April 7, 2022

Exploring unpaid internships: Issues of access, equity, and learning

Join the growing national conversation on dealing with the unpaid internship problem!

Watch the recording of the symposium here.

How can higher education, employers, and policymakers ensure equitable access to high-quality, paid work-based learning experiences while in college? One of the goals of the event is to generate ideas and community around a national strategy to deal with the unpaid internship problem once and for all. The event is hosted by CCWT (UW-Madison) with co-sponsors NACE (National Association of Colleges and Employers), the National Society of Experiential Education, the National Career Development Association, the United Negro College Fund-Career Pathway Initiative, Pay Our Interns, and the Harvard Project on Workforce.

The program will feature researchers, career services professionals & analysts from across the nation who will be discussing new data on the prevalence of unpaid internships and the demographics of students taking them, challenges w/equity and access, & strategies for funding these positions via employers, philanthropy, or campus based initiatives. Three themes will be the focus of the day-long discussion: new data on internships and compensation, working with employers, and strategies for change.

While the event will feature some traditional academic, data-rich presentations, the program will prioritize panels and breakouts with shorter talks and moderated discussions that focus on practical, hands-on solutions.

Program Schedule

April 7, 2022 (times will adjust to your time zone)

12:00pm-5:00pm EST, 11:00am-4:00pm CST, 10:00am-3:00pm MTN, 9:00am-2:00pm PST

Introduction

11:00 AM - 11:15 AM: Introductory Remarks

Matthew Hora, Co-Director of the Center for Research on College Workforce Transitions at the University of Wisconsin-Madison

Panels

11:15 AM - 12:10 PM: New research on unpaid internships

Joshua Kahn (NACE) with new data on disparities in unpaid internship participation from NACE, James Jones (Rutgers University) on racial disparities among interns in Congress, Hongwei Yu (CCWT) with new data on obstacles to internships/task-supervisor quality by internship type from the National Survey of College Internships (NSCI), and Nidia Bañuelos (UW-Madison) on measurement issues with internship research w/focus on social capital and community cultural wealth.

12:10 PM - 12:15 PM: Break

12:15 PM - 01:15 PM: Fundraising to subsidize unpaid internships: How can employers, educators, and policymakers secure funds to pay all interns?

Annie Weinschenk (Assistant Director, University of Maryland Baltimore County) on the Maryland Technology Internship Program), Jessica Klyn (Central College, Iowa) on Federal Work Study off-campus employment, Emily Pettinato (Greater Scranton Chamber of Commerce) on Small Business Internship Fund, and Carlos Mark Vera (Pay Our Interns) on recent successes in DC funding govt internships

01:15 PM - 02:10 PM: Campus based strategies for change: What are some success stories at the campus level for ensuring that all student interns are paid?

Kathleen Rause (UW-Madison SuccessWorks) on raising funds to subsidize unpaid internships, Dwayne Peterson (New College of Florida) on the Community-Driven Internship Program, Lana Farley (University of Baltimore) on FWS and the Job Location and Development (JLD) program, and Gregory McElveen (Fayetteville State University) on FSU's initiatives to increase paid internships including a new employer relations position.

2:10 PM - 2:15 PM: Break

Breakout Sessions

02:15 PM - 03:15 PM: Lightning rounds of more strategies for funding and supporting internships.

Professionals from across the country will share success stories, lessons learned, and facilitate discussions about how you can implement these strategies in your own work. Patrick Green (Loyola University Chicago), Stephen Meno (Suffolk University), and Don DeMaria (University of Georgia), will facilitate this session. Speakers include:

  • Kate Durso (University of Cincinnati) on the Service-Learning Co-op Program,
  • Kaytee Johns (Nevada State College) and Kristin Schrader (Parker Dewey) on Scorpion Intern Funding Program
  • Megan Hollis (Virginia Commonwealth University) on the Internship Funding Program
  • Andrew Miller (Loyola University Chicago) on Social Justice Internship Program, ASPIRE Scholarship, and other Funding Programs
  • Sarah Rosenthal (New York University) on NYU Changemaker Fellowship
  • Benjamin William Trager and Laurie Marks (University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee) on Federal Work Study Internship Funding Model

Next Steps: Working Session

03:15 PM - 04:00 PM: Working session on developing a national strategy to address unpaid internships.

Help us craft a new national and cross-sector "call to action" for ensuring that all internships are paid. Facilitated by Lakeisha Mathews (University of Baltimore) and Greg Weight (New York University).

Speakers

  • Carlos Mark Vera

    Carlos Mark Vera

    Pay Our Interns

    Carlos Mark Vera is the Co-Founder and Executive Director of Pay Our Interns. Originally from Colombia, Carlos was raised in California but moved to Washington, D.C. to attend American University. While at AU, Carlos was an unpaid intern at the White House, the European Parliament, and the House of Representatives. He knows firsthand the struggles of trying to survive while interning for free. Under his leadership, Pay Our Interns successfully convinced Congress to pass more than $90 million in funding for interns and has helped nonprofits, companies, and presidential campaigns create their internship programs.

    Carlos’ efforts on Capitol Hill led him to be named a Forbes 30 Under 30 Honoree, Echoing Green Fellow, Camelback Ventures Fellow, a Top 20 Changemaker by NBC Latino, and an Aspen Ideas Fellow. He has been featured in the Washing Post, NPR’s All Things Considered, the New York Times, CNN, and the Atlantic. He has also written for the Washington Post, Teen Vogue, USA Today, and NBC Latino. Carlos proudly served in the Army Reserve as a mechanic for 8 years.

  • Nidia Bañuelos

    Nidia Bañuelos

    UW-Madison, Department of Liberal Arts & Applied Studies

    Nidia Bañuelos is an Assistant Professor of Adult, Continuing, and Higher Education. She studies the design and implementation of new postsecondary programs for working adults, as well as the assets that low-income students with caregiving responsibilities bring to their education. She has a special interest in the history of “non-traditional” learners and the institutions that serve them.

  • Joshua Kahn

    Joshua Kahn

    National Association of Colleges and Employers

    Josh is the Assistant Director of Research and Public Policy at the National Association of Colleges and Employers (NACE). He earned his Ph.D. in Educational Leadership with an emphasis on Quantitative Research Methods from the University of Oregon in 2018. His interests include using a wide-range of measurement and assessment techniques, strengthening systems and routines to enhance outcomes, and weaving together multiple sources of data to make informed decisions. At NACE, Josh helps run the research department by developing and administering surveys, analyzing data, and disseminating results to the membership and the press. Prior to earning his Ph.D., Josh was a special education teacher in Eugene, Oregon and the Bronx, NY. He lives in Bethlehem, PA with his wife, son, daughter, and dog.

  • Annie Weinschenk

    Annie Weinschenk

    Career Center, University of Maryland, Baltimore County

    Annie joined the UMBC Career Center team in September 2018. Previously, she worked as an Industry Development Specialist at University of Maryland, College Park where she built relationships with new employers and created programming in the healthcare and creative fields and supported student athletes. She supports the Maryland Technology Internship Program (MTIP) which provides funding to Maryland employers in the technology space. She oversees the Greater Washington Partnership Digital Tech Credential which is a badging initiative at UMBC targeted towards humanities majors. In addition to MTIP and GWP, Annie supports the Maryland Institute for Innovative Computing (MIIC) which subsidizes technical intern costs at state agencies.

  • James R. Jones

    James R. Jones

    Rutgers University-Newark

    Dr. James R. Jones is an Assistant Professor at Rutgers University-Newark. He received his PhD in Sociology from Columbia University in 2017. His research investigates representation and inequality in American democratic institutions. In particular, he studies the experiences of Black government workers as a way to understand the complicated relationship between race, power, and inequality in state institutions. He is currently completing his first book, The Last Plantation, which represents the first major study of racial inequality in the congressional workplace.

  • Emily Pettinato

    Emily Pettinato

    Greater Scranton Chamber of Commerce

    Emily Pettinato is the Workforce Development Specialist at the Greater Scranton Chamber of Commerce. Her area of focus is on Skills in Scranton, the workforce development affiliate of the Chamber. Skill in Scranton works with local employers, school districts, higher education partners and Pennsylvania data experts to develop strategies that help ensure our regional workforce is aligned with high-priority jobs of the future.

  • Hongwei Yu

    Hongwei Yu

    University of Wisconsin-Madison

    Hongwei Yu is an associate researcher and serves as Survey Director of the National Survey of College Internships (NSCI) at CCWT. He obtained his Ph.D. degree in Higher Education Administration and Policy from University of Florida in 2013. His work centers on student learning, persistence, academic and employment outcomes at community colleges and four-year institutions. Hongwei Yu specializes in analyzing large-scale institutional, regional, and national datasets using multivariate analysis techniques. Prior to his work at CCWT, he worked as research associate at University of Texas at Austin, and postdoctoral scholar at Baylor University and University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign.

  • Dwayne Peterson

    Dwayne Peterson

    New College of Florida

    Dwayne Peterson is a nationally recognized educator and career strategist with over a decade of experience in higher education. He is an advocate for liberal arts education and a thought leader on how to position liberal arts academic programs as a solution to labor market needs and prepare graduates of those programs for careers.

    Dwayne is currently the Executive Director of Career Education at New College of Florida, the state’s designated public liberal arts honors college. In this role, he oversees the strategic vision for career education which includes an integration of career education into the academic curriculum as a four-year developmental plan, faculty collaboration and education, work-based learning, prestigious fellowships advising, pre-professional programs, employer engagement, and mentorship initiatives.

    New College has been recognized nationally for its distinctive community-driven approach to internships, which reduces student barriers to work-based education by increasing equity and access to paid internships through a strategic alignment of community workforce needs with the College’s academic programs. The College’s community-driven program focused on arts and humanities internships was the recipient of the 2022 Best Practices Award by the Cooperative Education and Internship Association.

    Dwayne has served in professional roles at Georgia College and State University, University of Florida, University of North Florida, and the University of South Florida. A certified career development facilitator, he holds a Master of Science in College Student Personnel from Miami University, a Master of Business Administration from the University of North Florida, and a Bachelor of Arts in Music Studies from the University of South Florida.

  • Gregory McElveen

    Gregory McElveen

    Fayetteville State University (FSU)

    Gregory McElveen is Special Assistant to the Chancellor for Strategic Initiatives at Fayetteville State University (FSU). He also serves as Project Director for the UNCF-funded Career Pathways Initiative, which is designed to assist universities in enhancing capacity to prepare students for academic and career success. In addition, Greg is principal investigator on several grant-funded projects designed to enhance regional economic development through small business support. Prior to FSU, Greg’s positions included Strategy and Planning Manager at IBM, Director and General Manager of a major third-party logistics company, and management consulting. Mr. McElveen earned an A.B. Degree with Distinction in Economics and an MBA, both at Stanford University.

  • Lana Farley

    Lana Farley

    University of Baltimore

    Lana Farley has worked in the field of career development for over 10 years. As the Assistant Director of Employer Relations, at the University of Baltimore, her main functions include the planning and oversight of recruitment activities and events, educating area employers on managing interns, as well as providing coaching to students in the areas of self-efficacy and career search strategy. Lana has experience coaching traditional and non-traditional populations, which includes incarcerated, international, and first-generation college students. Lana holds a B.A. in Psychology from Salisbury University, an M.A. in Human Sciences from Hood College and is currently pursuing her Ph.D in Higher Education Administration at Morgan State University. She is MBTI certified and is also a Dependable Strengths facilitator.

  • Matthew Hora

    Matthew Hora

    University of Wisconsin-Madison

    Matthew T. Hora is an Associate Professor of Adult and Higher Education in the Departments of Liberal Arts & Applied Studies (Division of Continuing Studies) and Education Policy Studies (School of Education), and is also the Director of the Center for Research on College-Workforce Transitions in the Wisconsin Center for Education Research. His interdisciplinary work on active learning, organizational change, college internships, and the nature of skills has brought a cultural and critical perspective to debates on two issues that are dominating the higher education landscape around the world – instructional reform and student employability. His current research program is supported by the National Science Foundation and the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation, and is focused on providing rigorous empirical evidence on issues related to college internship access, quality, and outcomes to partner institutions that include community colleges, Historically Black Colleges and Universities, Hispanic-Serving Institutions, and regional comprehensive universities in the U.S., China and Japan.

  • Rachel Lipson

    Rachel Lipson

    Harvard Project on Workforce

    Rachel Lipson is the Director and co-founder of the Project on Workforce at Harvard, a cross-school, interdisciplinary Harvard initiative that brings together the Malcolm Wiener Center at the Harvard Kennedy School, the Managing the Future of Work Project at Harvard Business School and the Harvard Graduate School of Education. Most recently, prior to Harvard, Rachel was Director of Special Projects at Year Up, a workforce development training provider that create pipelines for 18-24 year olds without BAs into high-demand roles at some of America’s leading companies. She has previously worked on economic development at the World Bank, on workforce training investments at JPMorgan Chase, and in training and organizing on President Obama’s re-election campaign. Rachel is an alum of Harvard College and the joint MBA/MPP program with Harvard Business School and the Kennedy School where she was a Rubenstein Fellow at the Center for Public Leadership. Rachel’s graduate thesis on community colleges for the State of California was awarded the Kennedy School’s Fischer Prize for outstanding research on social policy and she also has been awarded a Harvard Certification of Distinction and Excellence in Teaching. Her writing has been published in the Boston Globe, Washington Post’s Wonkblog, Forbes, New America, Newsweek, and RealClearPolicy and she and her work have been featured by C-SPAN, the Economist, CNBC, Reuters, and Bloomberg. Rachel previously served as a volunteer contributor to the Biden-Harris campaign’s workforce policy committee and as a member of a National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine Committee on the STEM Workforce.

Sponsors

  • The Center for College-Workforce Transitions
  • University of Wisconsin-Madison
  • Project on Workforce at Harvard
  • National Association of Colleges and Employers
  • National Society for Experiential Education
  • Pay Our Interns
  • UNCF Career Pathways Initiative
  • National Career Development Association

Location

Online event

Registration period

February 23, 2022 - 11:00 until April 7, 2022 - 11:00

Contact us

If you have any questions, please contact takram@wisc.edu .

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