The American Action Forum is a non-profit “think-tank” in Washington, DC dedicated to thoughtful, timely, politically informed policy analysis.  Our spring interns will have the opportunity to work with top issue experts as they apply our research to breaking current events, network with DC leaders, and publish their own public policy research.

Every American Action Forum issue expert joined the Forum with an exceptionally distinguished background. Some of the experts you will have the opportunity to work with include Doug Holtz-Eakin, Sixth Director of the Congressional Budget Office and Jennifer Korn Director of Hispanic and Women’s Affairs in the White House Office of Public Liaison.

What our intern alumni are saying about their time at the American Action Forum:

“Currently, I am in law school and one of my classes requires that I come up with legislation.  The skills I learned at the Forum helped me research the regulatory field and develop the law I plan to draft for my class.  Moreover, the research and writing skills which the Forum demands have assisted me in not only my current role, but will stick with me throughout my career.” – Bijan

“The Forum is a great way to learn about many of the policy areas that influence Washington politics. I have a background in Healthcare, but by working at the Forum, I became more aware of policy issues relating to Education, Energy and the Environment and Housing.” – Katherine

“The most valuable thing I learned at AAF was how to approach The Hill and Washington, DC as a whole, which mostly came from the insight provided by the Forum staff and guest speakers during the Internship Speaker Series.” – Max

“Working at the Forum is an amazing opportunity that can benefit a wide variety of people. The Forum improved my professional and business nature as well as improved my writing and research skills. Additionally, the Forum events and opportunities allowed me to experience living and working in Washington DC in a way I would not have been able to without this internship. The support from fellow coworkers is outstanding and the Forum is an excellent environment to grown and work.” - Catherine

The American Action Forum believes that all great policy-makers have a strong understanding of economics. This summer we are launching the first ever economic policy rotational program to expose exceptional economics students to several areas of domestic policy. Our hope is that these students will find a domestic issue area that they are passionate about and go on to become a great policy maker in the near future.  

The areas of rotation include:

-       Energy and Environmental Policy

-       Fiscal Policy

-       Healthcare Policy

-       Regulation Policy

-       Education Policy

EPRP interns will spend several weeks in three of the issue areas of their choice and will also spend one rotation learning about communications strategy for a total of four rotations throughout the summer.  There will be only three interns selected for the first Economic Policy Rotational Program class and the application process is very competitive.

Responsibilities:

As part of the internship, your responsibilities will include but are not limited to the following:

-       Research assistance: Interns will provide research assistance and data collection for the Forum issue area directors during their rotation

-       Event attendance: Interns will attend Capitol Hill hearings, private speaker events, and events held by other DC think tanks to analyze and report on the information presented

-       Forum event support: Interns will help promote, run, and evaluate all Forum events

-       Semester project: Interns will create a final project on a topic of their choice to be completed by the end of the semester. Issue area directors will assist the interns with their research and writing.

Hours and Compensation

-       Interns must be available for 20 to 32 hours per week

-       Interns will be provided an hourly wage to cover transportation and living expenses

-       Interns will be responsible for bringing their own computer/equipment

Qualifications

-       A very strong economic background

-       Excellent writing ability and communication skills

-       An interest in the politics and policies of center-right conservatives

-       Innovative, entrepreneurial attitude

Please include in your application a preferred start date, resume, cover letter, and writing sample of less than 1500 words.