Karen Wimpelberg was a founder and long-time leader of the Alliance for Affordable Energy. She was a tireless advocate for the rights of utility customers, energy efficiency and progressive energy policies, and was equally passionate about passing the torch onto the next generation.
Karen’s mentorship was vital to so many in keeping the mission of The Alliance going.
We are excited to honor Karen's legacy through a fund dedicated to supporting our interns. Interns play a critical role in helping us accomplish our mission. The Wimpelberg Internship Fellowship will help ensure internships are available to everyone, not just those who can afford to work unpaid.
While many of our interns either get school grants or school credit, we recognize that unpaid internships are inherently inequitable, as they allow only people who can afford to work for free the opportunity. This fund will go towards ensuring that we can accept interns who otherwise wouldn't be able to have that experience if it were unpaid. While we are a small nonprofit organization, we are dedicated to doing our part to rectify systemic inequalities. Individuals from from diverse backgrounds and the BIPOC community will be prioritized.
The fellowship will be offered to two interns each year. Fellows will work a minimum of 8 hours per week for 6 or 12 months. You can let us know you’d like to be considered for a fellowship. To be considered you must have been interning with us for at least 2 months and have had excellent project outcomes. Fellowships include a $3,000 stipend for every 6 months. Time off is given for holidays, final exams, mental health or sick days, and by request.
Our executive director Logan Burke started out as an intern herself!
If you're an intern then you're an integral part of our team. They support our work in a variety of ways through research, data compilation and analysis, report writing, attending regulatory meetings and outreach events, and much more!
The Alliance is thrilled to be able to expand our internship program so we can continue to work with motivated young people with new ideas and fresh approaches to how we can make Louisiana more energy progressive.
