It's hard to believe it's already the end of August. What a productive summer at Women's Earth Alliance, and what a talented group of Summer Interns. They contributed so much to WEA, and we are grateful for all their hard work. Take a moment to meet them!
KAHEA PACHECO - Legal Research Intern for the North America Program
1. Where are you from? I’m from Honomu, HI – a little plantation village on the rainy, Hamakua coast of the Big Island.
2. What brings you to Berkeley for the summer? I’ve actually been living in Oakland for the past 5 years. I moved to the Bay for law school in 2006, graduated with my JD in 2009, and have been living and working in the area ever since!
3. What drew you to apply to be an intern at WEA? I found WEA through a posting on the University of San Francisco School of Law career opportunities board. I remember thinking that WEA seemed like such a great organization; it would be an opportunity for me to do the type of research I loved with indigenous communities. So I contacted Caitlin Sislin (North America Program Director) to ask more about the NAP – as I had specialized in Federal Indian law and had focused a lot on environmental law in law school – and here I am now!
4. And what is your role at WEA? I am the summer legal research intern for the North America Program.
5. What do you like most about your work with WEA? I think there really is something to be said about doing what you love. And I love doing research on environmental issues and working with (and for) indigenous communities. Aside from that, however, I think what I love most about being an intern at WEA is the work environment that WEA fosters. It’s such a positive, supportive place to be, where your health and happiness are just as important as the work you do.
6. Has anything surprised you about your internship? I came from a work environment that was very different from WEA’s, so I think what pleasantly surprised me most was that supportive aspect I spoke of before. I think I’m also just learning so much more about the environmental issues facing indigenous communities, things I didn’t think of before, and that’s been surprising and rewarding.
7. What do you do in the Bay Area when you aren’t in the office? I like to have BBQ’s with friends, get out of the city into wide open spaces, take day trips to places I’ve never been before, go on hikes with my dog…
8. Any advice for future WEA interns? Really take advantage of this opportunity to work with amazing women, in an amazing office, doing really meaningful work. Try to be a sponge – just take in as much as you can at all times, because every second is a chance to learn more about the issues WEA works on, your coworkers, or the kind of career that celebrates the work/life balance.
9. What is one thing your WEA coworkers don’t know about you? I have a crazy addiction to Diet Coke that I’ve been trying to kick for months now. Some months are better than others.
SOPHIE FRIED - North America Program Intern
1. Where are you from? Washington DC.
2. How did you end up over here on the best coast? I graduated from Pitzer College in May 2010, and moved up to San Francisco shortly thereafter. I have been working at WEA since last November. I'm currently studying for the LSAT,and hope to be going to law school or continuing to work on issues of environmental justice in the next couple of years.
3. Sounds like you have it all planned out! What drew you to apply to be an intern in the first place? I heard about WEA through a former professor. My values align so closely with WEA's mission and development model that I knew I had to be involved in this work in any capacity.
4. What is your role at WEA? I am a Jane of all Trades! I did social media for a while--managing our Twitter and Facebook accounts, and now I support our North America program director, Caitlin Sislin, in her work on the upcoming Advocacy Training this November.
5. What is your favorite thing about being an intern at WEA? I feel like I am doing good work. This is the way development should be done--WEA takes a holistic approach and invests not only in projects, but in the lives of women. We are continuously building a web of powerful relationships the world over in an effort to uplift women and in turn, protect the earth. So, yea, I guess you could say I enjoy being a part of that ;)
6. Has anything surprised you about your internship? I could not have anticipated how I would grow to love the people I work with at WEA. It is not fair to call them "co-workers" They are friends, allies, mentors, and sisters. I am constantly inspired by the spirits of my sisters.
7. That is amazing. So when you aren’t in the office, what do you do with your spare time? The Bay Area has a rich and vibrant culture which I try to enjoy as much as I can. I attend lots of art walks, festivals, concerts and the like. I also love being outdoors, and I live right next to Tilden Park, so I feel very blessed!
8. Advice for future WEA interns? You should feel encouraged to bring your unique gifts to WEA's work. Share your ideas and voice your opinions, you will be heard!
9. What is one thing your WEA coworkers don’t know about you? I share so much with them! But I bet they don't know that I'm terrified of clowns. Really, really not amused by them at all.
KAITLIN SWARTS - Research and Social Media Intern
1. Where are you from? Austin, Texas.
2. How did you make it all the way to Berkeley for the summer? I graduated from Pomona College in southern California two years ago. A lot of Pomona alumni end up in the Bay Area, so it was only natural for me to migrate back to the west coast eventually.
3. How did you hear about WEA? I was living in Peru and knew I wanted to move to the Bay Area when I got back to the states. While searching for sustainable development organizations, I came across WEA. I couldn’t believe how my beliefs were completely aligned with WEA’s mission and methodology. The more I read about WEA, the more I knew I wanted to work for an organization that goes about sustainable development in the right way: by listening to communities and empowering local women leaders. Even though I was still going to be in Peru for another several months, I felt immediately compelled to write WEA a love letter.
4. And what do you do at WEA? I am the Research and Social Media Intern, but as the other interns have expressed, I feel very lucky that I get to touch projects in lots of different areas. Every day is different. It ranges from sending out weekly news briefs to our three programs, to doing preliminary research for future projects, to managing the WEA blog and working on WEA’s social media outreach.
5. What is your favorite thing about being a WEA intern? I love getting to come to work and feel good about the work I am doing—I leave the office in an even better mood than I come in with! As an intern, you tend to get handed a random assortment of tasks, but at WEA, I have never felt disconnected from our mission. Every day, I know that the work I am doing is in some way helping to empower women to unlock their own solutions to food, land, and water issues around the world. What could be better than that?
6. Has anything surprised you about your internship or WEA in general? Before WEA, I worked for a year in the corporate world, so where do I even start? Hugs on my first day of work, coworkers asking me how my weekend was and genuinely being interested in my answer, it being ok to take off my shoes in the office, 2pm stretch breaks, getting to interact with the Co-Directors on a daily basis…the list goes on.
7. When you aren’t at WEA, where can we find you? I am new to the Bay Area, so I am still busy exploring my new home. The Bay is truly a hub of dynamic people and places—I am constantly amazed by what this area has to offer. So if you are looking for me, I’m probably either trying to figure out MUNI in the city or hiking in the East Bay. I am always open to suggestions for new things to try! Oh, and I attempt to maintain my soccer skills by playing in an adult league.
8. Do you have any advice for future WEA interns? Rather than trying to formulate expectations for what your internship will be, remain open to supporting the WEA team on a wide range of projects. You will be surprised by what you will learn. Before my internship, I had never even been on Twitter. Now I spend my free time reading up on social media strategy and looking for interesting things to retweet.
9. What is one thing your WEA coworkers don’t know about you? I've sang and played piano my whole life, so I was so excited to learn on my first day that my new coworkers like to celebrate and sing at events, at work—really, any time! I am very shy at first, but hopefully one day I will be able to bust out into song with everyone!
CODY DUNITZ - General Intern
1. Where are you from? Santa Monica, California.
2. What brings you to Berkeley for the summer? I’m a third year undergraduate student at UC Berkeley, and have been working and taking classes over the summer.
3. What drew you to apply to be an intern at WEA? I heard about WEA from Ariana Katovich, one of the directors at Earth Island. I took a tour of the Brower Center with her, and when I saw WEA and heard about the awesome things the organization was doing and what it stood for, I knew right away I wanted to get involved somehow!
4. And what exactly do you do as an intern? I do social media, Salesforce (donor tracking), school outreach, and any other projects or tasks the WEA team needs help with.
5. What is your favorite thing about interning at WEA? I have learned so much over the course of the last few months working at WEA, it’s hard to narrow it down. One thing I have really enjoyed is that I have felt such an awesome sense of community and love both in the office and in every project that WEA takes on outside the office. I have also enjoyed the various projects I've done, and getting to collaborate with others on some of them.
6. Has anything surprised you about WEA? The first thing that comes to mind is how much emphasis WEA places on personal relationship and individual care--in every aspect that I've experienced while working here, whether it's with fellow WEA team members or anyone outside the office, the WEA team demonstrates diligence and care. This is not surprising given how WEA is as an organization, but rather because I've never worked with an organization that placed such importance on this aspect before.
7. What do you do in the Bay Area when you aren’t interning? Spend time with friends and family, hike and spend time outdoors, play guitar and sing, read, check out fun restaurants and cook.
8. Any advice for future WEA interns? Ask for support when you need it (because you will get it!) but don’t be afraid to take on challenges head first and make projects your own. Take time to appreciate the great, personal work environment WEA has created. One thing that was discussed in the 2011 GWWI Uganda pre-departure meeting that really stuck with me was how important it is to work from the heart; service work is only meaningful if you are doing it with honest and loving intentions, and I think what’s so special about the way WEA works.
9. What is one thing your WEA coworkers don’t know about you? I’m a total geography nerd.
SUSAN MA - Operations Intern, North America Program Intern
1. Where are you from? Los Angeles, CA.
2. What brings you up north? I live and go to school in Oakland, so Berkeley is not too far away.
3. How did you hear about WEA? I heard about WEA through Idealist.org. I looked at their intern openings, red their "about" section, and thought to myself, "who wouldn't want to work with strong, empowered women that are trying to create change in the world?"
4. Agreed. And what do you do at WEA? I mainly work with WEA's finances, but I also support the North America Program.
5. What do you like most about interning at WEA? The work and the environment.
6. Has anything surprised you about your internship or WEA in general? Every time I attend a WEA event or meet a WEA supporter, I get surprised in a good way.
7. What do you do in the Bay Area when you aren't interning? Study...or craft or play a sport, but mostly study.
8. Any advice for future WEA interns? Enjoy the ride, and make sure you really get to know the people around you! They're pretty amazing.
9. What is one thing your WEA coworkers don't know about you? I don't have an answer to that question.
*Emily Robbins, not pictured here, was our Media Production Intern. You can view some of her beautiful work
here
