Education & Community Programs Internships

The Human Rights Campaign Foundation envisions a world where all LGBTQ+ people can participate fully in the very systems that shape our daily lives. We work towards this vision through four overarching strategies:

  1. Working to build understanding and shape the public debate of LGBTQ+ people and the challenges they face through research and public education campaigns
  2. Changing policies and practices in the institutions that shape the everyday lives of LGBTQ+ people, through consultation, technical assistance, and training, and through pioneering benchmarking tools
  3. Empowering strategic partners, community advocates, and allies through capacity building, convenings, and tools
  4. Leveraging relationships with allies to advance LGBTQ+ local, state, and federal policy objective

Education & Community Programs Internship Teams:

HBCU Program team:

HRC Foundation's Historically Black Colleges and Universities (HBCU) Program is dedicated to promoting individual competencies and collective action, empowering leaders and stakeholders, and building a network of committed individuals in the pursuit of eliminating stigma and enriching the college experience for LGBTQ students and the entire student body. As the only national initiative of its kind, HRC's HBCU Program collaborates directly with HBCUs to establish genuinely LGBTQ+-inclusive campus climates.
The HBCU Program:

  • Organizes annual convenings that bring together students and senior leaders to strengthen the capabilities of HBCUs and LGBTQ+ student leaders of color, fostering a sense of community and empowerment.
  • Provides valuable consultation and technical assistance to HBCUs, supporting them in enhancing their non-discrimination policies to ensure they are inclusive and equitable for all students.
  • Develops impactful public education campaigns that raise awareness about the unique needs and challenges faced by queer students, shedding light on the importance of creating inclusive and supportive campus environments.

Through these strategic initiatives, the HBCU Program actively advocates for meaningful change. By fostering environments where LGBTQ+ students feel safe, supported, and empowered to thrive, the program is committed to eliminating stigma and creating lasting impact within HBCUs and beyond.

All Children, All Families (ACAF) team:

Since 2007, ACAF has been dedicated to resource development, technical assistance, and training on LGBTQ+ inclusion for child welfare systems around the country. The program provides professional development to child welfare case workers, supervisors, and administrators. ACAF:

  • Implements LGBTQ+ inclusive policies and practices with over 135 child welfare agencies in 36 states that serve more than 1.2 million children and families annually
  • Creates public education campaigns on foster care and adoption
  • Provides professional development to over 10,000 child welfare professionals annually
  • Engages child welfare leaders in public policy advocacy

Health & Aging team:

HRC Foundation’s Health and Aging Program works to advance policies, practices, and culture of the healthcare and senior housing industries to better serve their LGBTQ+ patients, residents, and employees. Our program runs two biennial surveys - the Healthcare Equality Index and the Long-Term Care Equality Index. We also provide resources and training to help healthcare facilities and long-term care and senior housing communities adopt inclusive policies and practices.
The Health & Aging Program:

  • Runs the Healthcare Equality Index, which is the national LGBTQ+ benchmarking tool that evaluates healthcare facilities' policies and practices related to the equity and inclusion of their LGBTQ+ patients, visitors, and employees
  • Runs the Long-Term Care Equality Index, which is the first national benchmarking tool for LGBTQ+ inclusion in senior housing and long-term care communities.
  • Provides resources, training, and technical assistance to healthcare facilities and aging service providers to strengthen their LGBTQ+ inclusion efforts

HIV & Health Equity team:

The HIV & Health Equity Program is committed to using a racial equity lens to end the HIV epidemic and improve the overall health and wellness of the most marginalized Black and Latinx communities by addressing the social determinants of health, socioeconomic factors, and the institutional and structural policies and practices that enforce white supremacy, further disparities, and perpetuate stigma.
The HIV & Health Equity team uses the person's first language to center the person rather than their condition as only one part of the whole person. We also:

  • Utilizes storytelling to advocate for, engage, and mobilize communities most impacted by HIV through leadership development and training cohorts
  • Collaborates with Community-based Organizations across the country to increase the impact and reach of our work around HIV prevention, testing, and care services
  • Advances new sexual health and wellness tools and resources through our bilingual My Body My Health public education campaign

Global Partnerships team:

Global Partnerships leverages the knowledge, resources, and expertise of the Human Rights Campaign to support and strengthen the global movement for equality. The goal of the Global Partnerships program is to help strengthen the equality movement in countries around the world through more effective advocacy, campaigning, organizing and outreach. Working through an ever-growing network of over 200 advocates in the HRC Global Leadership Alumni Network in almost 100 countries, we work to:

  • Provide capacity-building support to strengthen organizations, change hearts and minds, and change laws and policies to improve the lives of LGBTQ+ people worldwide.
  • Engage emerging and established LGBTQ+ leaders through our flagship annual Global Innovative Advocacy Summit, the entry point to joining the HRC Global Leadership Alumni Network, where we provide a week-long forum for 30 advocates to exchange ideas for advancing LGBTQ+ equality as well as an opportunity to meet with policymakers, advocates, and supporters of global equality in Washington D.C. and around the world.
  • Support members of the HRC Global Leadership Alumni Network through our annual Global Small Grants Program, which awards grants ranging from $1,000 to $5,000 to support projects to improve the lives of LGBTQ+ people in these countries.
  • Campaign on behalf of advocates around the world and engage the global community through international institutions like the United Nations and other multilateral organizations such as the Global Equality Fund and the Equal Rights Coalition to advance the cause of LGBTQ+ rights around the world.
  • Leverage HRC’s membership, policy, and media platforms to advance an inclusive U.S. foreign policy.

Public Education & Research team:

The Public Education & Research team uses data and storytelling to foster visibility and positive change in the lives of LGBTQ+ people, across all sectors of public life. Our team endeavors to change the hearts and minds of everyday people and increase the public’s understanding of the LGBTQ+ community in all our intersecting identities. Broadly, we accomplish these goals through work that falls into the following buckets:

  • Original quantitative and qualitative research to raise awareness about key issues facing the LGBTQ+ community
  • Original storytelling and writing, to create allies and advocates who are willing and eager to work in support of and alongside the LGBTQ+ community
  • Collaborative research and storytelling for other teams across C3/C4, to enable their decision-making, advocacy, and programmatic efforts
  • Rapid response research and storytelling to provide data and talking points to support HRC’s efforts in addressing emerging and ongoing policy and political needs
  • In addition, PE&R also maintains more than 100 existing resources, which account for as many as 5.3 million visits to HRC’s website each year -- the largest body of content visited on the site overall.

Transgender Justice Initiative team:

The Transgender Justice Initiative (TJI) is dedicated to justice for the transgender community and is focused on four pillars that will seek to transform the systemic discrimination faced by transgender people. TJI has several capacity-building programs, which seek to advance the leadership of marginalized transgender people, economic programs focused on providing grants for different needs, as well as live talks focused on the experience of being transgender.
The TJI Four Pillars are:

  • Investing in Community Leadership
  • Economic Empowerment
  • Strategic Communications
  • Capacity Building, Technical Assistance, and Training

Workplace Equality Program team:

HRC’s Workplace Equality Program is the nationally recognized voice for advocacy, information, and guidance on LGBTQ+ workplace issues. Advancing workplace equality for LGBTQ+ employees means looking far beyond the employee handbook—it means putting policy into practice on the factory floor, in the corporate boardroom and everywhere in between. The WEP envisions a world where all workers can be themselves and make a living without discrimination or stigma.
The WEP team:

  • Produces Corporate Equality Index and other benchmarking and public-education tools (Covers 23M employees)
  • Conducts direct training and consultation on workplace inclusion
  • Develops resources and educational material to help employers advance equality in their own workplaces and beyond
  • Works with companies to advance LGBTQ+ inclusive public policy (Business Coalition for Equality Act)
  • Advances workplace inclusion abroad with indices in Mexico, Chile, Argentina, and Brazil

Stakeholder Engagement team:

The Stakeholder Engagement program aims to build, foster and activate equality-minded stakeholders of the HRC Foundation to advance LGBTQ+ inclusion and equality and defeat anti-LGBTQ+ efforts through federal, state, and legal advocacy initiatives. By collaborating with institutional allies, HRC leverages sector-specific resources, influence, and expansive reach amplifying our impact on policy objectives. Through timely and careful relationship management we empower institutions such as companies and associations and their networks to be champions for LGBTQ+ public policy initiatives and to increase their public policy engagement over time. Our diverse array of stakeholders includes businesses, professional associations, higher education institutions, health and youth well-being organizations, and more, all united in our commitment to advancing LGBTQ+ rights and equality.

Youth Well-being team:

HRC Foundation’s Youth Well-Being (YWB) Program is dedicated to improving the lived experience of LGBTQ+ youth in everyday institutions of daily life – families, schools, after-school enrichment programs, community centers, health and wellness programs, child welfare, and other systems of care. The team works across the Foundation and with several external partners to develop resources, professional development, and policy guidance for youth-serving professionals and organizations focused on youth and their families. Key initiatives of the YWB Program include:

  • Time to THRIVE regional summits convening educators, social workers, counselors, and other youth-serving professionals focused on promoting safety, inclusion, and well-being so LGBTQ+ can thrive.
  • Project THRIVE provides direct support and technical assistance to 30+ national associations and organizations representing over 5 million youth-serving professionals. The Project THRIVE webinar series provides monthly professional development on best practices to support LGBTQ+ youth.
  • Youth Ambassadors, a leadership opportunity for LGBTQ+ young advocates who are interested in helping raise awareness of HRC efforts to improve the lives of LGBTQ+ youth at home, at school, at work, and beyond

Welcoming Schools team:

HRC Foundation’s Welcoming Schools is the most comprehensive bias-based bullying prevention program in the nation to provide LGBTQ+ and gender-inclusive professional development training, lesson plans, booklists, and resources specifically designed for educators and youth-serving professionals. Our program uses an intersectional, anti-racist lens dedicated to actionable policies and practices. We uplift school communities with critical tools to embrace all families, create LGBTQ+ and gender-inclusive schools, prevent bias-based bullying, and support transgender and non-binary students. The Welcoming Schools Program:

  • Has impacted over 10.5 million students all over the world through our resources and direct professional development to educators.
  • Provides FREE Elementary and Secondary lesson plans, resources, and annotated book lists.
  • Donates hundreds of FREE LGTBQ+ Inclusive Books to schools across the nation.
  • Coordinates public education events (i.e. National Day of Reading: A Celebration of Stories Supporting Transgender and Non-Binary Youth and Back to School Campaign).

Internship Outcomes:

  • Enhanced written and verbal, analytical, research, communication, and editing skills, including experience drafting a variety of assignments for internal or public consumption, i.e. policy memos, policy papers, issue briefs, etc.
  • Expanded understanding of and familiarity with HRC's educational and community empowerment work, and deepened understanding and broader knowledge of the myriad of issues and challenges facing LGBTQ+ people, from health and aging to HIV, faith and workplace issues, and more.
  • Opportunity to build meaningful relationships with seasoned non-profit advocacy professionals and access to mentoring and support.
  • Experience working in a high-energy, fast-paced environment at a national progressive/LGBTQ+ civil rights organization and concrete, transferable experience with administrative management skills that are applicable to entry-level employment.

Other Information:

  • Please refer to our intern FAQs.
  • We strongly encourage people of color, transgender, and non-binary people to apply. HRC is an equal opportunity employer and welcomes everyone, including non-LGBTQ+ people, to join our team.