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Career Development: Internship Summaries 2002
Table of Contents
- American Youth Foundation
Camp Miniwanca
Shelby, MI - Chicago Public Schools
Office of Management and Budget
Chicago, IL - Common Wealth Development
Madison, WI - Congressional Research Service, Domestic Social Policy
Division
Library of Congress
Washington, DC - Delegation of the European Commission to the United
States
Washington, DC - FLACSO (Latin American Faculty of Social Scientists)
Santiago, Chile - Institute for Public Policy Research
Windhoek, Namibia - International Centre for Migration and Health
Geneva, Switzerland - Inter-American Development Bank
Washington, DC - Inter-American Dialogue
Washington, DC - Milwaukee County Executive Office
Milwaukee, WI - Ministry of Communications
Beijing, China - National Congress of Community Economic Development
Washington, DC - National Labor Relations Board
Milwaukee, WI - National Democratic Institute for International Affairs
Middle East and North Africa Team
Washington, DC - National Policy Foundation
Taipei, Taiwan - Oregon Performance Internship Program
City of Portland, Bureau of Planning and Development Review Land Use Review Division
Portland, OR - United Nations Chernobyl Program
Kiev, Ukraine - U.S. Department of Defense
Office of the Secretary, Public Affairs
Washington, DC - U.S. Department of Education
Office of Elementary and Secondary Education Comprehensive School Reform Program
Washington, DC - U.S. Department of Health and Human Services
Health Benefits and Income Supports
Washington, DC - U.S. General Accounting Office Headquarters
Washington, DC - U.S. House of Representatives 30th Congressional
District of Texas
Dallas, TX - Virchow, Krause and Company
Madison, WI - Wisconsin Department of Justice Criminal Litigation
Madison, WI - Wisconsin Department of Natural Resources Bureau of
Air Management
Madison, WI
I. American Youth Foundation
Camp Miniwanca
Shelby, MI
Nonprofit management is a field that is just beginning to be explored in the academic world. My internship with the American Youth Foundation gave me first-hand experience in the essence of nonprofit management. While I was with the American Youth Foundation, I performed a number of different activities, each of which taught me something new about nonprofit management.
My summer was spent in Shelby, Michigan at the American Youth Foundation’s Camp Miniwanca. For the first two weeks, I worked in the Miniwanca Education Center. While in the Education Center, I was in charge of a variety of projects. For example, I edited the Staff Manual that was to be used throughout the rest of the summer. I was also responsible for editing and overseeing the publication of a new songbook for the camp. The only bit of time I got to spend out of the office was facilitating teambuilding and leadership skills for a local high school group.
These activities educated me on some of the basic skills of management. The activities involved much more overseeing and editing others’ work, as opposed to doing the actual creating myself. A large part of management is facilitating others to accomplish tasks. Most organizations would refer to this skill as delegation, but at the American Youth Foundation, we call it “empowering others”.
My major project for the summer, which I worked on intensively for the first two weeks, was compiling, consolidating and rewriting the evaluation system used for Boys and Girls Camps and Four Trails program at Miniwanca. The American Youth Foundation strives to create an environment open enough that people can give constructive feedback about their programs, employees or anything else. The previous evaluation forms were hodgepodge and insufficient. Having noticed this deficiency, I assigned myself the task of bringing some consistency and effectiveness to the evaluation process. The results of my work are attached at the end of this paper.
Creating the evaluation forms for the Boys and Girls Camp and Four Trails programs gave me insight about how to make an organization’s vision into practical, working methods of accountability toward that vision. It also provided me a practical experience in implementing a system to achieve goals a manager wishes to achieve.
My very last days of my internship, in mid-August were spent analyzing the data given in the evaluations from Boys Camp this summer. The results of my simple analysis are attached at the end of this paper. One copy was given to my director, Jonathan Gilburg, Associate Director of Miniwanca Camps and Director of Boys Camp and to Mark Johnston, Director of Miniwanca Camps. The purpose of this analysis was to search for trends of particularly successful or unsuccessful activities during the summer. The results are explained in the attached report.
After writing the evaluations and preparing them for use during the summer, the central staff, including myself, trained the Boys Camp staff of around 30 men and 3 women over a ten-day period. Twenty-five of the men were Cabin Leaders who were in charge of the five or six campers in their cabins for the far majority of the day and all of the night. Five young men were Leaders In Training (LITs) who substitute in for the Cabin Leaders on their days off, among other duties. The three women were the Craft House Coordinator, the Office Manager and the Interest Group Coordinator. We, the central staff, trained these individuals in areas such as behavior management, age appropriate activities, sexuality training and noticing signs of possible abuse, health and hygiene in the outdoors and many other pertinent subjects.
My specific role on central staff during Boys Camp was as a Community Coordinator for the Challengers (7th and 8th Graders). In this role, I organized and led activities for six cabins (24-36 campers). I was also the first resource for the six cabin leaders of my community. In this role, I dealt with personal and behavior issues for both campers and leaders as well as helped the cabin leaders plan some of the cabin activities. I also had the additional role of planning Nights Doings for the entire camp. About three nights a week I organized and led activities fit for 140 boys ranging from nine years old to 17 years old.
My time at Boys Camp was an amazing learning experience. I feel privileged to have been able to learn in such a wonderful environment, surrounded by competent, supportive individuals where I learned and practiced a great deal of management skills such as logistics, personnel management and setting expectations. Both the campers and the staff I worked with were incredible, and my director, Jon Gilburg, was an excellent mentor in the ways of management.
After Boys Camp, I was a staff member for the American Youth Foundation’s International Leadership Conferences. In 1994, I was awarded the “I Dare You” Leadership Scholarship to attend a weeklong International Leadership Conference in Western Michigan. The skills I have learned and the friends that I have met have made ILC, and Miniwanca in general, one of the most important parts of my life. Needless to say, I have been coming back every summer since, four years as a participant and five as a staff member.
II. Chicago Public Schools
Office of Management and Budget
Chicago, IL
During my summer internship with Chicago Public Schools Office of Management and Budget, I worked on a daily basis with a Senior Financial Analyst and an Assistant Budget Director. Chicago Public Schools is the third largest school district in the U.S. with more than 435,000 students attending 492 elementary and 93 secondary schools. CPS is an urban school district, which is extremely diverse both racially and economically. In September 2001, CPS membership was comprised of 51.3% black, 35.8 % Hispanic, 3.2% Asian/Pacific Islander, and 0.2% Native American students. In addition, 78.3% to 83.2% of CPS high school and elementary students respectively were low-income students.
Furthermore, CPS is a unique district in the U.S., because the mayor of Chicago, Richard Daley, took over the school district in 1995. At the time, the mayor appointed members to the Board of Education as well as the Chief Executive Officer, Paul Vallas (now the Superintendent of Philadelphia). Less than one year ago, because of a fallout between Vallas and the mayor, Vallas resigned his position as CEO, and the current CEO Arne Duncan was chosen.
The Office of Management and Budget is responsible for preparing the budget for the district, which must be fiscally balanced and conform to Chicago Public School Board policies, laws, and regulations. Additionally, the OMB is supposed to monitor and analyze budgetary activities and resource allocations within Chicago Public Schools. During my time working for CPS, the Office of Management and Budget completed and the Board of Education approved a $4.6 billion budget for fiscal year 2003 (July to June). This budget includes a $33 million reduction, arising from the downturn of the economy and reduction of Illinois state revenues. Although the budget was all but complete by the time I arrived to the Budget Office, I had the opportunity to learn an immense amount about the budgeting process by participating in the Collective Bargaining Preparation Project.
My two main projects involved research and writing about knowledge and skill based teacher compensation systems and cost analysis of Chicago Teachers Union’s (CTU) contract proposals for the contract beginning July 1, 2003 and ending June 30, 2007. The knowledge and skill based teacher compensation research and writing is a part of a larger district-level Human Capital Initiative, and its purpose is to find ways to recruit, reward, and retain high quality teachers to the Chicago Public Schools. Because both the CTU president, Debby Lynch, and CPS CEO Arne Duncan have publicly expressed that reforming teacher compensation system by using a career ladder is a high priority, some staff members of the OMB were in charge of researching and proposing options for implementing a career ladder in Chicago.
The other main project of preparing cost analyses for CTU’s contract proposals involved much endurance, ingenuity, and some detective skills. For example, I updated a comparison of teacher sick pay policies in other major urban school districts (see Appendix A), as well as creating a report on the monetary cost of providing every Kindergarten through 3rd grade teachers with a full-time teaching assistant. The teacher sick pay comparison involved obtaining and researching teacher’s contracts from such cities as New York, Los Angeles, Philadelphia, Miami, Detroit, and Cleveland. It also involved making many phone calls to Labor or Employee Relations departments, and sometimes to teachers union offices to get contract information.
On the whole, my internship with Chicago Public School’s Office of Management and Budget was an extremely rewarding experience. I learned about both how budgeting for a large and complex school district functions as well as about the challenges and policy implications that such a large, diverse, and high poverty school district faces.
III. Common Wealth Development
Madison, WI
Common Wealth Development Inc. (CWD) is a neighborhood nonprofit community development corporation located in the Williamson-Marquette neighborhood on Madison’s near eastside. Twenty years old, Common Wealth supports and stimulates the neighborhood economy through several activities: economic development, youth business mentoring, community development and the creation and preservation of affordable housing. CWD survives on a patchwork of funding sources including government grants and loans, state tax credits, private foundations, public contributions, corporate donations, and individual donations.
During the summer of 2002, I was hired as a housing intern, to work almost exclusively in CWD’s affordable housing division. Through my internship work I was able to witness the implementation of state and local housing policy and the relationship of the nonprofit, non-governmental sector to these policies. Likewise, I was able to observe nonprofit governance in action and to work with a talented and savvy executive director and dedicated long-term staff. I also participated in collaboration between five nonprofits to produce an affordable housing workshop, and a presentation to the board of directors. My specific duties included: revising and updating the rental application and screening criteria, assisting with annual income verifications required by the Wisconsin Housing and Economic Development Association, and spearheading the organizational effort for a neighborhood daylong affordable housing workshop.
Revising and updating the rental application and criteria involved contacting other nonprofit housing providers to interview and get copies of their applications and criteria. Staff at CWD wanted to update the screening criteria to include a criminal background check, which provided to be very controversial with the board of directors. The process also provided insights into the board’s leadership and development. Participating in the annual income verification was informative as it enabled me to participate in the administrative oversight needed to maintain affordable housing programs. Because CWD receives state funds from WHEDA to purchase some of their rental units, CWD must re-certify its tenants each year to verify that they are eligible to live in subsidized housing. During my internship, my greatest accomplishment was to take the lead in organizing a daylong affordable housing workshop sponsored by five neighborhood nonprofits. CWD’s Executive Director, and important area housing advocates, deemed the event a success. The workshop also generated newspaper articles and other press coverage about affordable housing, neighborhood mobilization, and Common Wealth Development.
My summer spent with Common Wealth Development was very rewarding and highly educational. Common Wealth Development has had an enormous influence over the Williamson-Marquette neighborhood and beyond the neighborhood boundaries. Common Wealth is a success story among community development corporations and it should be celebrated as such. I would recommend an internship at CWD to any La Follette student who has an interest in nonprofit management, housing policy, economic development, community development corporations, or grassroots activities.
IV. Congressional Research Service, Domestic Social Policy
Library of Congress
Washington, DC
My placement was at the Congressional Research Service's Domestic Social Policy Division (CRS/DSP) from the National Academy of Social Insurance (NASI). As a Somers Aging and Long-Term Care Research Intern, my internship primarily involved in researching long-term care policy for the elderly.
There were six seminars held by the NASI regarding social insurance issues: the History of Social Insurance; Current Issues in Health Policy in the United States; Social Security and its Impact on Women and People of Color; Social Insurance Programs and the Federal Budget; Workers’ Compensation and Unemployment Insurance; and the Future of Social Insurance, Impact on Baby Boomers & GenXers. Along with these seminars, interns visited long-term care facilities such as Continuing Care Retirement Communities (CCRC) and Assisted Living Facilities.
The Congressional Research Service (CRS) provides support to both the majority and minority in the Senate and the House of Representatives, furnishing information and reference services on a nonpartisan basis. The Domestic Social Policy Division (DSP) works on domestic policy and social program issues. For this organization, I was responsible for updating papers regarding adult day care fact sheet and long-term care ombudsman program. I was also involved in a 10-state long-term care policy research project, as well as assisting analysts in finding background information on requests from Congressmen and their staffs.
As a CRS staff member, I was able to participate in training programs at the Library of Congress, such as Fundamentals of Federal Legal Research, Introduction to Congressional Appropriations and Budget Process, and Legislative History & Statutory Research. Each of these programs helped me to understand the legislative process as well as the dynamics of policy instruments.
Long-term care, which is a wide range of supportive and health services offered to people who are not able to maintain self-care, is an issue that contains a fundamental trade-off between efficiency and equity as well as concerns of cost-effectiveness. Moreover, the need for long-term care is expected to increase in the near future due to a dramatic growth in the elderly population and an increase in life expectancies.
In short, this internship enabled me to broaden my knowledge on social policy issues, particularly long-term care policies that I was able to understand and analyze more effectively based on my course work from the La Follette School.
V. Delegation of the European Commission to the U.S.
Washington, DC
The Delegation of the European Commission is divided into several departments including Environment, Science and Technology, Agriculture, Trade, Development, Public Inquiries/Library, and Political and Academic Affairs. Each section had one or two interns for the summer semester. I served as the intern for the political affairs section and worked on many small briefing and issue papers in addition to two in-depth research papers. Topics ranged from Middle East Peace to U.S.-Azeri relations to U.S. AIDS policy in Latin America. For the longer papers I was allowed to choose an area of personal interest to research and write about. I also attended two to five meetings per week at think tanks and research institutes around Washington, DC.
When I met with my supervisor on the first day, he said the best way to describe the role of the Delegation is “explaining the United States to European Union politicians.” The internship proved to entail much of the same; my papers and projects worked to interpret U.S. policy decisions and often focused on the domestic forces behind these decisions. Strong independent research skills, good writing skills, the ability to analyze U.S. policies, a basic understanding of European perceptions of the American government, and knowledge of European cultures were the keys to succeeding at the Delegation. It was more difficult to build lasting relationships with my non-intern coworkers because many were gone on four-to-six-week holidays during the summer months. My internship ended in early August due to the congressional recess and the relative absence of meetings and briefings in Washington.
The internship was very independent in nature, which differed greatly from the more group-oriented LaFollette courses I have taken. Strong written and oral communication skills developed in part by my LaFollette courses helped me, as did the ability to analyze statistical data.
I would encourage students to apply for this internship or any of those at the Delegation. My experiences were very positive in nature – I was welcomed by my colleagues and I learned a lot about a wide variety of U.S.-EU related issues. The chances that this internship may lead directly to a job placement are limited in that permanent official employment opportunities for Americans without citizenship of an EU member state are few and far between. By attending meetings and briefing around Washington on a weekly basis, I did meet many people working in Washington in International Relations and American Government fields.
Overall, this internship was a fabulous experience and solidified my desire to attend law school following my LaFollette degree.
This summer I had the opportunity to explore income distribution issues and Latin American politics in Chile. These opportunities were facilitated by FLACSO – Chile (Latin American Faculty of Social Scientists) which is an international NGO and also by Carlos Albornos an aid to Deputy Montes of the La Florida district of Santiago. FLACSO acts as a think-tank with a mission aimed at bringing awareness to society and government in a variety of areas that fall under three main themes. These themes include border relations and international security, economic development, and human rights (with an emphasis on women). FLACSO offers opportunities for outside researchers to take advantage of its databases, library and other resources to pursue thesis development or other investigative endeavors under these themes. The Chilean branch of FLACSO is located in Santiago geographically centered between the United Nations Development Program (UNDP) and Center for Latin American Studies (CEPAL) facilities and holds a tight relationship with both. FLACSO also holds close ties with universities and other sources of expertise in the areas on which it focuses. In effect, FLACSO is part of a large network of organizations and people, striving for progress within Latin America. This network provided me with a worthwhile theoretical source to better assimilate the interaction of political meetings. The design of this opportunity was unique and was only possible as a result of the relationship I hold with Jose Jara, a current LaFollette student and good friend. Future opportunities are possible; however, if one is interested in a more conventional internship, it would likely be necessary to contact FLACSO directly regarding the Sky program or speak with a larger organization such as UNDP or CEPAL.
Outcomes of this summer’s internship were significant, and I would maintain that Chile provides an outstanding opportunity to gain perspective. However, it is critical to seek learning opportunities outside of Santiago and to be proactive in becoming part of the political setting as that is where many lessons are learned. I feel that State Department or embassy internships may be the wrong direction to gain the broadest perspective if interested in Chile as it seems their tangency to Chile only touches the surface. The best instructors I had while I was in Chile were the people. Their stories and viewpoints were truly the most enlightening and memorable sources I could find. Any of the opportunities in Chile that I would consider worthwhile would require a sound command of Spanish language. A solid basis in economics and statistics should also be held before applying to CEPAL, FLACSO or UNDP. I welcome any questions about my experience this summer and encourage anyone interested in knowing more about opportunities in Chile to contact me at 608-238-1832 or via e-mail at valeywalker@yahoo.com.
VII. Institute for Public Policy Research
Windhoek, Namibia
The courses from the first two semesters of La Follette were extremely applicable to my summer internship. The work that I did at the Institute for Public Policy Research (IPPR) in Windhoek Namibia was a very positive learning experience. I was allowed to encounter many different areas, all of which I believe will be beneficial to my future learning and working. Also, due to the previous projects and readings done at La Follette, I found myself better able to comprehend readings and assignments given at the IPPR. The Political Science background, Statistical and Economic knowledge, and Non-profit Management principles greatly increased my effectiveness and ability to learn at the IPPR.
The IPPR is a non-profit, non-governmental organization (NGO) established in the capital city of Namibia, Windhoek. It was founded in 2001 by a British economist, Robin Scherbourne, and a Namibian Political Scientist, Christiaan Keulder (Christie). The organization deals with various issues affecting Namibian society, economics and politics, cooperating with various Namibian and international organizations. The majority of its funding is received from the Swedish government and the Ford Foundation.
The position that the IPPR created for the eight-week internship consisted of working with Christie on various projects. Christie previously lectured political science at the University of Stellenbosch in South Africa and the University of Namibia (UNAM), but is currently a full time Political Science researcher in Namibia. He is full of knowledge on most political issues that concern Southern Africa. Truthfully, the majority of my learning has come from listening to him talk about findings and problems that are emerging research topics. Along with being an ear for Christie’s ideas and a mouthpiece for asking questions that have been swimming in my head since my first Namibian visit in 1999, my job included reading a mass amount of material, and weeding out important details to help for a questionnaire on women and politics in Namibia, along with a preliminary briefing paper on women in politics. He also had me look at country data and run regressions to find relationships on various issues affecting assembly size. After discovering several interesting relationships, we preceded to write a briefing paper for further research.
I was also given the chance to work with the Afrobarometer data for Namibia. This is a study that takes place within several African Nations every few years, overseen by Michigan State University. My assignment was to go over each variable on each survey to be sure there was no missing data. Also, I was asked to make suggestions on what to do with holes in the data and labelling. It was fascinating to look at the responses on a variety of political issues affecting Namibia. It made me realize how great the need is for civil education especially within the rural areas.
At the start of the internship, the work on the women in politics study was expected to be my main focus. Unfortunately complications arose with receiving a sample from the Namibian Government’s census bureau. I was able to help on the formation of the survey, and also on a preliminary briefing paper on the issue. The IPPR is an output based organization, meaning that producing papers posted on their website is very important in that it gets information out and raises issues for civilians and government workers to debate. Partly because of this, Christie asked me to write an initial briefing paper on women in politics using data from 152 different countries. I took the data, formed hypotheses, and ran regressions to find significant relationships using women in the lower house as a dependent variable. This paper was a beginning step to the survey focusing specifically on Namibia and women in politics, and will be posted on the website.
VIII. International Centre for Migration and Health
Geneva, Switzerland
I spent the last three months in Geneva, Switzerland, working for the International Centre for Migration and Health (ICMH). As a WHO Collaborating Center for Health-related Issues Among People Displaced by Disasters, ICMH is committed to improving the health of people in the context of migration. ICMH works towards the strongly held belief that the right to health applies to all people, be they migrants, refugees, environmentally displaced, or any other person on the move.
As an intern, I was given the opportunity to work on a timely and substantive issue, and was never asked to carry out administrative duties for the organization. When I arrived in Geneva, the Executive Director and I discussed potential projects, and between my interests and the needs of the organization, it was decided that I would write a report about the interplay between mental health and asylum seeking. Because few studies have highlighted the mental health implications of seeking asylum, my task at ICMH was to help fill this void by showing how seeking asylum in the European Union may retraumatize asylum seekers and potentially exacerbate their mental health disorders.
Like many summer opportunities, interning at ICMH had its pros and cons. On the positive side, living in Geneva, and being surrounded by the UN and countless NGOs, provided an excellent learning atmosphere. All interns had access to both the UN and WHO libraries and facilities, and I used them frequently. More importantly, unlike interns at many UN agencies and larger NGOs, interns at ICMH are given substantive and meaningful work. During my tenure, I was never asked to photocopy, run errands, compile monotonous data sets, or be anyone’s secretary. Rather, with joint input from the Director and myself, I was able to write about a topic pertinent to ICMH’s mission. ICMH has a good track record in matching the needs of its interns with those of the organization. My interests lie in the legal and human rights aspects of health among migrant populations, and as an intern I learned a great deal about international agreements, the European Union’s legal structure, the mental health of asylum seekers, and the asylum process itself. As a student pursuing a joint degree with the law school, acquiring knowledge about international legal covenants and asylum policies was extremely useful and rewarding.
On the negative side, interns at ICMH receive little feedback from the Director or other “higher-ups.” The Director is a great man, and is a well-respected expert in the field of migration and health. His managerial skills and abilities to resolve intra-office conflicts, however, are weak. This management deficiency, coupled with the fact that he is overworked and understaffed, negatively affected the intern experience. Therefore, a positive summer internship with ICMH requires self-motivation, a strong sense of initiative, and the ability to adapt to varying office environments. If one is lacking in any of these areas, then the learning process may be significantly hindered. Because of the lack of constructive feedback and poor office management, my professional skills did not develop to their potential. It is important to note, however, that these “negatives” all contributed to my learning experience as well as my personal and professional development.
IX. Inter-American Development Bank
Washington, DC
I worked as a research assistant at the Office of Evaluation and Oversight (OVE) of the Inter American Development Bank. OVE is the Bank’s office responsible for Undertakes independent and systematic evaluations of the Bank's strategies, policies, programs, activities, delivery support functions and systems.
During the two months I worked as a research assistant at OVE, I collaborated with Mr. Eduardo Cobas, Evaluation Officer. The main purpose of my internship was to analyze 80 Fiscal reform projects implemented in 26 Latin American countries during the period 1990-2000. This work will be one of the primary sources that the OVE will utilize during this year to reformulate the new Bank’s Fiscal Reform Strategy. At the same time, we prepared an extensive draft about the bank’s future framework strategy.
Because of the Latin American Economic Crisis, IDB has decided to reformulate many of its strategies with the idea to support more effectively the Latin American region. This issue has taken relevance since the bank’s authorities and countries financial authorities recognize the impact of the economic crisis that affect the region.
There were two courses that lent significant credit to my work. First, international public management was very useful to understand the new international context, the globalization processes and the interrelations between international and financial actors, countries, governments and NGO’s.
Second, macroeconomic policy and international financial regulation, this course as very valuable to understand the effects of the Latin America economic crisis. During my internship in Washington DC., I could appreciate the Argentine, Uruguayan, Paraguayan crisis and other nearby countries. Certainly, these courses have impacted the understanding of devaluation and exchange rates, which were critical to making sense of these crises. Central to these courses was to also understand the role of the International Monetary Found (IMF), World Bank and Inter-American Development Bank in the international context as a credit institutions of and financial regulation.
I would recommend an internship in Washington, D.C. to all LaFollette students. The atmosphere at International Institutions was a very friendly one and I was always encouraged to ask questions, sit in on meetings and conference calls, and to meet people involved in different programs and challenges.
X. Inter-American Dialogue
Washington, DC
My summer internship was at Inter-American Dialogue (IAD), which is a prestigious private non-partisan institution that promotes sustained exchange among opinion leaders of the Western Hemisphere and policy analysis on economic and political relations in the Americas. Among different programs developed by IAD, I was especially interested in PREAL, the Partnership for Educational Revitalization in the Americas. This is a program jointly managed by the IAD, based in Washington D.C., with the Corporation for Development Research (CINDE) based in Santiago of Chile. PREAL’s mission is to help improve the quality and equity of education in Latin America and the Caribbean by promoting informed debate on policy alternatives and monitoring progress toward improving education. The three intermediate objectives that PREAL pursues are: 1) build public and private sector support for educational reform; 2) strengthen public and private sector organizations working for education improvement; and 3) identify and disseminate best education policies and practices. Some activities include the sponsorship of regional working groups on key policy issues, workshops and conferences, policy research, and professional exchanges.
All objectives and activities are leaded and developed by a small group in Washington D.C. (four people) as well as in Chile (four people). Many external consultants and associates from abroad contribute in developing some tasks for IAD and PREAL, by interacting in seminars, conferences, or by research and professional exchange. In this context of limited human resources, my principal task was to assist the Director of PREAL, mainly in terms of preparing letters, executive summaries, translations English-Spanish, etc. However, one specific project assigned that took the most part of the summer internship was the compilation and update of data on education, which will serve the analysis and design of the next Report Card on Education in Latin America and the Caribbean 2003.
In reference to the main task assigned, my job considered to create a database with variables –indicators- for 21 countries of Latin American and the Caribbean, some countries of the most developed region and others underdeveloped. The search included the review of databases available in internet by -and contact by email with- the following international organizations: UNESCO, ECLAC, UNDP, UNFPA, OECD, World Bank, and IADB. The published material that I reviewed included “Panorama Social en America Latina y el Caribe” (ECLAC), World Development Indicators 2002” (World Bank), and “Human Development Index 2001” (UNDP).
The final database structure considers the following five large topics: 1) basic social and economic indicators; 2) expenditure; 3) enrollment; 4) education outcomes and efficiency; and 5) countries. Each topic contains variables that were placed in defined worksheets. The detail of each file (topic) is annexed to this report; however, because the material collected, updated and classified is an input for future PREAL’s publications, I am not able to share that information.
Since PREAL emerges to be a response to the growing importance of education for economic growth, poverty reduction, and social development for Latin American countries, I believe my contribution represents a step forward for research as well as information and debate. This was an invaluable experience that confirmed my interest in education and Latin American affairs.
XI. Milwaukee County Executive Office
Milwaukee, WI
Former Milwaukee County Executive Tom Ament found himself in a whirlwind of scandal in late January and February as Milwaukee Magazine reported on a recently passed pension enhancement that would make him a millionaire. This pension change made the people of Milwaukee County riled and angry. A small group of angry voters grew to become Citizens for Responsible Government (CRG), and they collected 181,000 signatures to force a recall election. Rather than fight an inevitable loss, Tom Ament resigned from office. This set the stage for a special election, and Milwaukee County would never be the same.
Milwaukee County has undergone truly historic changes since February, and these changes continue with Scott Walker, the new County Executive, leading the way. After the special election on May 7th, when Mr. Walker defeated Jim Ryan for the position, this office was off and running.
My letter and resume followed by a lengthy and in depth interview were requirements for the internship, and after passing those tests I found myself working for the new County Executive eight days after the beginning of his administration.
While working for Mr. Walker I have addressed the following issues: community development block grants, electronic government, pension (Pension Board), senior citizens (Department on Aging), economic development, relationship with the County Board, and working with the Intergovernmental Cooperation Council, a group of almost all communities in Milwaukee County that work together in the spirit of efficiency. This summer was extremely rewarding and although I could give you the day-by-day story, frankly that wouldn’t show that I’m taking the La Follette message and using it in every day situations. Instead, I’ll tell you the story of Scott Walker’s first one hundred days after his historic rise to the Milwaukee County Executive’s office, within a framework built by Dr. Donald Kettl.
Dr. Kettl teaches La Follette students certain rules that a public administrator and leader must follow in order to truly effect change. These traits include, but are not limited to (in no particular order): authority’s most important job is coordination; define the mission on top and let the details work on the way down; never tell people how to do things - tell them what to do and they will surprise you with their ingenuity (Quote from General Patton)[1]; agencies must be managed through structure and process; decisions are value judgments, and conflict is inherent in value differences; we must allow the experts in their respective fields to approach decisions rationally; approach problems procedurally, and work from the bottom up; and accountability is a strategy used to build public trust and confidence.
[1] Dr. Kettl did not teach this statement in lecture. This was included in a paper for his class and he commented that he agreed with it.
XII. Ministry of Communications
Beijing, China
During the summer of 2002, I worked as an administrative intern at the Ministry of Communications (MOC) of the People’s Republic of China, located at the center of Beijing, the capital of P. R. China. The Ministry of Communications, among the 29 Ministries and Commissions of the State Council, is one important part of Chinese central government. It is responsible for the making and the implementation of all policies related to national water and railway transportation systems.
My decision to serve as an intern there was based on my educational background and my future plan to work for or with Chinese government after getting my MIPA from La Follette. The eight-week internship turned out to be very useful. It highlighted several important parts of our courses, forced me to look at some administrative issues in different aspects, and made me feel more confident in pursuing my career after graduation.
Thanks to the well-structured internship program prepared by my supervisor and some good timing, I participated in a few very interesting and important projects. One was the examination and verification of the Semi-annual Report of the Statistical Analysis of the Economic Conditions of the Transportation Systems for the first half of year 2002. Another was the preparation of the Public Report of the rescue and the salvation process after the “May 7th” event (air disaster). I also began early stage preparation for the China Transpo 2002.
These three projects got me into some main administrative roles in government, such as the writing and examination of analytical reports, preparation of important meetings, and ensuring cooperation among different sections within a ministry. And because of the “May 7th” event, I had an opportunity to go out of the main office to branches of the Ministry of Communications at the local level to see how the center and the locality interact and cooperate.
During the internship, I constantly felt that what I learned in the past year from La Follette had helped me get the work done. Some of my most significant knowledge was learned in PA819, PA850, and PA880. This short-term experience got me in touch with the dealing of real-life governmental issues, which can be hard to fully understand just through textbooks.
In conclusion, this experience was very useful. I was fortunate to work with a very experienced and kind supervisor, and the projects I worked on were not only important but also closely related to my studies at La Follette. For these reasons, I strongly recommend this internship to other La Follette students who are interested in administrative management and policy-making processes in developing countries. I gained more than I expected and the benefits from my experience may last beyond my career.
XIII. National Congress for Community Economic
Development
Washington, DC
The NCCED is a non-profit advocacy and training agency in Washington DC. The purpose of the Community Economic Development Internship, is to match students with Community Development Corporations around the US. Interns typically get placed at sites where they can practice policy analysis for state-level advocacy in community economic development, or at sites where they can assist in the development and implementation of a community economic development project. Prior to the site placement, interns are provided with a weekend training seminar in approaches to community economic development.
My internship site was Foodlink in Rochester, NY. Foodlink is a large regional food bank, covering much of up-state New York. At Foodlink, I was in charge of furthering their community economic development efforts. My primary project was to compose a report recommending steps for Foodlink to improve their food-related small business incubator. This project involved meetings with local business leaders, community leaders, city officials, and residents. Overall, the internship give me a great opportunity to learn about economic development efforts at the local level. I also had a degree of freedom not common in many summer internships.
Overall, I highly recommend this summer internship. I would recommend, however, that students have a full grasp of the project details of a given site before they accept the internship placement. Every placement site is different, and students who are accepted into the internship are normally given a couple sites to choose from. The problem is that it is the responsibility of the internship site to contact the student. In my case, I had accepted an internship with Foodlink, only to be contacted by my preferred internship site a week later.
XIV. National Labor Relations Board
Milwaukee, WI
For my internship, I was employed for thirteen weeks as a Student Trainee Field Examiner by Region 30 of the National Labor Relations Board in Milwaukee, Wisconsin. My term of employment ran from May 20 to August 16, 2002. My duties mainly included investigating alleged unfair labor practices and conducting union certification elections. This often included tasks like taking affidavits from witnesses, contacting law firms that represented parties involved in a proceeding or dispute, and performing legal research to determine if an action was illegal. By comparison to the LaFollette curriculum, I did not engage in much quantitative analysis of policies or government actions, however, working with the Board gave me invaluable experience seeing the point at which national labor policy intersected with the lives of the people that the policies were meant to affect – where the rubber meets the road, so to speak. I would strongly recommend that the LaFollette School maintain its new relationship with the NLRB, and direct any student who has an interest in labor or employment policy toward it, as it provided me a useful and important perspective on the relationship between employers, employees, and government.
This was, in fact, the second summer that I spent at the Board. I had worked there in the same capacity last summer (solely for pay, and not for credits), and since much of that first summer had been spent learning the ropes at the agency – what the procedures for dealing with parties were, how the agency’s paperwork needed to be filled out, and so on – this second stint with the Board allowed me the opportunity to step back from the process of getting to know the work, and really let me try to understand the agency. I got a chance to evaluate the direction that I felt the agency was going in, the political and economic environment that the Board works in, and what I thought the strengths and weaknesses of the Labor Board are.
I was aided in this endeavor by the willingness of the Regional Director, Phil Bloedorn, and the Assistant Regional Director, Irv Gottschalk, to sit down with me to discuss their views on the policy issues that the Labor Board has to deal with.
My internship was with the Middle East and North Africa (MENA) Team at the National Democratic Institute for International Affairs (NDI) in Washington, D.C. NDI has field offices throughout the world where program officers work to increase and strengthen democratization through activities such as political party training, campaign organization, election monitoring, civic and voter education, and NGO support and training. The office in Washington supports these field activities and performs the administrative and strategic planning functions of the organization. My focus at La Follette is on political and economic development in the Middle East, so the work of NDI coincides perfectly with my interests.
I was one of three interns working with the MENA team. It is the smallest team at NDI with eight full-time employees. This was a nice environment to work in and allowed me to work closely with and get to know everyone on the team well. The team works on initiatives in Morocco, Algeria, Egypt, Lebanon, West Bank/Gaza, Bahrain, Northern Iraq and Yemen. I was able to work on the programs in all these countries. I was responsible for analyzing the changing political and economic situation in each country, updating official briefing papers, writing speeches for the resident representatives, compiling briefing books for trainers and finding and recommending future relationships with other organizations or Arab countries that seemed open to democracy. In addition, I redesigned the MENA website and created Power Point presentations for each field office.
On of the most exciting events that I worked on was an elections assessment mission to Palestine in July that NDI organized with the International Republican Institute (IRI) and the International Foundation for Elections Systems (IFES). I helped to organize the program in the West Bank and created briefing books containing all relevant documents and background information relating to Palestinian Statehood and democracy. After the mission returned, I helped draft the official mission report that was presented to USAID, the State Department and Congress. I also enjoyed the opportunity to attend and participate in numerous talks and programs related to development in the Middle East at places like Georgetown University, the Carnegie Endowment for International Peace. I was especially thrilled to attend the official unveiling of the 2002 UNDP Human Development Report at Carnegie. The report focuses on democracy and how it relates to human development.
Some of the courses I took at La Follette prepared me well for the internship at NDI, but, in general, I see the internship experience as a positive and practical addition to my La Follette curriculum. The courses that I drew on the most were the two statistics courses, international public management, and Professor Manion’s corruption seminar. I would recommend an internship with NDI to someone who is definitely interested in regional democratization and has the ability to initiate his or her own projects and contributions in a fast-paced environment. I was very pleased with my entire internship experience and would by all means consider collaborating with NDI in one way or another in the future.
XVI. National Policy Foundation
Taipei, Taiwan
During the summer of 2002, I worked as an intern at the National Policy Foundation, Taipei, Taiwan. It is a non-profit research institution, supported by voluntary donations from the business community and other sectors of the society. It initiates policy and attempts to act as a bridge between the government and the private sector. It holds seminars, forums and public hearings, publishes reports, and stimulates public discussions on important issues. Representatives of all political parties frequently attend these meetings to understand each other's position and to forge consensus on important issues of the day. The Foundation serves an important purpose of presenting viable alternatives for the public.
During the duration of my internship I was assigned to the Division of Technology and Economy. I worked alongside my supervisor, a professor in National Taiwan University, in all of his duties and took on several responsibilities of my own. I followed reports on various policy debates considered particularly important to the government in Taiwan. I also attended several forums held in the foundation. Key issues included: creating new solutions for traditional industries in the context of globalization; support of an attractive business environment in Taiwan in order to increase the competitiveness of Taiwanese firms; and the realization of the concept of “recreational farms,” which maintains some agricultural production but invest a reasonable amount in facilities and transforms them into providers of agricultural tourism. Additionally, I was responsible for maintaining charts, documents, constructing graphs in Microsoft Excel, and a range of general office duties.
I found my internship a very rewarding experience. The National Policy Foundation provided a very supportive and collaborative research environment where I was able to research contemporary policy issues and review analyses. I recommend this internship to any student interested in Taiwan and/or international public issues.
I participated this past summer in the Oregon Performance Internship (OPI) Program, sponsored by the Oregon Business Council (OBC) of Portland, Oregon. It was an exceptional experience in which I feel hugely fortunate to have had the opportunity to participate. The program provides training in performance measurement and placement with a state or city government agency, depending on the intern’s interests and preferences.
One of the primary objectives of the program is to attract highly qualified public managers to Oregon. The program coordinators hope that by offering rewarding internship experiences to “outstanding” graduate students of public policy, the students will choose to return to Oregon when they are ready to begin their careers. Consequently, the OBC insures not only that the working experience is satisfying, but also that interns have the chance to participate in a variety of recreational opportunities that highlight the Oregon area. In addition, to provide us with networking opportunities, we were put in touch with individuals in high-ranking government management positions in Portland and Salem, Oregon. Most if not all the interns had the chance to meet informally with two or three of these individuals.
I was assigned to the Land Use Review Division (LUR) in the city of Portland’s Bureau of Planning and Development Review (OPDR). The agency is currently at the center of controversy surrounding development permitting in Portland. In late June, the mayor proposed and the city’s commissioners adopted a resolution calling for a regulatory reform plan to address the issue. In mid-August, the council adopted that plan, which focuses multiple initiatives on the permitting processes of OPDR.
My work for LUR focused on identifying performance measures that the division could use to assess the work that it performs. I worked independently for the most part. I developed a final project report entitled, Instituting Performance Measures in the Land Use Review Division that I submitted to the LUR manager, to the OPDR director and to the Portland mayor’s chief of staff, with whom I met my last week with the division. His interest stemmed from the regulatory reform initiative, and I think my report does a very good job of placing the performance measurement challenge within the context of the city and its politics.
My work experience was indeed rewarding, despite a certain level of indifference from LUR management. Although I am disappointed at the prospect of the division and the bureau finding little use for my report, I was gratified in my last few weeks in Portland to find that the mayor’s chief of staff was very interested in the results of my work this summer.
The rest of the internship experience was exceptional. I was one of 11 students from universities around the country, including Harvard, Princeton, Berkley, Duke, North Carolina and Indiana. We spent our first two weeks together in training with the leading scholar on performance measurement, Robert Behn from the Kennedy School at Harvard. We were introduced to a variety of Oregon and Portland leaders and politicians throughout the summer. Finally, we all spent time together socially, sometimes through our participation in OBC-coordinated events, but often informally.
I hope La Follette will urge its First Years to consider applying for this internship. Robert Behn and Donald Kettl are colleagues, and Wisconsin was mentioned several times during our training for its similarity to Oregon in terms of having government in the progressive tradition. I think the OPI program may be predisposed to favor graduate students from La Follette for this reason.
XVIII. United Nations Chernobyl Program
Kiev, Ukraine
I interned at the United Nations Chernobyl Program in Kiev, Ukraine during the summer of 2002. The internship was established through an organization that has maintained a partnership with the U.N. Chernobyl Program since the mid-1990’s: Friends of Chernobyl Centers, US (FOCCUS). Therefore, I tried to view and plan many of my activities and experiences there through the lens of being an NGO Liaison in the office. I saw my job there as having several aspects: to provide input on programs and policies from an American NGO point of view, to learn as much as possible about the various parts of the existing and future programs in order to update the board members of FOCCUS, and work on a joint UN and FOCCUS grant proposal. These things I did and more; the staff in Kiev was welcoming and accomodating enough to invite me to participate in all the activities that they had planned for June and July, which was quite a bit. As a result of their hospitality and openness, I was able to learn a lot about the UN Chernobyl Program, the UN itself and UN Development Program (UNDP), the development of policies and programs at the international level, the implementation at the local level of international programs and the challenges of coordinating programs among countries and organizations.
XIX. U.S. Department of Defense
Office of the Secretary, Public Affairs
Washington, DC
This summer I interned for the Office of Public Inquiry and Analysis (PIA) at the U.S. Defense Department. This office’s raison d’être is to be the primary liaison between the Defense Department and the American people. As a subdivision of the Office of the Secretary of Defense and the American Forces Information Service (AFIS), PIA receives hundreds of correspondences each day dealing with a variety of issues, ranging from a possible war with Iraq and the war on terror to how to obtain a Cold War Certificate and how to obtain past military records. PIA employs six full-time staff members and usually one or two interns during the summer and during Christmas break if desired. Currently PIA is not located at the Pentagon, but rather it shares an office building in Alexandria, Virginia with the rest of the American Forces Information Service, which is the home of Defense television, radio, magazine, and newspaper operations. In the future though, PIA will move back into the Pentagon once the renovation and rebuilding programs are completed.
The biggest surprise during my internship came at the beginning. Essentially, I ended up at PIA by default. Initially, I was hired to work for the Defense Threat Reduction Agency (DTRA), but when I arrived, I was informed that DTRA’s budget had been rejected, thus they could not afford a paid intern. Then, I was sent to Personnel and Readiness to be their intern, but their position had already been filled. Thus, given my background in international public affairs, I recommended that I be placed in Public Inquiry and Analysis (PIA), which deals exclusively with public affairs. Thus, in the end, I ended up at PIA and everything turned out great. However, the internship confusion at the beginning gave me first-hand experience on how bureaucracies sometimes function.
While at PIA I engaged in the following tasks: collected public opinion data on major defense issues; created a sizable PowerPoint presentation for the Defense Department’s web site; compiled a document entitled “DoD 101” that contained a paragraph on every major defense issue and the Department’s policy response to each issue; answered hundreds of phone calls and emails dealing with major defense policies; composed letters in response to submitted inquiries and concerns, and attended numerous insightful meetings and brownbag lunches that were aimed at introducing major defense officials to the various interns in public affairs. The brownbag lunches were undoubtedly my favorite part because I was able to meet some truly influential people. While this was the first year for the brownbag series, I think it will only become better with time.
Overall, I would definitely recommend this internship to another student at La Follette, whether in the domestic or international track. My internship was neither mundane nor desultory because every week brought new issues to the forefront and thus new challenges to tackle. Moreover, the PIA staff was tremendously affable. Whenever I had questions they were willing to help, and most importantly they treated me as an equal, rather than “just an intern”. Furthermore, while interning at the Defense Department I gained an excellent understanding of U.S. defense policies. While I do not necessary agree with all of the Defense Department’s policies, I definitely consider myself a much more informed citizen. Additionally, after interning with PIA, I believe that I vastly improved my communication skills, a sine qua non of becoming a successful public policymaker. For instance, at the beginning of my internship I was always on the defensive when speaking to citizens on the phone. However, as the summer progressed, I was able to exude the necessary confidence to maintain control over phone conversations. Finally, after a successful internship at the DoD, I now have numerous contacts that I believe will prove fruitful when applying for a full-time job in the winter. Given that this internship requires that you establish contacts to be successful, I am sure any La Follette intern would walk away with a thicker Rolodex.
My administrative internship was with the U.S. Department of Education in the Office of Elementary and Secondary Education’s Comprehensive School Reform (CSR) Program Office. CSR is a program that provides funding and technical assistance to schools and districts looking to implement whole-school reform in order to improve student achievement. The primary responsibilities of the CSR Program Office are to ensure that federal CSR funds are being used in compliance with legislative intent and statutory requirements and to provide assistance and support to states, districts, and schools engaged or looking to engage in CSR.
As an intern, my primary responsibilities mirrored those of the Program Office as a whole. I reviewed the CSR-relevant portions of the Consolidated State Applications for federal funding and drafted letters of concern to those states whose applications were viewed to have deficiencies, suggesting ways in which their programs could be improved. I worked with state CSR coordinators to ensure that they had accurately and completely fulfilled the fiscal and performance reporting requirements attached to the acceptance of federal CSR funds. I reviewed current school reform literature in order to update and expand the office’s catalog of reform resources. I edited and revised documents prepared by the office, reviewed web-site content for content, accuracy, and style, and drafted letters and memos to State Coordinators on behalf of my supervisor and my co-workers. In addition, I was encouraged to expand my understanding of a wide variety of educational issues by taking advantage of the opportunities afforded by the Department and the Washington, DC education community as a whole.
This was an undeniably positive experience. I was allowed to utilize and expand my knowledge of administrative issues in general and educational issues in particular. I felt well-prepared by my La Follette coursework for my responsibilities, both in my knowledge of the educational goals and priorities of the current administration, and the concerns surrounding them, and in my exposure to a number of the administrative issues that surfaced, particularly those regarding intergovernmental conflict stemming from lack of alignment between federal and state priorities, unclear lines of accountability, the lack of proper incentives for action, and communication failures. Given this level of preparation, I was afforded an appropriate balance of supervision and independence. Moreover, my supervisor recognized the potential for this to be a significant learning experience for me, and as such was sure to include me in program activities that he felt would be beneficial and encouraged me to explore Departmental activities beyond those relating specifically to CSR.
I must say, however, that I felt somewhat unprepared for the extent of interagency conflict, between political appointees and the career bureaucracy, and for the ways in which this conflict manifested itself. Rather than acting as a moderating force, I viewed this conflict as detrimental, and at times paralyzing, to the actions of the agency. Again, treating this as a learning experience, my supervisor and co-workers made no attempt to shield me from the problems faced by our Program Office. They were very candid in discussing their frustrations and concerns as well as their successes and as a result, I believe that I have a balanced, realistic view of the workings of the Department.
This experience has solidified my desire to pursue a career in the administration of public education programs. I would recommend that other students with similar interests pursue internship opportunities with the Department, provided that sufficient research is done into the goals and activities of the office in which they will be placed and that potential supervisors value, as mine did, their preparation and qualifications and are willing to treat the internship as a learning experience.
XXI. U.S. Department of Health and Human Services
Health Benefits and Income Supports
Washington, DC
Prior to my second year of graduate school, I was a summer intern at the Department of Health and Human Services in Washington, D.C. My specific department, Health Benefits and Income Support (HBIS), was under the Assistant Secretary for Budget, Technology, and Finance (ASBTF). Our department was responsible for budget evaluation for Medicare and Medicaid policy. The workload was highly topical, as we reviewed policy initiatives regarding prescription drug reform, Medicare reform, and alterations of Medicaid policies under the Bush Administration.
I was surprised three hours into my first day, as I was immediately treated as a new analyst and not just a summer intern. My managers informed me that I would be a temporary replacement for an employee who had recently left. In addition to that, my managers also had crafted an outline of projects that they wanted me to work on for the summer. These projects include review and summaries of relevant GAO publications, drafting memoranda for the Assistant Secretary, research on contemporary issues, and a major summer project, a program evaluation of Medicaid Graduate Medical Education (GME) funding. Specific policy areas I worked on included long-term care for the elderly, reviews of the Medicaid State Children’s Health Insurance Plan (SCHIP), assisted living for elderly and disabled, and the Fiscal Year 2004 budget. I attended several congressional hearings and luncheons. I also took two trips to Baltimore to discuss budgeting with the Social Security Administration.
For my summer project, I reviewed Medicaid Graduate Medical Education funding, which is a $3 billion dollar program to assist residency programs across the country train the next generation of doctors. The issue facing Medicaid analysts is that GME currently operates as an open-ended funding stream with little data tracking or accountability at the state level. My recommendations include drafting statutory wording to mandate reporting this data (as is the case with Medicare GME), a series of performance indicators to increase accountability to HHS, and improving the rural/urban general practitioner mix to ensure that not all of the training remains in urban areas.
The analysts and management have a firm commitment to social policy and take great pride in their work. HBIS was the most professional office I have ever worked in and working there for the summer could not have been a better experience. To me, one of the most interesting aspects of the internship was observing the relationship between the bureaucrats and the politicos. The bureaucrats are often at odds with the Bush Administration, which views everything on a cost basis. This is especially problematic in the wake of 9/11, since social policy has been relegated to the back burner in favor of defense spending. I thoroughly enjoyed working in ASBFT and am would greatly appreciate returning there for post-graduate employment.
XXII. U.S. General Accounting Office Headquarters
Washington, DC
In the summer of 2002, I had the opportunity to intern for the Physical Infrastructure Team of the United States General Accounting Office (GAO) in Washington, D.C. Incidentally, the GAO is known as the investigative arm of Congress and its mission is “to investigate and evaluate the effectiveness and efficiency of virtually the full range of federal policies and programs.” As an intern analyst, I was assigned to two project teams, each consisting of 3-5 members, on congressional requests regarding surface transportation infrastructure investment and the future of the Highway Trust Fund. For one project, we were charged with investigating trends in state and federal funding of transportation since the passage of the Transportation Equity Act for the 21st Century (TEA-21). To accomplish this task, our team sifted through and analyzed tax rate, revenue, authorization, and expenditure data for all levels of government, mainly using Federal Highway Administration statistics and Census data. For the second project, our team reviewed existing innovative finance mechanisms and their use as a means for leveraging greater public and private surface transportation investment. Much of this project centered on the productivity of innovative financing mechanisms ranging from State Infrastructure Banks (SIBs) to Grant Anticipation Revenue Vehicles (GARVEEs) to Transportation Infrastructure Financing and Innovation Act (TIFIA) credits. As a result, this project involved numerous interviews with finance and program experts at the Federal Highway Administration, the Department of Treasury, the Congressional Budget Office and various state departments of transportation and interest groups.
The GAO’s internship program offered me numerous perspectives on American government. I was able to work with government agencies at the state and federal levels on a regular basis, attend meetings and hearings on Capitol Hill as well as travel to the GAO’s Chicago Field Office for work with my two project teams. Not to mention, interns were invited to weekly brownbag lunches hosted by various teams in the GAO, so that we could get a glimpse of policy and audit work being done elsewhere in the agency. Finally, I attended various other functions, including a question-and-answer session and social with the Comptroller General of the GAO, a presentation on the federal budget conducted by the Office of Management and Budget (OMB) and the Congressional Budget Office (CBO), and a VIP tour of the Bureau of Engraving and Printing in Washington.
I would highly recommend an internship at the U.S. General Accounting Office to future La Follette students. First, as an intern analyst, the GAO made a conscious effort to integrate me into both of my teams so that I would get a feel for what life is really like as an analyst. It is important to note that GAO interns are treated as full-time analysts rather than as traditional interns. Second, I believe the quality of the GAO’s staff is second to none thanks to the GAO’s reputation and the quality of the agencies’ management. I was pleased to find that the vast majority of employees at the GAO have graduate degrees of some kind, many from some of the best universities in the country, as well as a diversity of professional and life experiences prior to joining the GAO. Third, because interns are considered by the GAO management to be the future of the organization (many interns are offered full-time positions following graduation), we were treated extremely well and paid accordingly. Finally, and perhaps most important, my internship was extremely challenging and afforded me a priceless view into the inter-workings of American government.
XXIII. U.S. House of Representatives 30th Congressional
District of Texas
Dallas, TX
For the Summer 2002, I had the honor of working in my hometown of Dallas, Texas as a Special Assistant for the 30th Congressional District of Texas, Office of U.S. Representative Eddie Bernice Johnson (herein after “Member”). The 30th Congressional District (hereinafter “District"), with a total of 651, 620 residents, includes the entire populations of the cities of DeSoto, Lancaster and Hutchins, as well as parts of the cities of Cedar Hill, Duncanville, Dallas, Glenn Heights, Grand Prairie, Irving, and Ovila. (Attachment “A”). The District is home to two major airlines, Southwest Airlines, based at Dallas Love Field Airport and American Airlines, based at Dallas-Ft. Worth International Airport. The District also encompasses Texas Stadium, home of the Dallas Cowboys football team.
This internship provided me with the opportunity to observe the district director managing the day-to-day operations of the office, as well as gain public management experiences within a government office setting. As a Special Assistant, my responsibilities primarily consisted of conducting outreach activities on behalf of the Member. I was responsible for coordinating projects, planning events, speaking at community events on her behalf, as well as keeping her informed of the local news. The District office director, who had the responsibility to manage, coordinate, and oversee the day-to-day operations of events in the district office, was my immediate supervisor. His responsibilities included meeting with constituents, conducting weekly meetings, planning events, keeping the Member up-to-date about the progress of office work, coordinating travel for the Member while in Dallas, as well as supervising the activities of all of the Dallas-area staff. During this learning process, I worked under the guidance of the district director, as well as coordinated various responsibilities with the office scheduler, public relations coordinator, receptionist, five (5) special assistants, a high school intern, and undergraduate intern.
During the summer, I conducted outreach activities and helped coordinate a major event and project. The first major task I was assigned was to coordinate and complete a mailing of congratulatory letters to all of the 2002 high school graduates within the District. To complete the project, I coordinated the efforts of volunteers and the office staff to complete the mailing within five weeks. Second, I helped plan for an “Africa Business Roundtable” being hosted by the Member. This event, held in Dallas, brought together local, state, federal, and international leaders to discuss how to better facilitate two-way business between the United States and the continent of Africa.
I found the La Follette course work to be useful because at the beginning of the internship, I worked to observe the concepts of organization culture and structure of the hierarchy within the office setting. Working within groups during the semester helped to better focus on the need of collective participation to complete lengthy tasks. Overall, the internship was useful because I was able to learn more about how to effectively manage the daily operations of a government office. Initially, I was nervous about the size and timing of the responsibilities but grew more comfortable over time as I received feedback and guidance from the district director.
Prior to the summer internship, I believe that my experiences could have been enhanced with more information on leadership development and human resource management. During the first weeks of my internship, I faced several challenges that I may have been better prepared to handle with additional training in those areas. During those moments, I found it very helpful to consult with the district director and utilize his wisdom and guidance to navigate the issues.
This internship helped to place my goals into clearer focus. I believe that I could benefit from additional training in leadership development and human resource management. Professionally, I felt at ease with the responsibilities which I were given and enjoyed working within the community. The internship helped to better visualize that managing a government office requires leadership from everyone, and the district director plays a pivotal role in coordinating efforts of the staff to the benefit of the constituents and the Member.
XXIV. Virchow, Krause and Company
Madison, WI
During the Summer 2002 term, I held a Public Sector Consulting Intern position at Virchow, Krause & Company, LLP in Madison, Wisconsin. I am fortunate to have had a variety of responsibilities, including: client data analysis, research (particularly statutory and best practice research through benchmarking), sampling, client interviews, summarizing findings and drawing conclusions for client consideration. Many of the projects on which I participated involved the state budget shortfall, the search for efficiencies and revenue opportunities—including the consolidation of services with corresponding incentives as outlined in Wisconsin’s new budget.
During my internship at Virchow, Krause & Company, LLP I was treated with professionalism and appropriateness. The Public Sector Consulting Group incorporated me as fully as possible into a variety of projects, and made strong efforts to expose me to the many functions of the practice. Though I often worked independently on assignments, members were always willing to lend direction and constructive feedback. Consequently, the internship was genuinely a learning experience—often inasmuch as I was learning to apply skills acquired at La Follette and elsewhere. I performed the duties of the internship both independently and in close working relationships with members of the Public Sector Consulting Group. Should a future consulting internship opportunity arise, I would strongly recommend the position to a qualified, responsible and energetic policy student based on my positive learning experience. I know the skills and experience gained will allow me to make public sector and public policy contributions unlimited by place.
XXV. Wisconsin Department of Justice Criminal Litigation
Madison, WI
This summer I worked for the Criminal Litigation, Antitrust, & Consumer Protection Unit of the Wisconsin Department of Justice (Wisconsin DOJ) as a law clerk. Through this experience I received a first hand look at a state level agency working along side federal government agencies and other state agencies. The Wisconsin DOJ works in cooperation with the state Assistant Attorney Generals (AAGs) across the country. These AAGs then work cooperatively with the Unites States Department of Justice (US DOJ) and the Federal Trade Commission (FTC). My position as a Wisconsin DOJ law clerk involved researching various legal and policy issues involving antitrust litigation and enforcement, small-scale economic analysis of proposals, and the reading and coding of the confidential documents of two parties in a proposed merger.
My supervisor, Kevin O’Connor, is an AAG with the Wisconsin Department of Justice. Kevin assigned me three major projects this summer, a memo regarding the Wisconsin Attorney General’s (AG) parens patriae (parent of the country) authority, a memo detailing current European Union (EU) competition law, and legal research concerning the ability of an AG to bring a indirect purchaser cause of action for a multi-state class in a state court. In addition, I worked on the discovery phase of the US DOJ and the various state Attorneys General Offices’ review of the EchoStar and DirecTV (Hughes) satellite television merger. The most important issue that I researched dealt with the Wisconsin AG’s authority to bring parens patriae action on behalf of state citizens. This project involved a great deal of legal research and ended with a concise memo stating how I believed a court would rule on the issue.
The Wisconsin DOJ is a legal entity that is faced with policy decisions everyday. The Wisconsin DOJ in effect shapes law and policy when deciding what cases to take on. How the Wisconsin DOJ believes the law should be shaped is a policy decision that is supposed to benefit the citizens of the state. While many decisions in the Wisconsin DOJ are policy driven, the Department like all state agencies, is not immune to office or state politics. The memo I wrote on parens patriae was also important for somewhat political reasons. With the election of a new AG my supervisor thought it important, to strengthen the current argument used for asserting parens patriae authority, as it could come under attack. This is because the AG must approve all litigation and investigations by AAGs. Therefore, it is important for that the AG believe that authority exist to pursue a parens patriae cause of action.
I spent a great part of my summer working on the proposed merger of EchoStar and DirecTV. This case involved first getting some background knowledge of antitrust law and theory. In antitrust law, there are certain defenses for certain types of market conditions. In the proposed EchoStar and DirecTV merger, the merging parties are trying to state an efficiencies argument for the proposed merger. I used economic analysis to examine the weigh the proposed efficiency gains against potential cost to consumers. Furthermore, I was able to get a glimpse at the complex network of cooperation between the different states’ Attorney General Offices as well as the federal agencies. I was surprised at the level of cooperation between federal and state government. These cooperative relationships allowed for the pooling of resources and proved to be very efficient.
I also conducted some background research for a legal essay my supervisor was working. The article argued that the US antitrust system with its multitude of enforcers allows for the constant testing of antitrust theories against specific facts in multiple fora. In addition, the fact that the European Union is moving towards a decentralized enforcement system much like the US system demonstrates that convergence in international antirust law is occurring because antitrust jurisdictions in many parts of the world are doing what concurrent enforcers in the US have been doing got the past century – addressing similar competition issues, often involving the same parties, in specific factual contexts that allow for the evolution of applied competition principles.
The Wisconsin DOJ is a wonderful internship opportunity. This internship taught me the level of social responsibility involved in a legal position at a state agency. I hope to pursue an internship at the federal level in antitrust next summer either at the DOJ, FTC, or clerking for a federal antitrust judge.
XXVI. Wisconsin Department of Natural Resources Bureau of
Air Management
Madison, WI
During the summer of 2002, I served as an analyst for the Environmental Studies Section of the Bureau of Air Management at the Wisconsin Department of Natural Resources in Madison, WI. I worked hand in hand with DNR personnel in all facets of the State’s air management program at some level, including air toxics, climate change, atmospheric deposition, biomonitoring, risk analysis, energy policy and regulatory innovation. Specifically, I helped develop a voluntary emission reduction registry, assisted in the renovation of the state air toxics regulation, and analyzed risk assessments. While performing these tasks, I was given a large amount of responsibility, and my work was put to use in the policy development process.
My internship at the DNR directly relates to my environmental policy analysis concentration, and allowed me to gain firsthand policy development and analysis experience with a variety of air and energy policy issues. The internship allowed me to work with business, governmental, and community stakeholders under the tutelage of experts and provided valuable regulatory, political, and institutional background. Additionally, the internship supplemented past and anticipated coursework. Each of these factors addresses a specific goal of my education, and I believe that the internship was an excellent addition to my education at the La Follette School of Public Affairs.
I highly recommend that anyone who is interested in environmental issues pursue this internship. Not only are the public policy issues important on a broad scale, but the intern actually gets to do important work on a variety of topics. Also, the people I have had the honor of working with are highly motivated and dedicated to protection of the public. Again, I highly recommend this internship.
My internship experience assured me that I still want to be an environmental professional. The dedication and enthusiasm shown by DNR staff has reinforced my desire to continue in the environmental field. Working for a state environmental agency also opened my eyes to the possibility of future employment at the state level, something I had never considered before.