Hello hello! My name is Amber Thorpe, and I am a senior (terrifying) from Los Angeles, California pursuing a dual degree in anthropology and political science with a minor in Africana Studies. In addition to serving as an intern with Lift Louisiana, I also work at the Center for Public Service as a Service-Learning Assistant, Community Engagement Advocate, and Curriculum Specialist in addition to interning at the Louisiana Capital Assistance Center. In my spare time, I engage in archaeological research through the Tulane University Anthropology Department. In addition, I serve as the Historian and Website/History Committee Co-Chair of Students Organizing Against Racism, the Vice President of the Tulane Anthropology Club, and the Historian of Amnesty International at Tulane.
This past summer, Newcomb College Institute (NCI) provided me with an incredible opportunity to work with Lift Louisiana, a New Orleans-based non-profit organization that works to educate, litigate, and advocate for reproductive rights and reproductive healthcare access in Louisiana. This work proved incredibly thought-provoking, challenging, and well worth long days and arduous tasks. So rewarding, in fact, that I gladly jumped at the chance to continue working at Lift as a public policy intern during the fall 2017 semester!
This semester at Lift Louisiana, I am working on a variety of projects. I have spent the past few weeks working on creating legislator profiles for numerous representatives and senators from six different major parishes in Louisiana. These profiles include information pertaining to the legislator and their voting history on Louisiana legislative bills surrounding economic justice, abortion, and sexual education. After I complete this project, these profiles will be disseminated at community meetings in these parishes to provide voters and constituents with more information about their legislators. In addition, I am finishing up a project I spend a great deal of time working on during the summer–a toolkit surrounding advocating for women’s rights & reproductive healthcare access in Louisiana. After I finish these projects up–around the end of October–I will likely work on a project focusing on the nexus of criminal justice and reproductive justice. More details on that later!
