Meet the WE ACT Interns!

 

Ana Billingsley
School: Hunter College
Major: Africana Studies Major and Public Policy Minor
Intern Period: Summer 2011

Ana offered her talent and time to help conduct WE ACT’s Ethnic Personal Care Product Study. Ana joined the WE ACT team interested in learning more about how toxic chemicals play a role in products we use everyday, particularly products that have to do with identity. Her internship kept both her brain and feet moving! Ana quickly became familiar with Harlem and Washington Heights by attending community events and speaking with residents about the hazardous ingredients found in their beauty products. Ana describes her community outreach as a unique situation of give and take. She says, “It was an opportunity to share information as well as gather information.” Ana would spread awareness of the toxic chemicals being marketed as ethnic personal care products, and in return collect completed surveys from community members. She visited discount stores, pharmacies, bodegas and grocery stores to map areas that are points of source. Ana says she enjoyed representing WE ACT while out in the community. “ WE ACT does so many things and there are tons of resources that I could offer to people as Northern Manhattan residents. Even if they didn’t have a strong interest in ethnic products, I felt like I could help them in some way.”

Ana found the time that she spent inside the WE ACT office to be just as rewarding. Her work on creating a database to process all of her gathered information taught her a great deal about properly collecting, managing and translating data. She enjoyed hearing about all of the exciting projects from the staff and interns. Ana says “I’ve never worked in a place where so many issues are being tackled at the same time, and yet there is a connection and room for collaboration.”

Symphony Chau
School: American University
Major: International Relations and Chinese Minor
Intern Period: Summer 2011

Symphony worked as the social media intern for New York State Transportation Equity Alliance (NYSTEA). She worked on Facebook and Twitter to help NYSTEA grow a strong online presence. Symphony discovered how much research goes into writing a powerful and substantive post and tweet. She researched issues involving local and national transportation equity.

Symphony says learning about the imbalanced funding and flaws in our transportation system expanded her view on systematic racism and injustice. Symphony is thrilled that she chose to intern at WE ACT because "the organization operates in an open environment where if you want to do more or learn about another environmental justice issue that option exists since there is always work to be done." Symphony took advantage of the multi-faceted nature of WE ACT and explored beyond her role as social media intern. She learned about composting and food justice advocacy as well as how to effectively lobby congress on issues such as Transit Justice. Symphony says she learned an immense amount about environmental justice because the staff never undermined her abilities and gave her projects that were both fun and significant to the community in Harlem and the entire country.

Dianna Kim
School: Smith College
Major: Sociology and Environmental Science and Policy
Intern Period: Summer 2011

Ask Dianna anything you want to know about environmental justice, climate change, and faith leaders. After spending the summer researching these topics for Executive Director Peggy Shepard’s chapter in the book Sacred Acts, Dianna has all the answers. She helped facilitate the fruition of the chapter by conducting interviews with faith leaders and ej leaders in the Harlem community, reading literature reviews, researching climate change and eco justice, and drafting outlines for the chapter. Dianna also sharpened her writing skills by working in the organization’s development department. She is now an expert on grant writing and knows how to clearly illustrate the essence and success of an organization to important funders. Dianna was able to learn about all of WE ACT’s projects by interviewing staff members throughout the grant writing process. Dianna says, "Everyone is just so friendly. It is great to be in an environment where people are passionate about the same things and issues as you."

Coming from the West Coast, Dianna was introduced to the Harlem Community for the first time this Summer. She attended neighborhood events such as Viva tu Vida and The Free Outdoor Film & Music Festival at West Harlem Piers Park where she spoke with residents about lead poisoning prevention, the dangers of hydro-fracking, and other environmental justice issues. Dianna also schooled a group of young Harlemites on the art of hula hooping. Dianna is entering her senior year at Smith College in Massachusetts, and looks forward to returning to WE ACT after graduation. She says, "WE ACT is a nurturing community and we are all learning together how to fight social injustice on a variety of different levels."

Allen Frimpong
School: Frederick Douglass Academy
Intern Period: Summer 2011

Allen’s Summer with WE ACT provided him with skills that he can carry with him through both his professional and personal life. Allen says working with WE ACT has really helped him come out of his shell and become more comfortable with talking to strangers. He walked the streets and rode buses, recruiting local residents to sign a petition protesting metro fare hikes. He was in touch with local gardeners to involve them in WE ACT’s meeting on rat-proofing gardens. He contacted after school programs and community organizations to spread the word about the free outdoor film festival. After viewing the festival’s featured film Gasland, Allen researched the dangers of Hyrdo-fracking and organized his findings so that the information could be disseminated to the public. Allen is now an expert on Hydro-fracking and is no longer shy to share his wisdom with others. Allen feels at home with the WE ACT team. He says, "You can ask anyone for help and everyone is there to offer support. I haven’t been around this many nice people before… it’s kind of weird."

Elizabeth Divine
School: NYU
Major: Environmental Studies and Political Science Minor
Intern Period: Summer 2011

Elizabeth remembers Executive Director Peggy Shepard saying in her interview that interns at WE ACT don’t make coffee or Xerox papers, but are here to work. Elizabeth quickly recognized the truth in that statement. As a development intern, Elizabeth was delegated real hands-on projects. She wrote a mid-progress report on one of the organization’s biggest grants. She was also granted the privilege of spearheading the August issue of WE ACT’s monthly newsletter. Elizabeth recalls how she knew interning at WE ACT would be a worthwhile way to spend her Summer break; "In the interview I was asked about my career ambitions and what skills I wanted to learn during my internship that could help me reach my goals. I felt like WE ACT truly wanted to see me succeed and were going to help me do so."

Interested in entering the Environmental Law field, Elizabeth asked to be assigned projects that would improve her writing skills and teach her about policy reform and advocacy. Her wish was more than granted. Elizabeth has been writing for WE ACT all Summer, as well as regularly interviewing staff members involved in WE ACT’s policy initiatives. Elizabeth says the mentors she has found in the staff and board members is an added bonus. She says, "Being able to talk to and learn from these incredible leaders in the Environmental Justice world makes me feel like I’m in the right place at the right time." Working on the development side of the non-profit has shown Elizabeth how a successful organization like WE ACT is able to operate smoothly and have a significant impact on a local community and an entire nation.