White House Initiative on Asian Americans & Pacific Islanders

The White House Initiative on Asian Americans and Pacific Islanders offers full-time internships year round (spring, summer, and fall). Part-time applicants who can commit to at least 20 hours a week will be considered, although the Initiative prioritizes full-time applicants (32-40 hours a week). Internships are available in Washington, DC at the Initiative headquarters.

The Initiative is responsible for the implementation of the President’s Executive Order 13515, dated October 14, 2009.  Its purpose is to develop, monitor, and coordinate executive branch efforts to improve the quality of life of Asian Americans and Pacific Islanders (AAPIs) through increased participation in federal programs. The Initiative is housed at the Department of Education but its scope is government-wide.

Interns at the Initiative are responsible for assisting the staff on a wide range of AAPI issues and priorities, including capacity-building, civil rights, data disaggregation, economic development, education, health, immigration, language access, and workforce diversity. In addition, interns will help write policy memos and proposals, draft blogs, assist with communications and social media, coordinate and staff events, and conduct outreach to national and local AAPI organizations and leaders.

Applicants for intern positions must be undergraduates or graduate students who are enrolled at least half-time.  Candidates should be familiar with AAPI issues and have outstanding research, writing, communications, and computer skills.

How to Apply:*

If you are interested in applying, please send the following to whitehouseaapi@ed.gov:

• Dates that you are available for the internship
• Resume
• A written statement that describes (1) an issue that affects the AAPI community on a national level, (2) a strategy that you would implement at the Initiative to address that issue, and (3) the organizations and/or federal agencies with whom you would collaborate and why. The statement should be no more than one page, single-spaced.

(*If not accepted to this program, your application may be passed onto other federal agencies for consideration.)

Deadlines:

• Applications will be accepted on a rolling basis with a priority deadline of October 23 for the Spring 2017 session (January-May)