Internships

Schaeffer Fellows Intern at all Levels of Government, Across the U.S.

Schaeffer Fellows earn high-level internships at the local, state, and federal level. Positions are located across the United States but are primarily focused in Washington D.C., Los Angeles, Sacramento, Boston, and New York City. Internship selection is coordinated by each University Partner through a competitive application process. Listed below are previous internship sites supported by the program.

Schaeffer Fellows are exposed to government experiences including but not limited to: interacting with government officials and constituents; tracking legislation; conducting research; drafting policy memos or talking points or constituent letters; supporting program development and implementation; assisting with social media; contributing to daily office operations; developing lasting professional networks with government employees and other interns; and attending interagency council meetings, working groups, community events or Congressional hearings.


Federal Level

Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services
Central Intelligence Agency (CIA)
Congressmember Nanette Barragán (CA 44th District)
Congressmember Karen Bass (CA 37 District)
Congressmember Xavier Becerra (CA 34 District)
Congressmember Brendan F. Boyle  (PA 2nd District)
Congressmember Ken Buck (CO 4th District)
Congressmember Matt Cartwright (PA 17th District)
Congressmember Bonnie Watson Coleman (NJ 12 District)
Congressmember Veronica Escobar (TX 16 District)
Congressmember Elizabeth Esty (CT 5th District)
Congressmember Morgan Griffith (VA 9th District)
Congressmember Jared Huffman (CA 2th District)
Congressmember Andy Kim (NJ 3 District)
Congressmember Raja Krishnamoorthi (IL 8th District)
Congressmember Sheila Jackson Lee (TX 18th District)
Congressmember Mike Levin (CA 49th District)
Congressmember Tom Malinowski (NJ 7th District)
Congressmember Doris Matsui (CA 7th District)
Congressmember Kevin McCarthy (CA 23rd District)
Congressmember Ilhan Omar (MN 5th District)
Congressmember Jimmy Panetta (CA 20th District)
Congressmember Chris Pappas (NH 1st District)
Congressmember Scott Peters (CA 52nd District)
Congressmember Jared Polis (CO 2nd District)
Congressmember Lucille Roybal-Allard (CA 40th District)
Congressmember Ed Royce (CA 39th District)
Congressmember Raul Ruiz (CA 36th District)
Congressmember John P. Sarbanes (MD 3th District)
Congressmember Adam Schiff (CA 28th District)
Congressmember Terri A. Sewell (AL 7th District)
Congressmember Brad Sherman (CA 30th District)
Congressmember Mikie Sherrill (NJ 11th District)
Congressmember Abigail Spanberger (VA 7th District)
Congressmember Michelle Steel (CA 48th District)
Congressmember Elise Stefanik (NY 21st District)
Congressmember Haley Stevens (MI 11th District)
Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA)
Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC)
Federal Executive Institute
Federal Trade Commission
House Committee on Education and Labor
House Foreign Affairs Committee
Library of Congress
Millennium Challenge Corporation
National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA)
National Defense University
National Labor Relations Board, Region 6 – Pittsburgh
National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA)
Peace Corps
Smithsonian Institution
U.S. Agency for Global Media
U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID)
U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Central District of California
U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Eastern District of New York
U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Southern District of California
U.S. Department of Agriculture Forest Service
U.S. Department of Commerce
U.S. Department of Defense
U.S. Department of Education
U.S. Department of Energy
U.S. Department of Health and Human Services
U.S. Department of Homeland Security, Transportation Security Administration
U.S. Department of Justice
U.S. Department of Labor
U.S. Department of State
U.S. Department of the Treasury
U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Illinois
U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of New York
U.S. District Court for the Southern District of New York
U.S. General Services Administration
U.S. Office of Personnel Management
U.S. Patent and Trademark Office
U.S. Senate Committee on Health, Education, Labor & Pensions (HELP)
U.S. Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer
U.S. Senator Richard Blumenthal (CT)
U.S. Senator Sherrod Brown (OH)
U.S. Senator Tammy Duckworth (IL)
U.S. Senator Dianne Feinstein (CA)
U.S. Senator Kamala Harris (CA)
U.S. Senator Tim Kaine (VA)
U.S. Senator Amy Klobuchar (MN)
U.S. Senator Ed Markey (MA)
U.S. Senator Martha McSally (AZ)
U.S. Senator Robert Menendez (NJ)
U.S. Senator Alex Padilla (CA)
U.S. Senator Gary Peters (MI)
U.S. Senator Jeanne Shaheen (NH)
U.S. Senator Chris Van Hollen (MD)
U.S. Senator Elizabeth Warren (MA)
U.S. Space Force (Air Force Civilian Service)
U.S. Trade and Development Agency
The White House – Office of Management; Office of Information and Regulatory Affairs

State Level

Assemblymember Michael Blake (NY-79)
Assemblymember Ed Chau (CA-49)
Assemblymember Steven Choi (CA-59)
Assemblymember Cristina Garcia (CA-32)
Assemblymember Eduardo Garcia (CA-56)
Assemblymember Lorena Gonzalez Fletcher (CA-80)
Assemblymember Adam Gray (CA-21)
Assemblymember Reggie Jones-Sawyer (CA-59)
Assemblymember Sydney Kamlager-Dove (CA-54)
Assemblymember Young Kim (CA-65)
Attorney General of Massachusetts
Attorney General of New York
Attorney General of Washington D.C.
California Coastal Commission
California Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation
California Department of Health Care Services
California Department of Justice, Office of Communications for the Attorney General
California Department of Public Health
California Department of Transportation (Caltrans)
Covered California External & Governmental Affairs
California Research Bureau
Federal Defender for the Eastern District of California
Florida Supreme Court
Governor of California
Governor of Maryland
Governor of Massachusetts
Governor of New Jersey – Office of Equity; Office of Constituent Relations
New Jersey Department of Environmental Protection
Secretary of State of Michigan
State Senator Stanley Chang (HI)
State Senator Eric Lesser (MA)
State Senator Tony Mendoza (CA)
State Senator Holly Mitchell (CA)
State Senator Nancy Skinner (CA)
State Senator Heather Steans (IL)
Superior Court of Arizona, Maricopa County
Superior Court of California, Los Angeles County
Virginia State Police

Local Level

Alameda County Behavioral Health Care Services
Alameda County Public Health
Arlington County Department of Human Services
Arlington County Economic Development
Bay Area Air Quality Management District
Boston City Councilor
City of Homestead, FL
City of Los Angeles, CA
City of Ontario, CA
City of Palo Alto, CA
City of Richmond, CA
City of Santa Cruz, CA
City of San Jose, CA – Housing Department
City Commissioner Amber Sellers, City of Lawrence
Coachella Valley Mosquito & Vector Control District
Councilmember Stephanie Lynch, City of Richmond
Councilmember Gaby Plascencia, City of Riverside
Councilmember Kevin de León, City of Los Angeles
Contra Costa Health Services
Contra Costa Public Defender’s Office
Culpeper County Economic Development
DeKalb County Public Defender’s Office
District of Columbia Department of Health
Fluvanna County, VA
Los Angeles City Attorney, Mike Feuer
Los Angeles County Department of Public Health, Healthcare Consumer Protection
Los Angeles County District Attorney
Los Angeles County Supervisor
Marin County Public Defender’s Office
Mayor of Atlanta, GA
Mayor of Birmingham, AL
Mayor of Boston, MA
Mayor of Detroit, MI
Mayor of Long Beach, CA
Mayor of Los Angeles, CA – Economic Development; Public Engagement; Immigrant Affairs
Mayor of Miami, FL
Mayor of New York City – Office of Criminal Justice
Mayor of Oakland, CA
Mayor of Richmond, CA
Mayor of Richmond, VA
Mayor of San Diego, CA
Mayor of Stockton, CA
New York City Open Data for All Initiative
Orange County Public Defender’s Office
Public Defenders Service for the District of Columbia
San Francisco Department of Public Health
San Francisco District Attorney’s Office
San Francisco General Hospital
San Francisco Planning Department
San Francisco Public Defender’s Office
Santa Clara County Health and Hospital System Administration
Solano County Public Defender’s Office