Name: Marisa Rafsky
Class Year: 2016
Internship Placement: I will be working at RespectAbility (in the greater Washington D.C. area) this summer as a Jewish Inclusion Fellow. In addition to acquiring strategic communications and policy skills, I will attend the Israel Commission for Equal Rights of Persons with Disabilities UN meeting and be a panelist for a New York Jewish Educators Conference on the future of inclusive Jewish education.
What’s going on? We’d love to hear how your internship is going!
Working at my desk!
As I head into my final week at RespectAbility, now’s the time to reflect on what I’ve done so far! So I live in D.C. and commute daily to Bethesda, Maryland, where RespectAbility is headquartered. In June I headed to New York City often on business. I attended an UN side conference event hosted by the embassies of Israel and Germany on technology and disability. With my UN pass card, I got access to official conference rooms! Later, I was an invited panelist for the Matan Institute’s Jewish education conference. We discussed inclusion strategies for New York area synagogues. This month, I attended events hosted by the Jewish Federation of Greater Washington in Maryland and Virginia. Aside from all the exciting trips, I worked on grant research, helped our Policy Director revise a congressional briefing, and engaged with media experts. This Friday, I will spend my day on Capitol Hill getting press statements on the 25th anniversary of the ADA from key leaders.
How I heard about my internship:
My boss from last summer’s JEVS Human Services internship program received an email from RespectAbility’s President, who requested applications for summer interns. She knew I was passionate about political work in the Jewish community, so she thought RespectAbility would be a great fit for my interests. I applied for the job and the rest is history.
A Souvenir from my conference
Why I applied for my internship:
When I first entered Bryn Mawr, I knew right away I wanted to major in political science. I just didn’t know what I wanted to do with that degree. Over time, I realized I wanted to use my degree to serve my Jewish community. When I researched RespectAbility, I knew I would have opportunities to learn about Jewish political advocacy. RespectAbility’s Jewish Inclusion work coalesces around the concept of Tikkun Olam, which means we have a shared responsibility to help others. The work gave me valuable insight into what a career in Jewish civil/human rights advocacy might look like. I look forward to using the skills I learned for my upcoming Fall Praxis internship at the Anti-Defamation League in Philadelphia!