Undergraduate Internship Opportunity supporting a more Cooperative Society
Organizational Background

Cohousing is an established form of cooperative living/intentional community that has been replicated around the world that is based on three key characteristics: (1) collaborative decision-making and governance by stakeholders, (2) private homes for residents (usually owners), (3) shared common areas and resources that support greater connection. Cohousing has proven to be a more socially and ecologically sustainable option than most traditional housing.

The Cohousing Association of the United States (CohoUS) is a national nonprofit supporting cohousing communities in changing our world. Spreading the word about cohousing shifts the culture toward a New American Dream where every home is surrounded by caring, collaborative neighbors who use less of the earth’s resources while living an abundant life. Learn more at cohousing.org and by watching our most recent youtube about The State of the Cohousing Movement here.

There are 2 kinds of unpaid internships with CohoUS in 2023 and we are recruiting a small team of interns for Spring, Summer and Fall programs.
Advocacy and Outreach Interns 

will help us expand our advocacy work as an organization and will include research, outreach, writing notes and reports, forum posts and helping to develop a citizen Action Group program. Advocacy will range from local to federal policy and/or social change efforts related to issues such as land use, social justice, and sustainability.
Educational Communications Interns

will help us to populate our new learning platform (cohousinginstitute.org) and social media with educational content including reviewing/editing videos, writing posts, creating graphics etc.
Who we are looking for:
Second year or later undergraduate students in majors such as: Political Science, Sociology, Social Work, Journalism, Economics, Architecture, Planning, Sustainability, Marketing, Communications, Film/Media, Journalism, Education, and other related disciplines

Students with skills such as: research, writing, documentation, social media, video editing, graphic design, online meetings, online education, advocacy 

Students with interests such as: sustainability, social justice, housing policy, cooperative living, social change, intentional community, grassroots advocacy, green building

When the work would occur: 

This is a remote internship that includes up to 2+ hours/week meeting on Zoom, and 8 hours of independent work/week emailing with teammates and supervisors. Zoom meetings will include team-building with interns and work can be done both independently or collaboratively depending on intern preferences. 

The exact zoom meeting schedule will be determined by intern availability, but will generally be weekday afternoons or early evenings. 

Hour Requirements

This internship can be adjusted to suit the hour requirements of your program, but is estimated to be an average of 10 hours/week in one (or more) of the following intern program periods: 
Spring 2023: February 1- May 1
Summer 2023: May 15 - August 15
Fall 2023: September 1-December 1

Supervisor

The intern teams will primarily be supervised by our Director of National Programs Lotus Thomas M.A. via zoom meetings and email. Interns will also occasionally report to other leaders in the organization such as Executive Director Trish Becker-Hafnor. 
The Cohousing Association of the United States