Rahma Adam, MPP '09
Women United of Tanzania

http://fromharvardsquaretotanzaniarahmashubi.blogspot.com/

Rahma will spend the summer interning with Umoja wa Wanawake Tanzania or Women United of Tanzania (UWT), the women’s wing of the ruling party, Chama Cha Mapinduzi (CCM) in Tanzania. She will be working with the women’s political empowerment program to help empower young girls to promote their future participation in elective politics.  UWT is an organization that aims to 1) liberate all women of Tanzania from oppression; 2) cooperate and lead women in economic, political and cultural developments of the country, as well as in education and healthcare programs; and 3) to support and encourage women to run for public office.

Rahma’s role will be to support and promote leadership capacity among young girls between the ages of 15-22 who have shown an interest and potential for future political leadership activities. To introduce these young girls to the political systems and specifically the operations and opportunities for women in political parties, Rahma will conduct a total of five workshops in five different schools in Dar-es-Salaam and other parts of Tanzania. The students will be trained on the following aspects of leadership: public speaking, debating, advocacy and lobbying.  In addition, the workshops will also include a mentorship component, whereby successful women political leaders in government and political parties will be brought to interact with and motivate the young girls and eventually later on serve as mentors.

Elizabeth A. Côté, MD/MPA '09
U.S. Senator Susan Collins (R-Maine) and U.S. Senator Olympia Snowe (R-Maine)

This summer, Elizabeth will work in the State Offices of U.S. Senators Olympia Snowe (R-Maine) and Susan Collins (R-Maine).  She will study and compare constituent services and human resource management in the State Senatorial Offices.  Working closely with the Senators' State Directors, Elizabeth will travel with them across Maine meeting with constituents and addressing their concerns.  She will also contribute to state operations by preparing a new State Office Personnel Handbook which will include state job descriptions and ethics policies.

Aranzasú De La O, MPP '09
Women's Center of Los Angeles
http://aranzadelao.blogspot.com/

Aranzasú will spend the summer working with the Women’s Center of Los Angeles (WCLA).  The WCLA is a community organization that works with other organizations in the Los Angeles area such as the Department of Cultural Affairs; Recreation & Parks; City Libraries; and the Commission for Children, Youth & Families.  Aranzasú will coordinate the creation of a website for the WCLA and will work with its board of directors to determine the website’s content.  This will also consist of an analysis of the impact of current arts policies to display on the website.  Since the WCLA is a new organization which needs assistance with program implementation, Aranzasú will have the opportunity to research evaluation tools and coordinate outreach to volunteers and program sites.  She will also assist with fundraising, including research of potential foundation and government funding.

Sheila B. Lalwani, MPP '09
U.S. Senator Ted Kennedy (D-Massachusetts)
http://sheilainindia.blogspot.com/

During the Summer of 2009, Sheila will be working in U.S. Senator Ted Kennedy (D-MA)'s office on a range of issues, including immigration and policy work.  She will be responsible for working with constituents, helping formulate policy and assisting in research.  Sheila will focus on managing constituent relations and mobilizing the press.  The majority of her work will be in the Boston office, but she may travel to Washington, D.C. as well.  Ultimately, Sheila wants to use the skills that she learned through the Oval Office training program to prepare herself for a career in politics and policy.

Margaux McDonald, MPA/MTS '08
Martha Hall Findlay, Member of Parliament, Canada
http://fromharvardsquaretoparliamenthill.blogspot.com/

Margaux will spend her summer working with Martha Hall Findlay, Member of Parliament in Canada.  Hall Findlay is currently the Official Opposition Critic for both Public Works and Government Services, and the Treasury Board.  Margaux will work with Findlay's team of policy advisors in her Ottawa office researching and writing policy positions that relate to Martha’s opposition role and committee membership; assisting with the writing and production of constituent-directed mailings with information on Martha’s policy positions; and compiling and writing a humorous yet insightful publication on “the day in the life of a female Member of Parliament.”  She will also draft correspondence relating to constituent inquiries on various issues and collaborate with staff on various projects, policy and community outreach.  Margaux expects her internship to provide her with a rich learning environment related to her policy interests and political aspirations.

Aranzasu De La O, MPP '09
Maria Leon Vazquez for School Board and Margaret Quinones for Santa Monica College Board of Trustees Campaigns

http://aranzadelao.blogspot.com/

Aranzasu spent the summer working on two campaigns in Santa Monica, CA - Maria Leon Vazquez's campaign for school board and Margaret Quinones' campaign for Santa Monica College's Board of Trustees. In addition to the two campaigns, Aranzasu worked with School Board Member, Oscar de la Torre starting an education coalition that included Latina/o parents, who are organized around special education issues. They also created a Latino Political Action Network composed of Latina/o teachers, administrators and education. Their goal was to organize a major progressive advocacy group to assist with quality of life issues, workers rights, education, etc. in Santa Monica, CA.

Adia Hoag, EdM '08
Obama for America

Adia worked with the national presidential campaign for Senator Barack Obama, Obama for America.  She applied for the Obama Organizing Fellows program. In June, Adia was assigned to Jacksonville, FL where she spent six weeks obtaining real world organizing experience that had a concrete impact on this election. 
 
As a Fellow, Adia was trained on the basics of organizing and campaign fundamentals: managing databases, fundraising money, getting out the vote, educating the public on the issues and campaigning door-to-door.  In Jacksonville, Adia carried out grassroots organizing activities such as training door-to-door campaign volunteers, holding informational meetings and phone banking on behalf of the campaign.  Adia received valuable experience participating in training on field organizing, messaging and other activities for the Obama campaign.  The Obama Organizing Fellowship was designed not just to help win the presidential election, but to strengthen our democracy by training dedicated volunteers in communities across the country.  Adia participated in an intensive and rewarding training program focused on the basic organizing principles at the heart of Barack Obama’s campaign.

Moushumi Khan, MC/MPA '08
Obama for America

Moushumi spent the summer working on Senator Barack Obama's presidential campaign, Obama for America, in Ann Arbor, MI, specifically in the Crown Fellowship Program. She worked in the field office and conducted voter outreach campaigns, particularly to the Muslim/Arab community.

Katherine Randall, MPP '08
Healthcare Policy Examination

Katherine used the opportunity of her Oval Office summer internship to develop her views on healthcare. As in the US, healthcare is an issue of critical importance to voters in the UK, albeit for different reasons. Katherine interviewed experts on healthcare - academics, politicians and policy-makers - in the US, Canada, France and the UK in order to gain a deeper understanding of this crucial policy issue. In Fall 2009, Katherine took a post working for Prime Minister Gordon Brown's Strategy Unit on issues of healthcare.

Mamie Marcuss
MPP '07
Final Report

Political Assistant to the State Director of U.S. Senator John Kerry (D-MA)

Sarah Rasmussen
MPP '07
Final Report

Research & Communications intern, America Votes/Minnesota

Katie Selenski
MPP '07
Final Report

Intern, State Assemblymember Dave Jones, Sacramento, CA

Mamie Marcuss, MPP 2007

Political Assistant to the State Director of U.S. Senator John Kerry (D-MA)
Mamie worked directly with Senator Kerry's State Director to build and foster the Senator's political relationships within the Commonwealth of Massachusetts. Specifically, she planed and attended meetings and events with key political contacts in the state, primarily state and local legislators. Additionally, she managed an effort to enhance the Senator's communications with his Massachusetts constituents by harnessing emerging technologies, such as pod casts and blogs.

The internship helped Mamie further her goal of running for elected office. First, by enabling her to develop a better understanding of politics, complementing my past experience in the policy arena. Second, it offered her a chance to build a political network in the state, one which will prove invaluable in any future race. Finally, it gave her an on the ground appreciation for the day-to-day life of a U.S. legislator-an office she hopes to one day hold.

Sarah Rasmussen, MPP 2007

Sarah worked as a research/communications intern with the organization America Votes/Minnesota. America Votes is a new, historic coalition of dozens of progressive political organizations working to educate and engage voters on issues like the environment, the economy, and a woman's right to choose. American Votes also developed electoral strategies and shift resources to ensure that on-the-ground political efforts are smart, efficient and effective.

As an intern in the research and communications department, Sarah conducted issue-based research, write organizational press materials, and help develop issue-based messages.

Katie Selenski, MPP 2007

Katie returned to California to work for State Assemblymember Dave Jones, who represents her hometown of Sacramento. Working on legislative projects in Jones’ capital office was a tremendous opportunity for Katie, whose experience is in nonprofit and advocacy organizations, to learn about the inside of the legislative process, develop new political skills, and observe the daily life of an elected official.

Katie is committed to achieving real solutions to the problems facing Sacramento residents and she continually seeks to discover more about the city. She was eager to learn from Assemblymember Jones, who also had a record of distinguished service in the Sacramento City Council and as a legal aid attorney in the city, about how he has accomplished such success and about the challenges and opportunities of serving in public office. Katie hopes to use the lessons she learned to develop strategies for achieving progress for Sacramento.