EJ Campaign Intern

EJ Campaign Intern

TITLE

EJ Campaign Intern

JOB TYPE

PT/ Contractor (15-20 hours/week) for 6 months

OVERVIEW

WAWA’s EJ Campaign Intern will support and lead a J40 Accountability Campaign with support by the EJ Team.  Over the past few years, billions of dollars in federal funds have been delivered (or planned to) through the Inflation Reduction Act and the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law. The goal of the Justice40 Executive Order (Executive Order 14008) is for federal funds be directed in so that environmental justice communities receive 40 percent of the benefits. Unfortunately, there are little/no systems of accountability tied to achieving this goal.

WE ACT for Environmental Justice, is an environmental justice advocacy organization based in West Harlem. Last year, they held 10 toxic tours in cities across the U.S. with our Environmental Justice Leadership Forum (EJLF) members. WAWA is one of those members, and as a part of the Southeast Environmental Justice Summit organized by Harambee House and held in Atlanta, GA, we led a tour and roundtable. 

The 10  tours were organized to show federal, state, and local officials how polluting industries in environmental justice communities were affecting the health and livelihoods of the people who live there. Over the past few months, we asked EJLF members about whether federal funds have reached their communities, and are being utilized in alignment with Justice40 principles. Most groups were not aware of the funds that have been distributed to their city/state and therefore, unable to judge if their communities would benefit.

This position involves a broad range of responsibilities and roles including campaign research, popular education, public outreach, stakeholder engagement, facilitation and communications, and planning/logistics in support of our Environmental Justice pedagogy and practice. We would like to align the Justice40 accountability efforts and revelations to ongoing campaigns and engagements.

The ideal candidate would have work experience and background in environmental science, social science, public health, and/or environmental justice. Other desirable qualities include:

• Ability to build partnerships and relationships with frontline and priority communities.
• Proven ability to coordinate projects in collaboration with multiple team members, including in-house staff, consultants, partners, stakeholders and priority communities and their representatives.
• Organized and prepared to contribute to the collaborative culture of our organization.
• Self-motivated and comfortable working independently, yet successful at balancing working as part of a team.
• Excellent writing and public speaking skills and demonstrated ability to translate complex concepts into accessible, audience-specific materials.
• Flexibility and adaptability in a fast-paced environment in an emotionally intelligent and collaborative manner.
• Able to reliably coordinate and meet project deadlines on multiple projects for multiple clients, in a fast-paced environment.
• Able to travel locally as needed.

RESPONSIBILITIES AND DUTIES

The specific scope of work associated with this role is as follows: 

• Research and outline existing GA Justice40 initiatives and IRA funding (Georgia Environmental Protection Division’s Department of Natural Resources Peach State Voluntary Emission Reduction Plan)
• Coordinate with EJ Team and relevant stakeholders to outline and develop the campaign goals, demands and targets, constituency, allies and opponents
• Develop and engagement and campaign strategies and tactics using campaign tools from WEACT/datacenter.org (including but not limited to Lifecycle of a Campaign, Power Analysis, Tracking Tool)
• Coordinate, engage and support partnerships with key EJ stakeholders, including and not limited to priority West Atlanta communities, community-based and grassroots organizations and networks, agencies (City,County, State, Federal) EJ advisory councils (City,County, State, Federal), EJ advocacy groups, and the general public.
• Coordinate these stakeholder discussions, group meetings, workshops and events, and internal working groups and teams, using virtual collaborative technologies and in-person.
• Coordinate targeted materials (e.g., presentations, factsheets, newsletters, brochures, websites) to support outreach to frontline African American communities and other communities historically burdened by environmental injustices.
• Coordinate community science driven research, outreach and engagement activities consistent with the Principles of Environmental Justice,  Jemez Principles for Democratic Organizing, and Environmental Justice Principles of Working Together 
• Write and synthesize research, outreach and engagement actions and outcomes 
• Participate in internal team calls to coordinate roles, tasks and collaborate on ideas.
• Support team and project management

QUALIFICATIONS

Education level. Masters degree coursework.

Experience. 1-3 years of experience working with community-based and/or government organizations. 

Required skills. Meets most of the above listed desirable qualities. Strong writing, presentation, and teamwork skills. Fluency in MS Office (Word, PowerPoint, and Excel). Experience with online collaboration tools. Proficiency with database management, and creative software a plus.

Desired skills. Knowledge of environmental justice issues as they pertain to various environmental policy sectors, water, air, climate, biodiversity, land-use, transportation, urban planning for the City of Atlanta, Georgia, and the broader Southeast US Region.

Licenses. Will need to complete a background check

COMPENSATION
$10,400 Stipend (2 Installments)

HOW TO APPLY

Submit your cover letter and resume to info@wawa-online.org with “EJ Campaign Intern” in the subject line.

ABOUT THE ORGANIZATION

The West Atlanta Watershed Alliance (WAWA) is a community-based non-profit organization whose mission is to improve the quality of life within the West Atlanta Watershed by protecting, preserving and restoring our community’s natural resources. WAWA represents African American neighborhoods in Northwest and Southwest Atlanta that are most inundated with environmental stressors, but are least represented at environmental decision-making tables. 

Visit us at WAWA-ONLINE.ORG.