Internships

Play Streets Research Fellow

Supported by the American Heart Association’s New York City Community Impact Grant
35 hours/week, late May to August 2012

Summary of Position
Transportation Alternatives seeks an outgoing, detail-oriented and creative urban researcher and storyteller to collect, curate and summarize statistics and images that compellingly characterize the successes and needs of the summer Play Street program in New York City. The Play Streets Research Fellow will liaise with Play Street organizers from non-profits and neighborhood associations throughout New York City to produce data-driven, policy change-oriented reports and media.

Play Streets are recurring street closures that transform ordinary neighborhood streets into safe, supervised spaces for children to play close to home. Play Streets are increasingly popular across the city as a way to make streets healthier and safer for children, especially in neighborhoods with high rates of obesity and deficits of traditional recreational spaces like parks and playgrounds. But more data-driven advocacy is needed to make sure that dedicated funding and transparent permitting processes for Play Streets are streamlined and institutionalized within New York City government to support program growth.

This project made possible in part by support from the American Heart Association’s New York City Community Impact Grant

Responsibilities
Under the supervision of T.A.’s Pedestrian Advocacy Manager, the Play Streets Research Fellow will:
  • Conduct outreach to assess Play Street organizer needs, data interests, capacity constraints
  • Develop and refine a simple and fun data tool kit to gather information about Play Street sites, including attendance, activities, resource use and needs
  • Train Play Street organizers to implement the data tool kit, in meetings and on-site
  • Collect and analyze data, summarize in written report and persuasive visuals
  • As needed, assist Play Street organizers with logistics such as designing Play Street publicity materials, outreach to local collaborators
Qualifications
  • Graduate student in urban planning, public policy, public health, urban design, sociology, education or a related field. Exceptionally skilled and mature rising college seniors and recent graduates will also be considered.
  • Passion for and familiarity with principles of people-oriented urbanism
  • Prior experience with basic research design, implementation and analysis
  • Ability to work independently as well as collaboratively
  • Willingness to play and laugh, as appropriate
  • Proficiency in Adobe Creative Suite and graphic design a plus
  • Spanish language skills a plus
Compensation
$15/hour

Application
  • 1 page cover letter
  • 1 page resume
  • Concise, 2 page expository or creative writing sample
  • Your response to either [A] or [B] – use image(s) and/or words (submit as PDF if via email)
Due by April 9. Candidates will be evaluated on a rolling basis.

Send all materials to:
Play Streets Research Fellow Search
127 West 26th St. #1002
New York, NY 10001
Fax: 212 629-8334
E-mail: job_applications [at] transalt [dot] org with Play Streets Research Fellow in the subject line.

Hints: Your cover letter is crucial. Phone calls and walk-ins are not accepted. Applications will not be accepted without a cover letter.

Transportation Research Intern

Transportation Alternatives (T.A.) seeks a transportation research intern to support its campaigns to improve and promote biking, walking and public transit in New York City. The intern will be responsible for research and writing on a variety of projects such as:
  • Reviewing current research and best practices on biking, walking, public transit and transportation reform and finance
  • Staying up to date on transportation, public space and relevant parks projects, meetings, events and news in New York City
  • Researching New York City elected officials, community boards and other political players
  • Compiling up to date statistics on biking, walking, transit ridership, funding, traffic safety and so on from New York City and around the world
  • Drafting reports for staff on the above
An ideal candidate will have:
  • Passion for T.A.’s mission
  • Demonstrated interest in the built environment and/or cities (interest in transportation preferable)
  • Demonstrated interest in working with New York City communities, community-based organizations and/or government
  • Excellent and persuasive written and oral communication skills
  • Strong research skills
  • Adobe Creative Suite and/or GIS skills are a plus.
This is a great opportunity for a political science, social science, economics, urban planning, urban studies, sociology or anthropology student who is interested in learning about T.A. and in advocating for change in cities.

T.A.’s work environment is fast-paced and collaborative. Interns are expected to think creatively and take initiative when completing research and other projects. The internship is unpaid. The internship will start immediately with a minimum commitment of 16 hours a week for five months and be based in T.A.’s office.

Founded in 1973, Transportation Alternatives’ mission is to reclaim New York City streets from the automobile and promote biking, walking and public transit as the best transportation alternatives. We have over 8,500 members, 40,000 subscribers and work from the grassroots to the grasstops in all five boroughs of New York City and in Albany and Washington D.C. when appropriate.

To apply, please submit a resume; a brief cover letter explaining your interest and outlining specific skills you will bring to this position; a 1-2 page writing sample; and two references (one peer, one academic). Applications without cover letters will not be reviewed. Please send your materials (Word, RTF or PDF formats only) to job_applications [at] transalt [dot] org with “research intern” in the subject line. No phone calls or walk-ins please.

2012 Volunteer Program Intern

Transportation Alternatives, NYC's advocate for biking, walking, and mass transit seeks a part-time intern to assist the Volunteer Coordinator.

Position:
The Volunteer Program Intern will work closely with the Volunteer Coordinator through the events season at Transportation Alternatives. They will help recruit and organize hundreds of volunteers for our bike tours and other special events, as well as assist in growing the overall volunteer network.

The ideal candidate will be a current college student or recent graduate, with an interest in volunteer management and special events planning. This is an amazing opportunity to gain valuable, real-world experience working on large scale public events, at one of NYC's best known and effective non-profit organizations. This position requires you to be a true people person with an outgoing personality, and you should be able to relate to people from a wide variety of backgrounds!

Responsibilities include (but are not limited to):
  • Find and recruit school and corporate groups
  • Help with volunteer scheduling
  • Correspond with volunteers prior to events
  • Assist in any necessary volunteer training
  • Act as a point person for volunteers at the day of events
  • Duties may also include drafting and managing volunteer projects as needed

Requirements:
  • Must be available May 21st through September 9th (start date is flexible but you must be able to work through September 9th)
  • 10 hrs./week, Monday through Friday, with occasional weekend/evening work required. Some weeks may require addition hours.
  • Must be able to attend all the major 2012 events:
    • June 3, 2012
    • July 8, 2012
    • September 9, 2012
  • Must love working with people
  • Strong writing skills
  • Must be able to multitask and handle high stress situations with a positive attitude
  • Microsoft office skills (particularly Excel)
  • An interest in Transportation Alternatives, our mission, and our issues

Other:
This internship comes with a stipend totaling $1,200.
School credit is available for students as well.

To Apply:
Please send cover letter and resume to volunteer@transalt.org with "Volunteer Program Internship" as the subject line. Cover letter should highlight your experience or interest in working with volunteers and/or at events as well as you interest in the work of Transportation Alternatives.

Bicycle Advocacy Design Intern

Starting March 2012, 12-20 hours/week

Transportation Alternatives is New York City's leading transportation advocacy organization, with a citywide network of tens of thousands of supporters committed to better bicycling, walking and public transit in the five boroughs.

Transportation Alternatives (T.A.) seeks an experienced, outgoing, team-oriented graphic and web designer to join the organization as an Intern for the Bicycle Advocacy team.

Summary of Position:
The Bicycle Advocacy Design Intern will design print and online material to accompany T.A.’s bicycle advocacy work. Current design needs include tri-fold brochures, informational bike share flyers, print way-finding maps and website content updates and design.

The Design Intern will be responsible for managing design projects and coordinating with members of T.A.’s Web and Design team to see projects through to completion. All work must be complementary to and abide by T.A.'s branding guidelines. Publications produced by the Design Intern will be seen by tens of thousands of New Yorkers this summer.

Responsibilities include (but are not limited to):
  • Design T.A. Bicycle Advocacy print and online materials
  • Coordinate with Web and Design team to maximize project efficiency
Qualifications:
  • Proficiency with commonly used web design/multimedia software: InDesign, Photoshop, Illustrator, etc.
  • Experience with Drupal, Content Management Systems, HTML, CSS and Javascript preferred
  • Ability to work independently and collaboratively
  • Excellent attention to detail
Compensation:
This is an unpaid internship

Contact:
Send a 1 page cover letter, link to an online portfolio or past design work and resume to:

Caroline Samponaro
Director of Bicycle Advocacy, Transportation Alternatives
127 West 26th St. #1002
New York, NY 10001
Fax: 212-629-8334
E-mail: job_applications [at] transalt [dot] org

Hints: Applications without a cover letter will not be considered. Phone calls and walk-ins are not accepted.