Internship

• Read about how the economic recesssion is increasing enrollment numbers at community colleges.
• Lobbying campaigns for the 10 Ideas Contest winners has begun. Read about it on Change.org
• Listen to a podcast on Wiretap about how two young organizers balance the professional and personal.
• While I was listening to Obama's first press conference on NPR, I couldn't help but notice that he took a question from the Huffington Post. Think Progress commends Obama's recognition and respect for new media.
• Washington D.C. will soon welcome a populist caucus on Capitol Hill.
• A new poll reveals that young Utah voters overwhelmingly support Obama.
• Check out this listing for a FiveThirtyEight DC Internship. Sounds like a great opportunity.
• New America Media takes on the dispute over whether or not Democrats exploited hip hop to get Obama elected.
• Personal Democracy Forum offers up some good suggestions for how volunteering can be transformed through technology and crowdsourcing.
• Wanna know everything there is to know about how the Obama campaign won? Check out a list of essential reading on e.politics.

Bumped. --Mike

Young Americans elected change on Nov. 4. Now who will turn the buzzword into reality? Electing the right people is just the beginning- we still have to fight for the right policies- like health care and living wages for all. Making change a reality requires a lot of people- not a lot of Obamas, but a lot of people behind the scenes.

Let me give you an example. Do you know who Charles Moskos was? Probably not. But you probably do know that the US military has a “don’t ask, don’t tell” policy for LGBT service members, and that when you finish college, you will pay back your student loans based on how much you earn. These were both ideas crafted by Mr. Moskos as a policy advisor to President Clinton. These are the people behind the scenes who influence major ideas and decisions- decisions that will eventually become the policies that govern our lives. So, how do we ensure that the next generation of influential policy advisors is waiting in the wings?

Our answer is the DMI Scholars program. Each summer, DMI Scholars brings together progressive minded college activists to intensively train on the policymaking process and analyze policies, while exposing them to the who’s who in progressive policy circles- a world that expands far beyond presidential advisors. DMI Scholars will become the future heads of think tanks, advisors to elected officials, grassroots campaigns directors and media commentators to collectively steer our nation in the right direction.

The program, poised to introduce its third cohort of Scholars this summer, will ensure that as baby boomers age out, the current cadre is ready to take up the charge of implementing real change. Interested college sophomores and juniors should check out www.dmischolars.org and apply to the 2009 DMI Scholars Summer Institute, to be held in NYC, August 1-15.

The first class of Scholars has now completed their training and internship, and are already beginning to change the public policy landscape in places like the US Senate Judiciary Committee and the NAACP Legal Defense and Education Fund.

Apply to DMI Scholars today. Tell a friend about it.

APPLICATION DEADLINE FEB 1 AT 11PM!! www.dmischolars.org

Speaking of training leaders and finding a cost-friendly option for working your way into the movement, y’all might be interested in this:

[[New Leaders Program]]: Program participants are linked to paid internships with progressive organizations in DC ranging from policy and research work to advocacy and organizing to media relations and on-line publications. Organizations include Campaign for America’s Future, Center for American Progress, Common Cause, Choice USA, Food and Water Watch, Center for Community Change, National AIDS Housing Coalition, United States Student Association, and many more. New Leaders also receive leadership training from experts in DC, get a mentor and personal coach, and participate in networking events during the program.

This program hooks you up with a 10 week, paid internship. Details after the jump.