While interning at Planned Parenthood I have learned so many different things! First off, I really grasped an understanding on how interdisciplinary studies can be applied in an organization. Seeing this process take action in a real world setting has really broaden my knowledge pertaining to integral studies. I also learned a lot about how a non profit organization advocates for public policies that impact their clientele in a positive way. PPH as an organization have the unique position to strongly advocate for policies that will lead to more access of the health care services they provide. This sort of 'grassroots' interning has been really amazing! To be able to gain insight into the political/public policy side of PPH has been a privilege. They apparently are not just an abortion clinic :)
I grew as an individual in several ways! But one thing that really stands out is my increase in confidence when it comes to public speaking. On several different occasions when I have lead PPH events whether it be crowd canvassing or tabling, I have had to talk to a number of strangers on topics that aren't the easiest to discuss. Not only am I more confident is speaking, I also understand and know how to take rejection from those people who do not support PPH or are too busy to hear you. Public policy is hard work! You have to be truly motivated and committed to the cause that you are fighting (in this case women's reproductive rights) for or else change will not happen.
Some of the skills I have gained have come from various training sessions that I attended to learn more affective ways to talk to people in the community about what PPH does. In addition, I was also trained on leadership skills that have been very useful when I have lead some different events. Lastly, I was able to sit in on some interesting team meetings that allowed me to see how PPH as an organization works with all it's different departments. This internship has definitely been a positive experience and I am very grateful for the limited opportunity to volunteer with PPH. With all the economic cuts, luxuries like internship positions are scarce among non-profit organizations and it has been really awesome to be apart of the PPH team!
Tuesday, July 20, 2010
Wednesday, July 14, 2010
Improve
At Planned Parenthood I have noticed that there is somewhat a lack of communication among the larger divisions and smaller divisions within the organization. In addition, the concept of integration is one that has never really been introduced as a method to increase fluidity among the entire PPH facility.
The interdisciplinary process is a great strategy for problem-solving and brainstorming ideas. This method is useful for everyone when partaking in day to day tasks but it is even more successful when used within places of business. During my first week at the PPH office, I had a meeting with the top three coordinating activists from the public policy, marketing and communication departments and these women were very curious as to what interdisciplinary studies actually was. All three of them have college degrees from well known universities around the country but none of them had heard of interdisciplinary studies as a field of education. I did my very best to start from the basics and explain the ideal of integration as a method of solving issues and expanding knowledge. THEY LOVED IT! This concept really attracted them and has sparked a new interest in the way that they want to approach their work and interact more collectively as a team.
In order for this new method to unfold in an organized manner a plan of action is required! The first thing that needs to be done is these three "top dogs" need to schedule a action meeting with the director of PPH and educate her on the new plan of action. After that, they can work as a small group to come up with some different training events that will aid in the understanding of the interdisciplinary process throughout their entire organization. This will bring much more success and positivity because instead of PPH working under one main idea with sporadic little ideas coming from here and there, this will give every single person their own voice and real opportunity to bring to the table what education they know to better "integrate" these things together and hopefully solve/understand/brainstorm that much faster and efficiently.
The interdisciplinary process is a great strategy for problem-solving and brainstorming ideas. This method is useful for everyone when partaking in day to day tasks but it is even more successful when used within places of business. During my first week at the PPH office, I had a meeting with the top three coordinating activists from the public policy, marketing and communication departments and these women were very curious as to what interdisciplinary studies actually was. All three of them have college degrees from well known universities around the country but none of them had heard of interdisciplinary studies as a field of education. I did my very best to start from the basics and explain the ideal of integration as a method of solving issues and expanding knowledge. THEY LOVED IT! This concept really attracted them and has sparked a new interest in the way that they want to approach their work and interact more collectively as a team.
In order for this new method to unfold in an organized manner a plan of action is required! The first thing that needs to be done is these three "top dogs" need to schedule a action meeting with the director of PPH and educate her on the new plan of action. After that, they can work as a small group to come up with some different training events that will aid in the understanding of the interdisciplinary process throughout their entire organization. This will bring much more success and positivity because instead of PPH working under one main idea with sporadic little ideas coming from here and there, this will give every single person their own voice and real opportunity to bring to the table what education they know to better "integrate" these things together and hopefully solve/understand/brainstorm that much faster and efficiently.
Sunday, July 11, 2010
Interview
Interview with Emily Herrell
Objective: Conduct interview with same person "shadowed" to better understand why they do what they do.
Location: Planned Parenthood [Downtown Phoenix Office]
Time: Tuesday 6 July, 2010
#1. What do you like or dislike about your job?
-I like how I get to work with so many dedicated volunteers as well as other staff members who are dedicated to Planned Parenthood & our mission. I also like how my job is very different day to day (the activities vary); sometimes I’m in the office, sometimes out in the community, & I get to travel a lot.
#2. How do you feel about working with others?
-I enjoy working with others, although I also enjoy working on solitary projects sometimes.
#3. How do you separate the personal from the professional?
-I have a difficult time separating the two sometimes. In my community I am totally the “Planned Parenthood lady” so it’s difficult for people to distinguish when I am representing Planned Parenthood or just being me. When I volunteer with other organizations I have to be careful to make sure people know that I am there as Emily, an individual, not as a representative of Planned Parenthood.
#4. After whom do you model your work behavior? Or do you most respect?
-There are several people at in my organization that I respect very much & try to mirror they way they deal with other people and stress.
#5. Have you reached out to mentors and has their mentorship system worked for you?
-Yes, I have benefitted greatly from formal and informal mentorship relationships. I consider my own supervisor to be a great mentor in political work, and other former supervisors of mine to be great mentors in other ways. I have also participated in a long-distance peer-to-peer mentorship program with Planned Parenthood for the past two years, in which I have had monthly phone meetings with a mentor who has been doing my job at a different Planned Parenthood affiliate for longer. I have really enjoyed this program.
This interview with Emily has been a great opportunity for me to gain deeper insight into some of the more intimate things that have influenced her career and development as a person!! I really enjoyed this experience :)
Objective: Conduct interview with same person "shadowed" to better understand why they do what they do.
Location: Planned Parenthood [Downtown Phoenix Office]
Time: Tuesday 6 July, 2010
#1. What do you like or dislike about your job?
-I like how I get to work with so many dedicated volunteers as well as other staff members who are dedicated to Planned Parenthood & our mission. I also like how my job is very different day to day (the activities vary); sometimes I’m in the office, sometimes out in the community, & I get to travel a lot.
#2. How do you feel about working with others?
-I enjoy working with others, although I also enjoy working on solitary projects sometimes.
#3. How do you separate the personal from the professional?
-I have a difficult time separating the two sometimes. In my community I am totally the “Planned Parenthood lady” so it’s difficult for people to distinguish when I am representing Planned Parenthood or just being me. When I volunteer with other organizations I have to be careful to make sure people know that I am there as Emily, an individual, not as a representative of Planned Parenthood.
#4. After whom do you model your work behavior? Or do you most respect?
-There are several people at in my organization that I respect very much & try to mirror they way they deal with other people and stress.
#5. Have you reached out to mentors and has their mentorship system worked for you?
-Yes, I have benefitted greatly from formal and informal mentorship relationships. I consider my own supervisor to be a great mentor in political work, and other former supervisors of mine to be great mentors in other ways. I have also participated in a long-distance peer-to-peer mentorship program with Planned Parenthood for the past two years, in which I have had monthly phone meetings with a mentor who has been doing my job at a different Planned Parenthood affiliate for longer. I have really enjoyed this program.
This interview with Emily has been a great opportunity for me to gain deeper insight into some of the more intimate things that have influenced her career and development as a person!! I really enjoyed this experience :)
Wednesday, July 7, 2010
Shadow
At Planned Parenthood this week I chose to shadow my mentor, Emily. She is the advocacy coordinator for PPH and works in the public policy area as a grassroots leader. I really admire Emily for the energy that she brings every single day whether she is in the office or out in the field. Very rarely does Emily stay in her office! Currently she is based in the PPH Tucson Administration Office but she is in charge of representing public policy outreach for PPH throughout the entire state of Arizona. Emily is a very busy woman, especially with the upcoming state elections this September and November.
Tuesday of this week, Emily came into the downtown Phoenix office where I followed her around all day. She has her own office and this is where she begins her day after she has checked in with the front receptionist for any mail/messages that their may be. Emily corresponds mainly via email from her blackberry phone but she also has her own computer that travels with her everywhere. Her calendar on her computer is one of the most important applications that she uses and she is constantly adding and viewing the date(s) for various appointments and events. At 1 PM Emily and I went to a small monthly meeting with the other two main coordinators of PPH who represent Communications, Marketing and Public Policy. They all chatted for a couple of hours about what their main objective is presently; getting endorsed candidates elected. Also, the sticky side of endorsing candidates was touched on regarding how some candidates are considered 'private endorsements' and therefore do not want that information publicly known. This can be due to social aspects within a specific voting division. For example, if the community is highly Latino and of the Catholic faith, socially the majority of these citizens probably do not support PPH or more importantly a candidate who does [publicly] ;)
After the meeting we went back to Emily's office and both went to work looking in newspapers or online for different events coming up around the valley (i.e. concerts, art walks, festivals etc.) that could be potential sites to hold PPH information booths. We were able to come up with several ideas to hold PPH events here in the Phoenix area and the next activity will be this Thursday at "Thursday's on Mill". The city of Tempe hosts local music on the entire street of Mill and this is a perfect place for PPH to do what we call 'crowd canvass'. This is where 3 of us go out into the community and try and get signatures of Pro-choice people either for a petition of some kind pertaining to the upcoming elections or just to help people become aware of the laws here in AZ that are affecting reproductive rights.
At the end of the night we held a new volunteer orientation that Emily had put together an entire presentation for that introduced the newcomers to PPH's history and our mission plus other safety features. We then discussed the new event ideas that we had come up with earlier that day and asked for input from the other volunteers. After the orientation meeting I helped Emily clean up the snacks and drinks that we had set out, then we turned off the lights before we each went our separate ways for the night!
Tuesday of this week, Emily came into the downtown Phoenix office where I followed her around all day. She has her own office and this is where she begins her day after she has checked in with the front receptionist for any mail/messages that their may be. Emily corresponds mainly via email from her blackberry phone but she also has her own computer that travels with her everywhere. Her calendar on her computer is one of the most important applications that she uses and she is constantly adding and viewing the date(s) for various appointments and events. At 1 PM Emily and I went to a small monthly meeting with the other two main coordinators of PPH who represent Communications, Marketing and Public Policy. They all chatted for a couple of hours about what their main objective is presently; getting endorsed candidates elected. Also, the sticky side of endorsing candidates was touched on regarding how some candidates are considered 'private endorsements' and therefore do not want that information publicly known. This can be due to social aspects within a specific voting division. For example, if the community is highly Latino and of the Catholic faith, socially the majority of these citizens probably do not support PPH or more importantly a candidate who does [publicly] ;)
After the meeting we went back to Emily's office and both went to work looking in newspapers or online for different events coming up around the valley (i.e. concerts, art walks, festivals etc.) that could be potential sites to hold PPH information booths. We were able to come up with several ideas to hold PPH events here in the Phoenix area and the next activity will be this Thursday at "Thursday's on Mill". The city of Tempe hosts local music on the entire street of Mill and this is a perfect place for PPH to do what we call 'crowd canvass'. This is where 3 of us go out into the community and try and get signatures of Pro-choice people either for a petition of some kind pertaining to the upcoming elections or just to help people become aware of the laws here in AZ that are affecting reproductive rights.
At the end of the night we held a new volunteer orientation that Emily had put together an entire presentation for that introduced the newcomers to PPH's history and our mission plus other safety features. We then discussed the new event ideas that we had come up with earlier that day and asked for input from the other volunteers. After the orientation meeting I helped Emily clean up the snacks and drinks that we had set out, then we turned off the lights before we each went our separate ways for the night!
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