Groundworks MKE - Environmental Stewardship Intern (Social & Environmental Justice Program - SEJ)

Groundwork Milwaukee is seeking an Environmental Stewardship Intern who will focus on capacity building projects throughout the Summer. The first project includes collaborating with MKE Grows, the Milwaukee Garden Network, for the protection, development and maintenance of sacred green spaces. The second project will focus on gathering content for Groundwork's social media platforms including media relations work. The third project includes working collaboratively with a small staff team, organizational partners, and residents to mobilize a local coalition through technical assistance activities, communications, outreach, event and activity prep. 

To ensure interns participate in a mutually beneficial partnership, Groundwork Milwaukee has options that include assisting with grant, report, and short-form content writing, presentation development and public speaking. The goal is to ensure the Environmental Stewardship Intern will build intentional transferable skillsets that would be valuable and applicable across a multitude of industries and career paths. As time permits, the intern will be able to seek other project support work within the organization related to greenspace action and education, per their interests. 

The following qualities and skills are relevant to the position: 

- Adaptability to be working from remotely as well as out in the community

- Interest in climate adaptation and practices that strengthen and support climate resilience 

- Thoughtful 

- Ease in meeting and collaborating with new people 

- Strengthened equity lens 

- Existing interest in dismantling biased and systematically marginalized practices within communities in Milwaukee 

- Strong organizational skills 

- Interest in data and Geospatial Integration System maps, and how data and lived experience intersect 

- Data communication skills - translating data to various audiences 

- Listening and entering spaces with humility and kindness 

- Adaptability to be working remotely) as well as out in the community 

- Ability to work some evenings and weekends 

At Groundwork Milwaukee we value learning and leading with the community to protect, develop and manage sacred green spaces in Milwaukee. We value structured flexibility so we start all meetings with an agenda and objectives we are looking to accomplish. We value authentic integrity so there is time and space created at the beginning of each meeting or touch base about anything personally that we would like to share. Challenging, joyful, erring on the side of idealism, etc. We value holistic development so we invest in transferable skill set development while working collaboratively to determine scope and bandwidth. We also plan to intentionally identify the work styles, talents, areas of improvement.

Compensation:
This internship is part of the Lawrence University Social & Environmental Justice Cohort, which provides an opportunity for Lawrentians to explore social and environmental justice impact careers, gain professional experience, and develop as leaders. Students complete a full-time summer 2026 internship with an identified social and/or environmental justice impact organization in Milwaukee or Appleton, while participating in ongoing reflection with fellow students, Professor Jason Brozek, the Career Center, community leaders and alumni.  Students may apply for as many positions as they are qualified for and interested in. Each student in the SEJ program will receive a $5k stipend to help cover housing and transportation costs and living expenses. For additional details and to see other SEJ opportunities, please see the SEJ Cohort webpage.

• Before applying, you must meet with a Career Center's Ty Collins for a resume review, or your resume must achieve green status in VMOCK.  If your resume does not meet professional expectations, you may be asked to resubmit your resume.  Please make an appointment with Ty here on Handshake.
• Once your resume is approved, you will then apply directly to one or more of the designated SEJ Internship options in Handshake by February 13, 2026 at 11:55 p.m. A separate application should be prepared for each position.
• Complete this form to indicate your transportation needs. The form only needs to be submitted once.

Please ask Michelle Buchinger for more details about how funding works Michelle.m.buchinger@lawrence.edu