Summer Internships & Alternative Spring Break
"It was a truly wonderful experience working with you and PPI last week in the Alternative Spring Break program. Not only did I gain direct experience in working for justice, but I learned about overall legal strategy, non-profit management, and the effective use of technology to expand the reach of a small, tightly focused organization."
--Yugo Nakai,
Benjamin N. Cardozo
School of Law 2L, April 2006
We are looking for law and graduate student interns to spend either the summer break or your Spring Break week helping us create and disseminate cutting-edge research on incarceration policy.
The Alternative Spring Break 2007 program will focus on our Prisoners of the Census project. Changing how the Census Bureau counts people in prison requires getting more support from rural areas, so we have a special project that involves identifying rural communities where Census counts of prisoners create serious distortions in town or county democracy and then helping those communities avoid the problem in the future. We have identified several hundred communities that require further investigation by phone interview or electronic means. We will train you in the relevant technology, election law and criminal justice data you'll need to do the work, and you will be listed as a co-author of the materials that are produced during your week. It is ok if you cannot spend the entire week with us, but we are asking for at least a 3 day commitment.
The summer program requires a 10 week commitment and will focus on Prisoners of the Census in addition to other projects. Interns in 2006 worked on our research database, the Do you know where the children are? A Report of Massachusetts Youth Unlawfully Held Without Bail report, Georgia's attempted banishment of people on the state's sex offender registry and a report on the racial disparities inherent in Massachusetts' mandatory minimum sentencing law for drug offenses committed near schools. Projects for 2007 will be determined soon.
All positions are unpaid, but we will support any fundraising efforts that you undertake at your school. Local activists and supporters will provide housing for Alternative Spring Breakers. We are unable to provide housing for summer interns, but we think you will find the region quite affordable and we will make some helpful referrals to locate housing in the Easthampton/Northampton area.
Applications will be accepted until all positions are filled.
The location
Our office in Easthampton is located 2 hours west of Boston, 2 hours east of Albany, NY and an hour north of Hartford, CT in beautiful Western Massachusetts. Easthampton is accessible from nearby Northampton by PVTA bus, and you can get here via the Peter Pan/Greyhound Bus Station in Northampton, the Amtrak train station in Springfield, and the Bradley International Airport in Windsor Locks, CT.
To apply
To apply for the summer program, send via email or US Mail:
- A cover letter with at least one paragraph explaining why you would like to work for the Prison Policy Initiative.
- A resume
- A completed copy of our skill assessment form (MS Word document) so we can match the work to your skills and interests.
To apply for the Alternative Spring Break program, send via email or US Mail:
- A cover letter that includes the dates you are available, your year in law school and whether you would need housing.
- A completed copy of our skill assessment form (MS Word document) so we can match the work to your skills and interests.
Note: Please do not send resumes or other materials in large envelopes marked "do not bend". Such envelopes require a special trip to the post office and will therefore be delayed.