Why The VirtualIntern Is Helping Diverse Students Find Hope and Opportunity During Uncertain Times

Founder Leah Allen talks about the importance of identifying and empowering tomorrow’s environmental leaders

2020 was a devastating year for young people of color. The pandemic has exacerbated existing socioeconomic inequities, leaving communities of color at risk and depriving students of the typical retail and restaurant jobs they rely on to survive. The deaths of George Floyd and Breonna Taylor precipitated a racial reckoning that spawned months of protests and ignited a tense national dialogue. This, along with the crippling economic downturn, has led many organizations to rescind internship and job offers, leaving diverse students disproportionately impacted with few prospects or pathways forward. This is especially true in highly competitive, green STEM fields. The VirtualIntern was created to fill these gaps, restore diverse students’ hope, and provide viable pathways to meaningful careers.

The VirtualIntern, an online platform powered by environmental equity nonprofit MobilizeGreen, makes it easy for employers to find and hire interns and get projects completed, all while helping diverse young students close the experience gap.

“This is a lifeline for them,” said Leah Allen, President and CEO of MobilizeGreen and the driving force behind The VirtualIntern. “Plus, this solves employers’ stated challenges in finding quality talent. This is a win-win.”

Allen’s goal was not just to create another platform – she wanted The VirtualIntern to be a complete resource.

“COVID is changing the way we work. Young people of color are not using career centers, and they’re not getting access to professional development tools like coaching, mentoring, and internship opportunities,” she added. The VirtualIntern builds these resources into the platform so interns are matched with employers, and they can receive these benefits as part of their work experience.

For Allen, The VirtualIntern is a natural extension of the work she has done for years.

“Every day, all day, I am thinking about how to get more young people hired or at least get them the experience they need to help them get their foot in the door,” she said.

Allen is an Ivy League-educated lawyer who founded MobilizeGreen in 2014. Throughout her career, she has fought for policies that provided people of color better access to career and economic opportunities, and MobilizeGreen was a natural extension of her work.

With The VirtualIntern, she’s become laser focused on tackling inequities that impact diverse students, but she knows this work serves an even bigger purpose than economic empowerment and prosperity.

“I truly believe in the ability of our young people to solve the world’s environmental challenges,” Allen said. She believes that, having experienced environmental injustice firsthand, young people of color will be passionate advocates for their communities. There’s no question that they will work to protect their neighborhoods and their families, but they need a seat at the table.

The VirtualIntern helps tomorrow’s leaders strive for environmental equity, tackle the most pressing environmental issues of our time, and achieve professional mobility without facing racism, discrimination, or other common roadblocks. It also helps them close the experience gap, which affects young diverse people to a great degree. Without experience, diverse talent misses out on access to career opportunities. They also fail to develop the soft skills necessary for professional advancement, and this sets in motion a lifelong trend of low earnings and economic struggle. The VirtualIntern connects the dots, enabling diverse young people to overcome these issues and take the first meaningful steps toward a promising career.

Allen also sees The VirtualIntern as a way to help cash-strapped public sector agencies and motivated private sector companies find cost-effective help and keep their short-term projects on track, while also demonstrating the true value of workplace diversity. But there are even more benefits for participating companies.

The platform works using just three simple steps – interns create a profile that showcases their skills, they’re matched with an organization, and they start working with experts who solve real-world problems. This easy placement process doesn’t just save organizations time – it connects them with curated talent, helps them recruit a workforce that looks like the world they serve, and guides them through a socially responsible approach to hiring that drives real change.

Though The VirtualIntern is a new platform, its placement model is tried and true. MobilizeGreen, which focuses on placing diverse candidates in both green STEM jobs and internships, already has a track record of success. The organization has placed over 750 interns since 2014, many of whom stay in touch with Allen and personally relay the value of their internships in their professional journeys. This is the same model that’s powering The VirtualIntern, one that has already placed interns with the USDA Forest Service, Udall Foundation, National Park Service, King County (WA State), and the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service.

Despite MobilizeGreen’s initial accomplishments, Allen says the platform’s ultimate success will be measured in the total number of young people served, the number of interns who go on to secure jobs in their desired field, and the impact that the interns’ completed projects have on the environment.

In other words, The VirtualIntern may have been borne of 2020’s unique and dire circumstances, but it’s a long-range program that will impact diverse students, green STEM organizations, and the environment for the foreseeable future.