Hello, my name is Raven Ancar, and this is my first year in NCI’s Reproductive Rights and Reproductive Health Internship Program! I am a freshman studying Psychology, Sociology, and Africana Studies. I am beyond excited to be working with Lift Louisiana this year! Lift Louisiana is a nonprofit organization that fights for Louisiana women’s rights. My position at Lift is called the Advocacy intern. The position requires me to help organize our advocacy agenda for the legislative session. I am the official liaison for this event called Women on Wednesday or WOW for short. Women on Wednesday is a bi-weekly advocacy campaign. I am in charge of planning WOW.
Each week, Lift Louisiana and our partners will host groups of advocates at the State Capitol, to learn about critical issues affecting women across our state and the impacts of proposed legislation. Advocates will receive training on how to influence the legislative process and will have the chance to speak directly to their lawmakers. I reach out to participants, sponsors, and other leaders around Louisiana to make sure the rally goes smoothly. We are still in the planning stages for the event, so as of now, I am building a timeline and budget for each WOW event. The most exciting part about this job is that it is all new terrain for me. I have planned events before, but none to this stature. Lift plans to host at least 50 women each WOW event, and I am up for the challenge. Lift is already equipping me with skills I never thought I would need to learn. I know how to create graphics, I have improved on my writing skills, and I am learning more about Louisiana legislation every day. When WOW has been completed and executed, my job will expand to help with planning a Reproductive Justice training for Medical Providers and will be helping with some research for the Incarcerated Women’s Task Force. Cannot wait to see what this semester holds!
Newcomb Interns
Newcomb Internships and Experiential Learning