Gender Equity Leadership Initiative

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Seymonne Rosenberg 

“This summer interned at the Dutchess County Pride Center, a place created to give people a place where they can be free to be themselves while also providing support services, education, and advocacy for the LGBTQ+ community with a huge focus on LGBTQ+ youth.  Started by parents whose child came out as transgender, I am inspired by the mission of DC Pride Center and the strides that it has made in garnering a community in the short time it has been in existence. It is a testament to the power that an individual has to make change in their community and how important it is to support LGBTQ+ youth and the overall community. Some of my tasks included helping with the planning of DC Pride, assisting with the planning and execution of four weeks of camps designed for LGBTQ+ youth, and creating posts and updates for the DC Pride's social media platforms.”

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Ariha Shahed

“I interned at BRAC International, an organization whose mission is to work with people whose lives are dominated by extreme poverty, illiteracy, disease, and other disadvantages. Their vision is of a just, enlightened, healthy, and democratic world free from hunger, poverty, environmental degradation, and all forms of exploitation based on age, sex, and ethnicity. I developed factory visit reports after the training sessions, assisted with the development of training materials, contributed to gender equality and social inclusion (GESI) focused analysis and report writing, created PowerPoint presentations, and supported team members with any task possible. I worked in collaboration with one of BRAC’s partner institutions: INNOVISION Bangladesh— where I worked under their Gender and Basic Services portfolio. I helped proofread survey forms used to conduct research on fields, with translation work and portfolios that provide an analysis of the work conducted by the firm so far that would help it secure more funding opportunities.”

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Tara-Jo Tashna 

“This summer I had the opportunity to work with Connek JA, a queer-centered grassroots organization based in New York and Kingston, Jamaica. During the two months I worked with this small organization, I supported research as well as administrative tasks and worked very closely with the two founders. First I did some research on registering the organization. After advising the founders about the LLC and 501(c)(3) registration processes, I supported them as they registered as a business in the interim before the longer nonprofit registration process. I then helped prepare for a ball coming up in Kingston. I researched shipping methods so the team could receive gender affirming care products being sent overseas. I also helped formulate plans for expanding the team so the two owners could have more support in the long term. We discussed their ambassadorship program and ways to incorporate the growing Connek community so it could be sustainable as it continues doing incrediblly transformative work. In discussing the future of Connek, I assisted them in making a comprehensive list to guide their tasks in the near future.”

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Guy Levy

“I interned at the Association of Rape Crisis Centers in Israel (ARCCI), an organization focused on combating sexual violence through advocacy, education, and support, aiming to create safer environments and strengthen victim services. What truly inspires me about ARCCI's mission is their commitment to breaking the silence around sexual violence and advocating for meaningful changes in policy and public attitudes. This aligns deeply with my personal values and passion for social justice. I am driven by the chance to contribute to such impactful work, enhancing safety and support for survivors, and fostering systemic change. The internship was 5 weeks long, and for most of the time I worked under the guidance of Dr. Carmit Klar-Chalish, the head of the research department. Together we were working on expanding the organization's work on the national report of sexual crimes committed on October 7th. The work included researching, collecting, and documenting testimonies from victims, witnesses, and survivors of those crimes. The research included going over hours of media interviews and media content that had information about the events of Oct 7th. The other part of the internship was to start researching a national healing plan. The research included looking into similar cases in other regions and collecting information about healing plans for the affected populations.