Coastal Community Resilience Intern

The Environmental Defense Fund is seeking a Coastal Community Resilience Intern in Washington, DC. The intern will assist in developing strategies to support resource-dependent communities facing climate change by analyzing climate vulnerability and resilience. Responsibilities include conducting research, creating reports, and coordinating with team members. Candidates should be graduate students or recent graduates in relevant fields with strong communication skills and a commitment to environmental issues.
EDF internships provide high-quality experiences (including relevant projects and opportunities for networking) that form the foundation for any individual who is serious about pursuing an environmental career.

Program/Department Overview

The ocean is a lifeline for billions of people globally, providing essential nutrients, livelihoods, and economic opportunities. Yet climate change and overfishing are rapidly degrading marine ecosystems, threatening biodiversity, the safety of coastal communities, and global food and nutrition security. That’s why EDF’s Fisheries & Oceans team is working to safeguard the oceans and protect nature, while feeding the planet, creating more secure livelihoods, and bolstering more equitable societies for human well-being. Through our programs in the U.S., Latin America, and the Asia-Pacific region, we draw on strong science and economic principles to advance sustainable ocean practices, forward-looking policies and innovative tools that support the health of our oceans and the people who depend on them for food and their livelihoods.

Overall Function

The intern will help EDF lay the groundwork for addressing issues impacting resource-dependent communities by contributing to the development of a strategic plan focused on helping communities thrive even in the face of climate change. The intern will help conduct analyses to determine the places where EDF can have the most impact by evaluating climate vulnerability and resilience potential. They will evaluate the role of different levers for building resilience, including governance approaches, policy solutions, participatory planning frameworks, market systems, insurance tools and others. The Intern will report to the Director, Climate Resilient Food Systems.

Key Responsibilities

Tasks will include but are not limited to:
• Contribute to an analysis of climate vulnerability and resilience potential around the world to identify high risk and high potential places where EDF could focus to maximize our impact.
• Perform literature reviews and research on resilience approaches that would be relevant in the identified places to focus, including governance approaches, policy solutions, participatory planning frameworks, market systems, insurance tools and others.
• Support in creating documents, briefs, reports etc. to advance development of a strategic plan that outlines EDF’s role, goals and activities on the topic.
• Prepare visuals and presentation materials for EDF to use in describing our existing and future work on community resilience.
• Engage with others at EDF working on community resilience to coordinate efforts.
• Coordinate and participate in team and project meetings to communicate progress.
• Participate in advancing EDF Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion (DEI) goals in which people from all backgrounds and experiences feel connected, included, and empowered to address the environmental and organizational challenges in alignment with EDF values.

Qualifications
• Enrolled in or a recent graduate of a graduate degree program with a demonstrated interest in environmental studies, oceans science, international development, environmental policy and/or a related field.
• Excellent written and oral communication skills.
• Must be well organized, motivated, and detail-oriented.
• Ability to multi-task, prioritize and meet deadlines.
• Ability to work in a team setting and have the ability to work independently when projects are due.
• Demonstrate self-awareness, cultural competency and inclusivity, and ability to work with colleagues and stakeholders across diverse cultures and backgrounds.
• Demonstrate initiative and problem-solving skills.
• Modeling and/or GIS skills, preferred.

Location

U.S. Remote with option to be hybrid out of an EDF office in Washington, DC, Austin, TX or Raleigh, NC. Intern supervisor is in Austin, TX.

Term

Summer 2025 (10 weeks)

Hours

Full-time (35 hr/week)

Compensation

This internship would involve compensation for work paid at a rate competitive with leading non-profits at $20/hr.

Application Materials

Interested applicants should attach their cover letter and resume to the EDF application.

Learn more about internships at EDF -http://www.edf.org/environmental-careers/internships