John Garcia Communications Department Summer Internship Program

ABOUT LATINOJUSTICE PRLDEF

Founded in 1972 as the Puerto Rican Legal Defense and Education Fund, LatinoJustice PRLDEF (LJP) has been a leading civil rights and social justice organization for five decades. LJP’s core issue areas include voting rights and redistricting, economic justice, immigrant rights, criminal legal system (policing and prison) reform, racial justice, leadership development, and issues related to Puerto Rico. LJP uses impact litigation, advocacy, and community education and engagement, among other strategies, to protect and advance the rights of Latinx and other communities of color. LJP has offices in New York City, Orlando, FL, and Austin, TX.

The Communications Department at LJP strengthens LJP’s brand identity as one of the country’s premier Latino/Latinx civil rights champions. Working in cross departmental collaboration at LJP, and in close relationship with existing supporters, stakeholders, and allies, as well as the general public, the department builds community awareness and understanding of LJP’s work. Connecting and engaging with influencers, activists, and other stakeholders in LJP’s pillar work seeking to capitalize on opportunities to advance the visibility of LJP’s work and cultivate new audiences. LJP’s headquarters office is located in New York City at 475 Riverside Drive in Manhattan, on 119th Street near the Columbia University Barnard College Morningside Heights campus.

THE JOHN GARCIA LEGACY SUMMER INTERNSHIP

LatinoJustice PRLDEF established the John Garcia Legacy Summer Internship Program to honor the memory and legacy of our former Director of Communications and Community Engagement, who worked at LJP from 2008 to 2018, mentoring dozens of young leaders and activists.

This summer internship program aims to support young people seeking to pursue careers in communications, development and/or community engagement. The 8-week program begins on Monday, June 9 2025. Each of the three (3) interns will be assigned to the CAP Leadership Institute, Development Department, and to our Communications Department. John Garcia Legacy Summer Interns are expected to work full-time (35 hours/week) for eight (8) weeks, receiving a total stipend of $4,200.00 from LatinoJustice PRLDEF. Interns selected will be assigned as described below:

Communications Department- The John Garcia Communications intern will work with Communications Department staff to help plan and build key Communications projects. During this internship, the Communications Intern will be assigned department-specific projects including, but not limited to:

1. Research trends in use of Substack by nonprofit organizations and work with Communication team to launch LJP Substack.

2. Support Communications Department in annual refresh of organizational website.

3. Support development and creation of social media content for selected public information campaigns on LJP’s areas of work.

INTERNSHIP QUALIFICATIONS

We are proud to have a professional team deeply committed to our mission. We look to hire individuals who share our commitment, who are emotionally intelligent, emphatic, and good team players. We strive to maintain a positive, interconnected, value driven culture, where opportunities for individual and professional development are available to all. If this sounds like the kind of place you’d like to be, we invite you to apply. We are seeking:

Energetic, motivated undergraduate students with a record of commitment to social justice work

Strong writing, research, and communications skills

Bilingual Spanish/English is preferred but not required.

Please note: LJP staff works in hybrid model with 60% flexible remote work. At the time of this posting, this internship is designed as hybrid.