General Intern

Job title: General Intern

Location: Remote or hybrid, Washington DC

Classification: Temporary, part-time, non-exempt

Organization: Campaign for the Fair Sentencing of Youth (CFSY)

Due: Applications will be accepted and reviewed on a rolling basis

Position Available: June 2025

Overview of the position:

The Campaign for the Fair Sentencing of Youth is hiring an intern for the Summer 2025 term! Founded in 2009, the CFSY works to ban juvenile life without parole in the United States, and create opportunities for those directly impacted by extreme sentencing to thrive and lead. Interns work up to 19 hours a week in a part-time position for a 12-week term, and assist the CFSY staff by responding to letters from incarcerated individuals, assisting with communications projects, and performing program support and administrative tasks. College credit eligibility can be provided upon successful completion of the internship. Over the course of the employment period, interns will become familiar with national and state efforts to end juvenile life without parole and other extreme sentences for children.

The Summer 2025 Internship will be remote or hybrid.

The intern reports to the Outreach & Advocacy Associate and works across each department over the course of their term. This internship is separate from our legal internship, but law students are encouraged to check back for future opportunities.

Primary Responsibilities:

• Work with the legal team to respond to letters and inquiries from individuals who are incarcerated (Note: Some letters and inquiries from individuals who are incarcerated may contain graphic subject matter, including descriptions of traumatic experiences and sexual violence.)
• Perform administrative tasks such as filing, data entry, working within Salesforce, Microsoft Word & Excel, and Mailchimp
• Represent the CFSY at various virtual or in person juvenile and criminal justice meetings/events
• Assist with donor prospect research
• Support communications, strategic partnerships, and movement building team projects
• Provide research support for legal/policy team
• Assist with event planning
• Perform other duties as assigned

Qualifications:

• Commitment to criminal and juvenile justice issues, particularly reform to harsh juvenile sentencing practices in the United States, racial discrimination in juvenile justice, and/or human rights in the United States
• Some experience working with Microsoft Outlook and Google Office applications. Salesforce experience a plus
• Well-developed organizational skills
• Maturity and reliability
• Strong communication, interpersonal, and listening skills
• Willingness to take direction and work as a team – friendly and courteous, willing to work as part of the larger community efforts to end juvenile life without parole
• Excellent writing abilities. Candidates selected for interviews will be asked to complete a brief writing assignment.
• Candidates with availability for multiple semesters are encouraged to apply.

Values and Traits:

• Strong interest in criminal legal reform, particularly ending harsh youth sentencing practices, racial discrimination, and human rights abuses in the United States;
• Belief that our society has failed the children impacted by life without parole and other extreme sentences, and that we all have a responsibility to create avenues for their restoration and that of our entire community;
• Belief in the inherent good, dignity, and humanity of all people regardless of race, sex, sexual orientation, gender expression, class, education level, zip code and more; and belief that every one of us is more than the worst things we’ve done or experienced;
• Flexible and willing and able to adapt to the evolving nature of CFSY’s work;
• Constructive and optimistic; confronts problems with the expectation that a solution exists; and
• Prioritizes self-care.

Location and Travel

The CFSY’s headquarters are in Washington, DC, with many staff working remotely throughout the country. For this Summer 2025 position, interns will work remotely or hybrid. There may be options to work in our office in Washington, D.C., but this is not required. Temporary employees are asked to provide their own computer. However, this should not be a barrier to employment and accommodations can be made. All business related travel will be paid for by the CFSY in accordance with our travel policy.

Physical Environment and Equipment

The physical demands described here are representative of those that must be met to successfully perform the essential functions of this job. Reasonable accommodations may be made to enable individuals with disabilities to perform the essential functions.

• While performing the duties of this job, the employee is regularly required to: stand, sit, talk, hear, and use hands and fingers to operate a computer and telephone;
• Specific vision abilities include close vision requirements due to computer work;
• Ability to effectively use a telephone, including mobile phone; computer (with Microsoft and Google applications); keyboard; and video conferencing.

Compensation, Benefits, and Culture:

The hourly wage for this position is $17.95. This position is temporary, part-time, and non-exempt; the Intern will work up to 19 hours/week for 12 weeks.

The CFSY believes in and actively practices meaningful connection to individuals directly impacted by extreme prison sentences. We work in deep partnership with people currently in prison, those who have been released, and their family and social networks. All staff at the CFSY, regardless of role and position, engage in this connection and are regularly proximate to those directly impacted by the work we do.

To apply:

Email a letter of interest, resume, and two references (contact information only, recommendation letters are not necessary) in one PDF file to ahollies@cfsy.org. Use “Intern-Last Name” as the subject of your email and as the file name for your PDF, and include your availability in the email. For tax purposes, please list the address you will be working from for the duration of the internship on your resume. Unfortunately, we are only able to consider and hire applicants who reside in the following states: MI, PA, MD, IL, TN, KS, CA, DC, and the DMV area. Only complete applications sending all application materials in one PDF file will be reviewed. This position is not open to high school students. This internship is separate from our legal internship, but law students are encouraged to check back for future opportunities.

We will offer interviews based on application strength, including demonstrated interest, writing ability, availability to work 19 hours per week, and any work experience. Our Summer 2025 Internship program will be virtual or hybrid.

The CFSY is committed to diversity, equity, and inclusion. People of color, individuals with disabilities, members of the LGBTQ community, and those with personal experience in the criminal legal system are strongly encouraged to apply.