2025 Summer Legislative Affairs Internship

 The Center for Science in the Public Interest offers a paid internship program for students in undergraduate, graduate, law and medical schools, and we also consider postgraduates. These paid internships offer structured work experiences and an opportunity to:

• Gain substantial knowledge of the policy-making process and the role science plays.
• Participate in group meetings and strategy brainstorming sessions.
• Learn about the mechanics of coalition advocacy efforts, membership recruitment, coordinated action, and achieving collective change.
• Obtain general research and communication skills by working closely with science, policy, legislative and outreach experts.
• Meet with staff at all levels of the organization to discuss career roles and paths.
• Learn how to effectively engage in policymaker education and lobbying.
• Assess your own interests and skills.

About CSPI

The Center for Science in the Public Interest, your food and health watchdog, is one of the nation’s leading public health advocacy organizations with a 50-year record of fighting for science in the public interest and working to improve the food environment for all. We’ve led efforts to win passage of many state and local policies to improve school foods, put calories on chain restaurant menus and menu boards, and remove sugary drinks from children’s menus. National policy successes include the Nutrition Labeling and Education Act; Healthy, Hunger-Free Kids Act; Food Safety Modernization Act; and Food Allergen Labeling and Consumer Protection Act. More recently, CSPI has also been involved in broader public health advocacy on issues such as scientific integrity, alcohol policy, agency transparency, and the regulation of selected medical products.

About the Internship Opportunity

The intern will work on federal legislative policy to increase access to a healthy and safe US food supply. More specifically, the intern will support CSPI’s legislative work for a Farm Bill that increases access to a healthy diet, continue driving forward work on Fiscal Year (FY) 2026 Appropriations, and in strengthening and expanding organizational impact through coalition advocacy efforts.

Essential Duties and Responsibilities

• Support in robustly engaging the US Congress on issues across CSPI’s legislative portfolio, chiefly focusing on the Farm Bill, child nutrition issues, and FY26 appropriations.
• Engage in robust background research on Hill offices, support in taking notes, tracking Hill visits and targets, and present talking points in visits.
• Generate mini policy memos and other advocacy documents to support messaging and communications activities.
• Track, generate questions for, attend, and take notes on relevant congressional hearings.
• Help modernize and bolster NANA Coalition recruitment, organizational engagement, and coordinated impact on aligned objectives.

Qualifications

• University Jr., Sr., or recent graduate required; Pursuing or recent graduate of a public health or nutrition graduate degree program is a plus
• Excellent research and writing skills and ability to translate documents between Hill staffer, layperson, and scientist audiences. 
• Exceptional attention to detail
• Demonstrated ability to work independently and manage tasks appropriately to achieve project goals
• Interest in health equity
• Legislative advocacy experience is a plus
• Leadership, organizing, or community engagement experience is a plus
• In-person in DC is strongly preferred, as it enables attending in-person hill visits, events, coalition meetings, and more.

What Else You Should Know 

CSPI pays interns $17.50 per hour at the start of the internship. Intern pay will increase to $18.00 per hour effective 7/1/2025. Our 10-week summer intern program is full-time (40 hours per week). We provide two paid holidays (Juneteenth and Independence Day), ½ day Fridays, and up to two days of paid sick leave. The ideal start date is late May/early June, but we will work with applicants if there’s a schedule conflict. The internship is remote (must be in the US), with the opportunity to work from our DC office if desired. For this position, DC-residency for the summer is strongly preferred because it enables a fuller experience of the internship (engaging in coalition meetings, attending Hill visits and hearings, etc). 

As a public health organization, CSPI makes efforts to maintain a safe workplace for employees and visitors. We require all employees to be up to date with their COVID-19 vaccines as soon as they are eligible, and the vaccine is available to them. Proof of vaccination is required during the onboarding process.

CSPI on Diversity, Equity and Inclusion 

CSPI is committed to including and valuing diverse voices and fostering a culture that ensures all staff feel a sense of belonging and are encouraged to be their best selves. In that spirit, each of us is committed to putting in constant work to live up to our organization’s core values: 

· We are inclusive. We seek to foster an environment where all staff feel a sense of belonging and are affirmed. We are not looking for everyone to think and look the same. We actively welcome and value staff with different experiences, backgrounds, attributes, abilities, and perspectives. 

· We are open. We are honest and direct in how we communicate with each other in order to build trust and integrity within our organization. 

· We are accountable. We acknowledge and assume responsibility for our actions. 

· We are kind. We communicate and treat one another in a respectful, generous, considerate, and compassionate way. 

· We are collaborative. We work together for the common good and shared success. 

To Apply 

Please utilize CSPI's Paylocity Applicant Tracking System to apply for the Summer 2025, Legislative Affairs Internship. You must submit a resume, cover letter, writing sample, and two references. The application deadline is 5:00pm, ET, March 4, 2025.

CSPI is committed to building a team that represents a variety of backgrounds, perspectives, and skills and encourages people of diverse ages, sexual orientations, gender identities and expressions, disabilities, religions, races, ethnicities, socioeconomic statuses, work, and life experiences to apply.