Asian American Legal Defense and Education Fund 2016 Summer Undergraduate Internship Opportunities

The Asian American Legal Defense and Education Fund (AALDEF), founded in 1974, protects and promotes the civil rights of Asian Americans through litigation, legal advocacy, and community education.  For more information about AALDEF, please visit our website at www.aaldef.org.

Summer interns attend weekly brown bag lectures on a range of public interest legal topics along with interns from other legal defense funds and civil rights groups.  The summer program is ten (10) weeks, beginning approximately June 6 through August 12, 2016.  The position is unpaid.  However, in previous years many AALDEF interns have been successful at securing independent funding and work-study funds may also be available.  Academic credit can be arranged.

  • Community Health Care Initiative Intern:  community education and outreach in the areas of immigration, government benefits, language rights, and health care access.
  • Educational Equity Intern: Responsibilities include community outreach and presentations with Asian American youth groups, public education policy research, assistance with client intakes and general support for projects on educational equity, juvenile justice, affirmative action, student free-speech and police surveillance, and anti-Asian harassment.
  • Housing & Environmental Justice Project Intern: Responsibilities include community outreach and research on land use, community planning, and anti-displacement issues. 
  • Office Assistant: Responsibilities include data entry, organizing press clippings, answering phones, doing mailings, assisting with fundraising and other events, and performing general clerical duties.  Other responsibilities include providing support for community education and outreach projects and acting as an interpreter/translator.  Computer experience with databases, graphics and web programs is helpful.   
  • Voting Rights Intern: research and fact development under the Voting Rights Act and Equal Protection Clause challenging anti-Asian voter discrimination, advocacy on bilingual ballots, produce reports and organize public forums; assist in organizing legal trainings; conduct voter registration drives.

Requirements:   Candidates must be detail-oriented and possess strong writing skills.  Spoken and written knowledge of Korean, Bangla, Chinese, or another Asian language is a plus. Qualified applicants should indicate which internship they are applying for and send a resume and cover letter by Monday, February 8, 2016 to:

Summer Undergraduate Intern Search
Asian American Legal Defense and Education Fund
99 Hudson Street, 12th floor, New York, New York 10013
fax: 212.966.4303 or email: [email protected]  

For more information, contact Jennifer Weng at 212-966-5932, ext. 212 or [email protected].

AALDEF Fall Internship Opportunities

Asian American Legal Defense and Education Fund Fall 2015 Internships

The Asian American Legal Defense and Education Fund (AALDEF), founded in 1974, is the first organization on the East Coast to protect and promote the legal rights of Asian Americans through litigation, legal advocacy, and community education.  For more information about AALDEF, please visit our website at www.aaldef.org.

Fall internships are available for the following program areas (open to all unless otherwise noted):

Anti-Trafficking Initiative – legal research and writing on the Trafficking Victims Protection Reauthorization Act and Fair Labor Standards Act, as well as outreach, community education, and advocacy on the rights of exploited and abused workers. **Law students ONLY**

Immigrant Access to Justice – litigation, legal services, and organizing/outreach with communities impacted by post 9/11 immigration and law enforcement policies. An additional emphasis on Asian communities’ access to representation and education about immigration policies and practices that may impact them, including deferred action policies and administrative relief for youth and other immigrants, unconstitutional DHS stops, and collaboration between state/local law enforcement and federal immigration enforcement. **Law students ONLY**

Administrative Assistant – provide administrative support in preparation for AALDEF’s annual gala, including: researching for prospective dinner sponsors and silent auction donors.  Computer experience with databases, graphics and web programs are helpful. **Undergraduate students ONLY.  Work study grants accepted.**

Description of Internships:

Interns are supervised by attorneys and/or AALDEF staff in specific program areas.  These internships are not paid positions, but academic credit may be arranged.  Interns work anywhere between 8 to 25 hours per week.  The internship usually commences with the start of classes and ends in early December.

To Apply:

Any bilingual ability should be stated in the resume.  Bilingual ability is helpful but not required.  Applications should also state the number of hours the intern is able to work per week and which program area(s) you are interested in. Email applications are accepted.  Applications reviewed on a rolling basis. Send a resume and cover letter (law students should include a writing sample) to:

AALDEF Fall Intern Search

Asian American Legal Defense and Education Fund (AALDEF)
99 Hudson Street, 12th floor, New York, New York 10013-2815
Fax: 212-966-4303 or Email: [email protected]

For more information, contact Jennifer Weng at 212-966-5932, ext. 212 or [email protected].

AALDEF Position Announcement: Voting Rights Organizer

The Asian American Legal Defense and Education Fund (AALDEF) is a New York-based national organization that protects and promotes the civil rights of Asian Americans through litigation, advocacy and community education.  AALDEF has a 12-person staff and is supported by foundations, corporations, individual contributions, and special events. For more information about AALDEF and its voting rights activities, visit our website at www.aaldef.org.

DESCRIPTION:

AALDEF’s Asian American Democracy Program seeks to promote fairness in the electoral process and invigorate the civic participation of Asian Americans, especially new citizens and persons not yet fluent in English.  By expanding access to the electoral process for Asian Americans, AALDEF improves the quality of democracy for all Americans.

The Voting Rights Organizer is a one-year position and may be extended, subject to available funding. The Organizer will be responsible for mobilizing Asian American community groups for a non-partisan exit poll of Asian American voters and overseeing volunteers for Election Day poll monitoring in several states for the 2016 Presidential Election.

The job includes recruiting, training, and supervising volunteers; working with community leaders; supervising the development, translation, and printing of materials; and giving educational presentations.  The Organizer will also oversee post-election follow-up and assist in writing a report about Asian American voter participation in the 2016 elections.

QUALIFICATIONS:

  • Highly organized, detail oriented, and able to supervise volunteers and work with a wide variety of community leaders and organizations.
  • Strong knowledge of MS Access and other database systems.
  • Bilingual ability in an Asian language is desirable.
  • Strong communication skills.
  • Experience in community organizing is desirable.
  • Ability to travel and work on occasional weekends.

TO APPLY: Send a cover letter, resume, and three references to:

Voting Rights Organizer Search
AALDEF
99 Hudson Street, 12th floor
New York, NY 10013-2815

Fax: 212-966-4303

Email: [email protected] (put “voting rights organizer search” in the subject line)

DEADLINE:  Applicants will be considered on a rolling basis until filled.

AALDEF Baseball Fundraiser: Mets vs. Phillies at Citi Field on 8/31

image

The Asian American Legal Defense and Education Fund (AALDEF) invites you come watch the Philadelphia Phillies take on our very own New York Mets on Monday, August 31st!

AALDEF participates in a special program that helps to raise funds for public interest organizations. By purchasing tickets to select baseball games through this program, your cost will include the value of the ticket plus an additional tax-deductible donation to support AALDEF. These tickets (including the donation) are below regular price. Your donations go directly toward AALDEF¹s legal and education programs. Please take advantage of this opportunity to root for your team while making a contribution for a good cause!

Game/Ticket Details:

  • Mets vs. Phillies at Citi Field
  • Monday, August 31 at 7:10 pm 
  • Between home & first in Promenade Section 509
  • $12 per ticket + $3 donation or more

Tickets are limited, so reserve yours today! Please reserve by August 21 to ensure ticket delivery on time. Please contact Kenneth Fuentes at [email protected] or (212) 966-5932 x 208 to place your order and receive further instructions for payment and delivery/pickup.

AALDEF thanks everyone for their continued support!

AALDEF Theatre Party – Allegiance, Oct. 29

Letter from Executive Director of AALDEF Margaret Fung:

Dear Friend:

Please join us on Thursday, Oct. 29 for a special benefit preview of George Takei’s new musical on Broadway, Allegiance.  George will join us for a Q&A after the performance, so you don’t want to miss this wonderful AALDEF event!

Allegiance is a multi-generational tale about family, freedom, love, and loss as Japanese Americans were incarcerated in camps during World War II.  It is inspired by the true-life experience of its star, George Takei, the recipient of AALDEF’s 1992 Justice in Action award and a beloved actor (Star Trek), social justice activist, and social media icon.  The musical also features Tony Award winner Lea Salonga (Miss Saigon, Les Miserables) and Telly Leung (Rent, Glee).  Allegiance had its premiere in 2012 at the Old Globe Theatre in San Diego.  It will be the first time in thirteen years that an Asian-led cast has been on Broadway since the revival of Flower Drum Song.

Join us to catch a sneak peek of this new Broadway show before it opens on November 8.  We have a limited number of orchestra and front mezzanine seats at a specially discounted price of $125 per ticket (box office price $142).  Rear mezzanine and balcony tickets can also be purchased for $75 and $65.  

Buy your tickets today by calling 212.966.5932 x212 or emailing [email protected].  There is a maximum of 4 tickets per person.  Reservations are final only after payment has been received, and we cannot provide ticket refunds or exchanges.  We have a limited number of tickets, so be sure to purchase your tickets before our event is sold out!

Thanks so much for your continued support of AALDEF, and I look forward to seeing you at our Allegiance theater party on Oct. 29!

Regards,

Margaret Fung
Executive Director

Watch “The Surrender” at the 2015 Asian American International Film Festival, July 26

Join the Asian American Legal Defense and Education Fund on
Sunday, July 26 at the 2015 Asian American International Film Festival for a screening of
:

THE SURRENDER

Director Stephen T. Maing | 23 mins

A brilliant intelligence analyst, Stephen Kim, is unfairly prosecuted under the Espionage Act and must prepare to go to prison.

Sunday, July 26, 2015 at 12:30PM
Village East Cinema
181-189 Second Avenue
(between 11th & 12th Street)


Other short films in the MADE IN NYC SHORTS program:

  • The Flip
    Director Chung Lam | 22 mins
  • Split End
    Director Eddie Shieh | 6 mins
  • Almost Tibetan
    Director João Inada | 15 mins
  • Lao Wong
    Director Ming Zeng | 15 mins
  • Pipe Dream
    Director Yudho Aditya | 18 mins

Discounted tickets for AALDEF friends are $11.25 + processing fee.  

Promo code: AALDEFaaiff15.  

Tickets are non-refundable.  Purchase tickets HERE.

The film festival runs from July 23 – August 1

Check out the entire schedule at http://aaiff.org/2015/.