The Athena Advocacy Institute
Are you looking to develop experience in advocacy with support from experts and your peers? The Athena Advocacy Institute is a summer program for students interested in exploring advocacy, in all its forms, as a tool for tackling our most difficult challenges. Advocacy Institute members intern at nonprofits in New York City, participate in weekly gatherings to expand their advocacy knowledge and work experiences, and commit to building their learnings together.
Athena Advocacy Institute members receive:
- A stipend of $5,000 paid in installments throughout the summer
- Summer housing provided by Barnard
- Weekly in-person gatherings to discuss their summer work and learn from their peers
- Training and professional development
- The opportunity to be in conversation with guest speakers who are experienced advocates and can offer insights into advocacy work
- 10 new friends!
By the end of the ten weeks, students have a more expansive understanding of what effective advocacy looks like and how they can advocate for change in the areas that are important to them.
The Athena Advocacy Institute is composed of one Silberstein Fellow and ten Advocacy members who work at nonprofit organizations during the summer. The Silberstein Non-Profit Leadership Summer Fellowship invites applications from students interested in interning at nonprofit organizations in New York City that work towards a better future for children. The fellowship will be awarded to one student.
The application to join the Summer 2025 cohort is now closed. Check back in Spring 2026 for the Summer 2026 application!
The Athena Advocacy Institute is one of multiple communities of practice we offer at Athena. Communities of practice are groups of people who meet regularly to get better at something — here, changemaking. Read more about the other Communities of Practice we offer here.
The Athena Advocacy Institute is funded by the Francene Rodgers ’67 Athena Fellowship Fund, the Marina Weitzner Lewin ’80 Internship Fund, the Carol Krongold Silberstein ’69 and Alan Silberstein Public Service and Internship Fund, and The Daphne Fodor Philipson ’69 Fund for Women's Leadership.
Office Hours - Come Chat!
Chriss Sneed (they/them) | Director of Applied Learning
Some things you can chat with Chriss about:
- Getting started with an idea or project
- Any of our Communities of Practice
To schedule an appointment to chat with Chriss, click here: https://calendly.com/meet-with-chriss or email csneed@barnard.edu.
Frequently Asked Questions
For Summer 2025: Tuesday, May 27, 2025 — Friday, August 1, 2025
For Summer 2025: All Barnard students in good academic standing and returning to Barnard in Fall 2025 are eligible.
We will select one Silberstein Fellow* and ten Advocacy members who will work at nonprofit organizations.
*The Silberstein Non-Profit Leadership Summer Fellowship invites applications from students interested in interning at nonprofit organizations in New York City that work towards a better future for children. The fellowship will be awarded to one student, who will receive a stipend of $5,000 (to be paid in installments) and participate in the Athena Advocacy Institute.
A non-comprehensive list: Children’s Defense Fund, ACLU-NJ, Tikva Children’s Home, Stavros Niarchos Foundation, The Children’s Law Center, the Cooke Institute, Global Fund for Women, PEN America's Artists at Risk Connection, Safe Passage Project, VoteRunLead, MV Connect, Romero Institute, and Dance/NYC through DIAL (Diversity in Arts Leadership).
You do not need to have found and secured an internship before you apply; however, you do need to have a confirmed internship before the first day of the program. We can help guide you in this process — and of course, Beyond Barnard is always available to assist as well. Reach out as early as you can.
This fellowship is intended to support students in unpaid internships; applicants with unpaid internships will receive priority in selection.
If you are applying to other Barnard fellowships or programs, please note that Fellows may not combine the stipend with any other Barnard paid fellowship, internship program/monies/award granted to them for summer.
Fellows are expected to take on full-time internships. Internships should be minimum of 35 hrs per week.
In addition to their internships, Fellows are expected to attend in-person weekly gatherings with peers, Athena staff, and guest speakers.
Advocacy is all about championing a cause you care about with the goal of creating meaningful, lasting change. In this program, you’ll explore the myriad ways in which individuals and organizations are advocating for change, while developing the practical skills that effective advocacy requires. You’ll leave this program with a refined sense of purpose and direction and an expanded understanding of advocacy in action.
We’ll talk about your summer work as a group and provide a space for you to share and learn from one another. Through trainings, activities, and conversations with guest speakers, together, we’ll explore what effective advocacy looks like and where and how you can engage in it. Towards the end of the program, we’ll help you plan out and practice how you talk about your summer experience on your resume and in interviews.