Lalah C. Williams Discusses Her Internship at Nonprofit Prince George's County

Lalah C. Williams, a junior and Policy Studies major at Chatham University in Pennsylvania, recently completed an online summer internship through the Washington Internship Institute. We reached out to her at the end of the summer term to get her thoughts. Here’s what she said:

Where did you intern, and what does your internship site do?

This summer I was a Nonprofit Navigator at Nonprofit Prince George’s County (NPGC) in Bowie, Maryland. I worked directly under the leadership of the Executive Director Tiffany Turner-Allen where I helped in the revamping, creation, and execution of programs.

Nonprofit Prince George’s County works to strengthen and empower nonprofits by building capacity of organizations, providing networking and collaboration opportunities, and advocating for resources. This summer I worked directly with the Executive Director, Mrs. Tiffany Turner-Allen, on the revamping of programs and the creation of new ones.

Nonprofit Prince George’s County exists to serve and support nonprofits of the county and to meet the current, changing, and ever-increasing needs of the community. This is accomplished by strategic efforts to strengthen and empower nonprofits by building capacity of organizations, providing networking and collaboration opportunities, and advocating for resources.

What sort of work have you done at your internship? Are there any projects you are proud to have worked on?

I worked on four projects this summer and my favorite and directly impactful was Stand Up and Deliver (SUAD). Stand Up and Deliver is a food delivery program that was implemented by County Executive Angela Alsobrooks to address food insecurity in the county during this time. Local nonprofits became purchasing agents, local restaurants and businesses as vendors, and the parking lots of schools, churches, and community centers all over the county as distributions sites.

My role in SUAD was the office’s point of contact for this project in which I received and reviewed the purchase orders from the county, placed the order with vendors, and spoke with the point of contact at the distribution sites.

I wrote the office’s Standard Operating Procedures and taught my fellow Nonprofit Navigator how the process went. In completing this weekly task, I talked with community members who were vendors and those at the distribution site. I enjoyed hearing the positive feedback and being an integral part of a project that was working to meet a need that directly affected members of my community. I heard firsthand from the members at the distribution site how popular this program was and sent their suggestions further up the chain of command. By the end of my time at my internship, the office had provided almost 5,000 hot meals throughout the county.

What was your favorite thing about interning this summer?

This has been an interesting summer for everyone. I am so thankful that I was able to be a part of something that was productive and positive, and that was my favorite part. It was one thing to learn about how state and local politics operate and how they advocate for and support the constituents, nonprofits, organizations, and businesses they represent, but being part of the process was much different. I knew there were many moving parts, but I really enjoyed being a part of it. Interning at NPGC was exactly what I was looking for. It was in the county I call home and I enjoyed that it was rooted in the personal side of politics. I enjoyed listening to Mrs. Turner-Allen talk about the initiatives she is continuing to create and the capacities they will fill. I am grateful that I had the opportunity to be a Nonprofit Navigator and help create, contribute to, and participate in the programs that were specifically created for Prince George’s County.

What have you learned from this experience?

On campus I work part-time at the Pennsylvania Center for Women and Politics (PCWP) which is also a nonprofit. My work at the PCWP is in events, programing, and outreach. At NPGC I was on the administrative side of day-to-day operations.

Through SUAD, which is a product of an Executive Order due to lack of funding for food insecurity, I gained first-hand experience on how federal and state policies affect local policies. I also worked on writing the first draft for the Maryland Behavioral Health Administration (BHA) and Developmental Disabilities Administration grant. With this project I learned that nonprofits are sometimes grouped with small businesses even though they are not, which leaves nonprofits overlooked for funding. In this research and writing, I was able to meet my learning objectives of enhancing my research skills and the introduction to writing for public policy. The experience I gained was like no other I had before. I am thankful to have been a part of the Nonprofit Prince George’s County team and I am looking forward to seeing what they do next.

Do you have any advice for future students in our program?

Get ready to work. When I arrived at Nonprofit Prince George’s County, they already had a list of projects and assignments for me to work on. There was never a dull moment.

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If you’d like to learn more about our program and how you can intern in DC, click below!