. What could have been baptism by fire in some organizations was anything but, due to the supportive and synergistic environment of the CTLCV workplace. Aside from Conservation, there were three C’s that really defined my experience working for the CTLCV: Collaboration, Commitment, and Community. Looking back on my experience (dissolve edit to the long, long ago of six months ago), the work I did for the CTLCV helped me grow as a person. Not only did it sharpen my skills in critical thinking, condensing and synthesizing complex information from a variety of sources, and overall rhetoric; but it made me become a more engaged, informed, and compassionate citizen. I never would have guessed that teasing through the language of legislative documents would be as challenging, potentially perilous, and intellectually rewarding as my previous experiences with dense philosophers such as Martin Heidegger. Contact: William.moffett@ctlcv.org
Clearly, I was working on a difficult and encompassing task. What could have been baptism by fire in some organizations was anything but, due to the supportive and synergistic environment of the CTLCV workplace. Aside from Conservation, there were three C’s that really defined my experience working for the CTLCV: Collaboration, Commitment, and Community. Looking back on my experience (dissolve edit to the long, long ago of six months ago), the work I did for the CTLCV helped me grow as a person. Not only did it sharpen my skills in critical thinking, condensing and synthesizing complex information from a variety of sources, and overall rhetoric; but it made me become a more engaged, informed, and compassionate citizen. I never would have guessed that teasing through the language of legislative documents would be as challenging, potentially perilous, and intellectually rewarding as my previous experiences with dense philosophers such as Martin Heidegger. Contact: William.moffett@ctlcv.org
Morgan
I graduated from Trinity in May 2010 with a BS in Economics and a minor in Human Values and the Environment. I graduated with Honors in General Scholarship and Economics, Phi Beta Kappa. I interned with CTLCV in the fall of 2009 to help prepare the annual Environmental Summit. I found my time at CTLCV to be extremely rewarding. It was especially enlightening to witness how environmental organizations work with a third-party organization, such as CTLCV, to help relay their messages to legislators. While at CTLCV, I was also afforded the opportunity to attend board meetings. It was truly inspiring to see the inner workings of such an incredible organization. In addition, the conference itself served as encouragement for the environmentalists of the world by bringing environmental advocates together with state legislators for a full day of panels and discussions on important issues facing Connecticut's environment. Now I'm in graduate school at the Bren School of Environmental Science and Management at University of California Santa Barbara as of September 2010, working toward a Master of Environmental Management. I will be specializing in Corporate Environmental Management.
Elisabeth
I graduated from Trinity College with a B.S. in Environmental Science. I was inducted into Phi Beta Kappa, was the President's Fellow in Environmental Science in 2010 at Trinity, and received the Senior Prize in Environmental Science at Trinity. I was a Morris K. Udall Scholar, Class of 2009. For 3 years I was a co-chair of the environmental volunteer group at Trinity, Green Campus, and I also started renovating (and installing solar panels on) an old house on campus.
I interned at CTLCV in the spring of 2009, working on the scorecard, starting to update the Environmental Briefing Book, and on starting a state budget analysis. In addition, I worked as the Interim River Steward at the Connecticut River Watershed Council. My familiarity with the LOB and the Environment Committee from my CTLCV internship helped me to represent the Council in various legislative cases, including review of the drinking water standards, stream flow standards, and riparian buffer designations.
I just started working as a Research Analyst at the environmental consulting firm The Cadmus Group, Inc. in Watertown, MA, serving on the Water Quality team. I am especially indebted to CTLCV as one project I'm starting now involves modeling state budgets for water quality programs. I'd know very little about state budgets were it not for my experience with CTLCV! Contact: Elisabeth.cianciola@gmail.com
I interned at CTLCV in the spring of 2009, working on the scorecard, starting to update the Environmental Briefing Book, and on starting a state budget analysis. In addition, I worked as the Interim River Steward at the Connecticut River Watershed Council. My familiarity with the LOB and the Environment Committee from my CTLCV internship helped me to represent the Council in various legislative cases, including review of the drinking water standards, stream flow standards, and riparian buffer designations.
I just started working as a Research Analyst at the environmental consulting firm The Cadmus Group, Inc. in Watertown, MA, serving on the Water Quality team. I am especially indebted to CTLCV as one project I'm starting now involves modeling state budgets for water quality programs. I'd know very little about state budgets were it not for my experience with CTLCV! Contact: Elisabeth.cianciola@gmail.com
