Leading EDGE: End of Summer 2026 Recap
That’s a wrap for Cohort #5 of our Leading EDGE Student Internship Program!
It’s been a great summer working with these amazing students and employers. This year, nine dedicated employers hosted 11 interns for 10 weeks over the summer. In addition to hosting, employers signed up to work alongside The Nonprofit Alliance Foundation on our efforts to introduce college students to nonprofit career opportunities, including those in underrepresented and first-generation student populations, within the employer job market; and enable first job placements that can lead to a career path in the social good sector. Read more about this talented group of college students and their work in various roles such as marketing, fundraising, data analytics, and project management.
Interns and employers included:
- Feraol Abera with St. Labre Indian School Educational Association
- Ashley Aguilar with Mal Warwick Donordigital
- Even Estifanos with St. Labre Indian School Educational Association
- Ha Le with K2D Strategies
- Ramatou Njoya with The Senior Citizens League
- Andrew Oxenberg with Moore
- Sydney Rorke with Humane World Action Fund
- Tianna Schneider with Shatterproof
- Leah Tejan with Engaging Networks
- Jena Thomson with The Capital Area Food Bank
- Faruq Yekini with Engaging Networks
Read more about our interns here.
In addition to receiving a hands-on learning experience, many of our interns attended industry conferences, went to Capitol Hill, and participated in company activities.
Interns were also introduced to industry professionals through Leading EDGE Lunch n’ Learns and webinar events. Topics included an overview of the nonprofit sector, direct marketing in the digital age, and face-to-face fundraising. For the fifth year in a row, our annual “What I Wish I Knew” and “Next Gen Panel” webinar events were a hit with students and interns from all over!
See what some of our interns learned and worked on this summer:
CONGRATS and all the best to our amazing interns. Next up is cohort #6 for summer 2027. Read more about our program on tnpa.org/leading_edge/ and stay tuned for 2027 open enrollment.
Special THANK YOU to everyone who helped this year:
Employer Hosts
Gabrielle Tuggle
Shatterproof
Joanna Miller
The Capital Area Food Bank
Lauren Guzowski
Humane World Action Fund
Jennifer Deerr and
Jeph Christoff
K2D Strategies
Shannon Benton
The Senior Citizens League
Annmarie Beacham, Leah Meers, and Austin Dressman
Engaging Networks
Alexa Langford
Moore
Rachel Earl and Conroy Holdstheenemy
St. Labre Indian School Educational Association
Amanda Melton and Tiffany Reed
Mal Warwick Donordigital
Steering Committee
Tom Cook
ROI Solutions
Kim Postulart
Alzheimer’s Association
Lance Slaughter
The ALS Association
Lori Archut
K2D Strategies
Diane Hardy
Audience First Media
Dara Igersheim
Avalon Consulting
Guest Speakers
Vivian Nartey
Concord Direct
Shelby Steere
Further Digital
Caroline Cuccaro
Smile Train
Kristin Ghiorzi
NNE Marketing
Zoe Eprile
The Nature Conservancy
Jen Mowry
NNE Marketing
SB Birnie
Avalon Consulting Group
Eddie Kyle
The Nonprofit Alliance
…and all of the school faculty in D.C., Maryland, Virginia, New York City, and Chicago for helping us get the word out to your students!
Thank You to Our Sponsors!
Gold Sponsors
Bronze Sponsors
Ready to invest in the next generation of nonprofit industry professionals?
Learn more here or email struxon@tnpa.org!
Author: Shelby Truxon
Shelby Truxon is Vice President of Internship Experience at The Nonprofit Alliance (TNPA).
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