Program Duration: June 16th, 2025 - August 15th, 2025

Location:  CLA will be an in-person, full-time program (5 days per week: 2 days with CAUSE, 3 days with a Host Office Placement)

Time Commitment: Each intern commits to and receives a full-time internship experience (about 40 hours per week).  Hours vary per Host Office Placement.

Stipend: Each intern will receive a $4,000 stipend upon satisfactory completion of the program.

For full consideration, applicants must ensure both the Application and Letters of Recommendation are received by their respective deadlines.

Applications are due by Sunday, January 26, 2025 at 11:59 pm PST.

Letters of Recommendation are due by Sunday, February 9th, 2025 at 11:59 pm PST.

CIVIC LEADERSHIP WORKSHOPS

Throughout the program, CAUSE will provide a number of training sessions meant to provide opportunities to learn and practice leadership skills while expanding an understanding of civic engagement.

HoST OFFICE PLACEMENT

Each intern will be placed in either a government office or a civic engagement focused non-profit host office in Southern California. Interns will learn through professional experience for three (3) days a week.

CIVIC ENGAGEMENT PROJECT — cause mock campaign

With a combination of learning and practice, interns will have the opportunity to learn about the different roles of a campaign and put it into practice through a mock campaign. In the past, participants have created campaigns for California Assembly District 49 in the West San Gabriel Valley.  This project includes building out a campaign’s budget and strategy, creating a policy platform, preparing for endorsement panels, fundraising, and speaking to district residents.

CAPITOL SUMMIT

Interns will travel to the State Capitol and engage with elected officials and legislative staff who advocate for API communities. The focus of this experience will be to learn about the various career opportunities in government and meet the API leaders who are currently working there.

civic leadership

In addition to learning the mechanics of running a campaign, CLA interns will also have opportunities to meet influential community and government leaders in California. Through these conversations,  community leaders will share their personal experiences advocating for the API community, finding their career path, and advancing their policy advocacy skills.

professional development

CLA interns will develop and refine essential professional skills that prepare them to transition into the workforce and forge a career that includes civic leadership. These skills will strengthen their leadership on campus, within their communities, and throughout their careers. Past sessions include communications, resume writing, interviewing, and financial literacy.

networking

The CAUSE network includes leaders that are dedicated to the political and civic empowerment of the API community. CLA interns will have the opportunity to build meaningful connections with over 30 years of alumni and friends of CAUSE, from all sectors and all levels. The program also emphasizes cohort learning where interns will be encouraged to engage with one another through interactive sessions and facilitated dialogue. CLA interns will also be invited to exclusive networking, political, and community events.

POLICY ISSUES THAT IMPACT API COMMUNITIES

CLA interns will meet with community leaders for in-depth discussions on current issues impacting the API community and current policy solutions. Topics in the past have included: anti-API hate, data disaggregation, education, healthcare, energy and the environment, workforce development, transportation, and housing.

program goals

By the end of the program, interns will have:

• Explored civic leadership career paths

• Developed professional experience and skills to be effective in political advocacy and campaign support

• Connected with leaders in the CAUSE network

• Deepened their understanding of issues that impact the API community

INTERN QUALIFICATIONS

ALL CLA APPLICANTS MUST:

• Have a minimum GPA of 3.0

• Be a current student with at least one year of college completed or a recent college graduate by the program start (Class of 2025)

• Be able to attend and actively participate in all mandatory events

TRANSPORTATION

All interns will be responsible for their own  transportation. Limited flight vouchers may be offered to help with the cost of travel. Interns will be required to commute to and from their Host Office Placement, weekly Civic Leadership Training, mandatory meetings/events, and Civic Engagement Project meetings on an as-needed basis.

HOUSING

Accepted interns are required to secure their own housing in Southern California for the duration of the program.

MEALS

Interns will be responsible for their own meals. CAUSE will provide meals for major program events, such as the Orientation Retreat and the Capitol Summit.

**Please note: CLA is an in-person internship. Participants will be required to COVID-19 test whenever they meet for Civic Leadership Workshop days and mask until they have a confirmed negative test result. If participants test positive or are exposed to COVID-19, they should be prepared to be virtual with their own computer and internet access.

Office of United States Senator Alex Padilla

Office of Congresswoman Judy Chu

Office of Congressman Jimmy Gomez

Office of Congressman Ted W. Lieu

Office of Congressman Adam Schiff

Office of Congresswoman Young Kim

Office of Attorney General Rob Bonta, External Affairs

California Governor’s Office of External Affairs

Office of California State Senator Ben Allen

Office of California Senate Majority Leader Lena Gonzalez

Office of California State Senator Susan Rubio

Office of California State Assemblymember Mike Fong

Office of California State Assemblymember Al Muratsuchi

Office of California StateAssembly Speaker Anthony Rendon

Office of Los Angeles County Supervisor Hilda Solis

Los Angeles Mayor’s Office of Public Engagement

Office of Los Angeles Councilwoman Heather Hutt

Office of Irvine Councilmember Tammy Kim

Charmaine Albano Mills

Legislative Director, Office of Assemblymember Gail Pellerin

Martha Alvarado

Community Relations & Communications Project Specialist, SoCalGas

Gary Arakawa

Partner, Cerity Partners

Former CAUSE Board Member

Ralph Barnes

COO, Kidspace Children's Museum, CAUSE Board Member

Kiran Bhalla

Project Director, AAPI Equity Alliance

Jamie Borbon

Project Manager, SoCalGas

Byron Briones

Legislative Aide, Office of Assemblymember Freddie Rodriguez; 2021 CLA Alumni

John Bwarie

Chief Executive Officer, Alhambra Chamber of Commerce

Wendy Castro

East Area Representative, LA Mayor’s Office

Richard C. Chang

Data Analytics Director, NHPI Data Policy Lab at UCLA

Christian Chavarin

Caseworker and Intern Coordinator,  Office of Congressman Jimmy Gomez

Annie Chean

Policy Director, Office of City Councilmember Suely Saro of the City of Long Beach; 2023 CLI Alumni

Kent Chen

Senior Business Analyst, SoCalGas

Cecilia Chen

Principal, Cerity Partners

Barney Cheng

Board Member, PFLAG SGV API

Captain Don Crowther

Captain, City of Arcadia Police Department

Shekinah Deocares

Community Organizer and Case Manager, Pilipino Workers Center of Southern California (PWC)

Jessica Duong

Chief of Staff, Office of Assemblymember Phil Ting

Kristin Fukushima

Managing Director, Little Tokyo Service Center (LTSC)

Susan Har

Assistant U.S. Attorney and Hate Crimes Coordinator, United State Attorney's Offices

Misha Hassan

Board Co-Chair, Satrang

Amy Ho

Legislative Assistant, Office of Assemblymember Isaac Bryan (AD55); 2019 CLA Alumni

Wen Hong

Treasurer, CAUSE Board of Directors; Principal, Pacific Rim Advisory Board

James Hsu

CAUSE Board Member; Partner, Squire Patton Boggs

Thuy Huyhn

Chief of Staff + Associate Director, UCLA Community Programs Office

Hyepin Christine Im

Founder, President, and CEO, Faith and Community Empowerment (FACE); 2016 CLI Alumni

Travis Kaya

Associate, Richards Watson Gershon, Treasurer, APABA

Serapia Kim

Field Representative and Digital Assistant, Office of U.S. Congressmember Jimmy Gomez; 2022 CLI Alumni

Victor King

CAUSE Board Member, Legal Counsel, California State University, Los Angeles

Edward Kusama

Asset Management Supervisor, SoCalGas

Sophia Kwang Kim

Chief of Staff, Office of Assemblymember Mike Fong

Heidi Lau

Stop Hate Program Manager, Asian Youth Center

Jimmy Lee

Strategic Public Policy Manager, SoCalGas

Jason Liang

Partner and Founder, Liang Ly LLP;

APABA

Allison Lim

Chief of Staff, Office of Assemblymember Alex Lee

Dr. May Lin

Assistant Professor of Asian American Studies, CSU Long Beach

Samuel Liu

Deputy Chief of Staff, Office of California State Senator Ben Allen

Milton Liu

Interim Executive Director, Asian American Media Alliance, WGA

The Honorable Henry Lo

Councilmember, City of Monterey Park

Nina Long

Government Relations Associate, Flixbus; 2019 CLA Alumni

Fran Lujan

Museum Director, Pacific Islander Ethnic Art Museum (PIEAM)

Phong Luu

Principal, Cerity Partners

The Honorable Jeffrey Koji Maloney

Councilmember, City of Alhambra; Chief Staff Counsel, Santa Monica Mountains Conservancy

Diana Morales

District Director, Office of Assembly Speaker Anthony Rendon

Bao Nhia Moua

Associate Director of Institute Operations, Simmons University Institute for Inclusive Leadership

Dr. Andrew Murphy

President, Asian Dems of LA County; 2018 CLI Alumni

Trisha Muse

Director of Community Relations, SoCalGas

Erika Ngo

Legislative Director, Office of Assemblymember Ash Kalra; 2017 CLA Alumni

Khai Nguyen

Financial and Strategic Planning Manager, SoCalGas

Tyler Nguyen

Product Manager, SoCalGas

Eda Niño

Associate, Cerity Partners

Connie Oh

Inclusive Excellence Coordinator, PHIT Department at UC Irvine

The Honorable Paul P. Cheng

Mayor, City of Arcadia

Annie Pham

Special Assistant to the Speaker, California State Assembly

Dr. Juily Phun

Assistant Professor of Asian American Studies, California State University, Los Angeles

Godfrey Plata

Deputy Director, LA Forward

Zack Ritter

Vice President of Advancement, Jewish World Watch

Marissa Roy

President, California Women's List

Dr. Sara Sadhwani

Assistant Professor of Politics, Pomona College

Alex Saikili

Associate, Cerity Partners

The Honorable Jose Sanchez

Mayor, City of Monterey Park

The Honorable Suely Saro

Councilmember, City of Long Beach City Council

Edwin Saucedo

Director of External Affairs, Office of Attorney General Rob Bonta

Dan Schnur

CAUSE Board Member; Professor, University of California, Berkeley and USC

Arali Seneviratne

Intern, APICA and the Office of Assemblymember Ash Kalra; 2022 CLA Alumni

Fatima Shahnaz Iqbal-Zubair

Chair Progressive Caucus, California Democratic Party

Suneel Singh

Project Manager, SoCalGas

Dr. Raphael Sonenshein

Former Executive Director, Pat Brown Institute for Public Affairs at California State University, Los Angeles

Jason Song

Portfolio Lead, EY; 2020 CLI Alumni

Gil Soto

Director, Gas Operations and Construction, SoCalGas

Ben Spangenberg

Leadership Program Director, Respectability

Randi Stover

Deputy City Manager, City of Alhambra

Scott Swanson

Partner, Cerity Partners

The Honorable Brian Tabatabai

Councilmember, City of West Covina

Jennifer Tang

District Director, Office of Assemblymember Mike Fong

Stephanie Tom

Deputy Treasurer, California State Treasurer’s Office

Benjamin Tran

Policy Strategist, AJSOCAL; 2022 CLI Alumni; 2018 CLA Alumni

Fiona Truong

JD Candidate, Loyola Marymount University, Law School, 2021 CLA Alumni

Janet Uradomo

Board Member, PFLAG SGV API

Matthew Vu

Training Coordinator, The People's Project - LA County Federation of Labor; 2020 CLA Alumni

Nathan Vuong

Volunteer Operations Analyst, AJSOCAL

Jason Wang

Senior Engineer, SoCalGas

Don Widjaja

Vice President, Customer Solutions, SoCalGas

Crystal Williams

Community Relations Manager, SoCalGas

Ayano Wolff

Attorney, APA Women Lawyers Association; APABA

Ben Wong

Secretary, CAUSE Board of Directors; Public Affairs Consultant, South Coast Air Quality Management District

Bill Wong

Consultant, Bill Wong LLC

The Honorable Thomas Wong

Councilmember, City of Monterey Park

Charlie Woo

CAUSE Board Chair; Owner, Megatoys

Rae Xu

Supervisor, Customer Insights & Analytics, SoCalGas

Robert Yap

CAUSE Board Member; Vice President of Gen Mobile, Dish Networks

The Honorable Betty Yee

Former State Controller, State of California

The Honorable Yvonne Yiu

Councilmember, City of Monterey Park

PRESIDENTIAL

senatorial

CONGRESSIONAL