Seminar: Summer Internship (2009)
Occupation: Wyss Fellow, Western Conservation Foundation
Education: Graduate Gateway Program in Applied Politics at American University; BA, Political Science and Environmental Studies, Allegheny College
Brittany Wynn Daniels is a twenty three year old with her environmentally protected ducks in a row. She knows the intricacies of the Hill like the back of her hand and speaks the D.C. lexicon of federal agencies, congressional committees, and lobbying firms without an accent. However, rather than always aspiring to a career in politics, Brittany identifies her PLEN internship experience as the turning point in her life that sparked not only her desire to pursue a career influencing federal policies but also gave her the skills and network to make attaining that type of career within her reach.
PLEN assisted Brittany, a college freshman at the time, in acquiring a summer internship with the Defenders of Wildlife (DOW) in 2009; throughout the summer Brittany interned at DOW four days a week and one day a week would attend PLEN special programming, which included field trips and seminars on professional development such as resume building, cover letter writing, and networking. “My PLEN experience made me realize that this [working in politics in DC] would be best for me at this stage in my career.”
After her PLEN experience, Brittany went back to her college in New York with a newfound focus and direction. She returned to D.C. multiple times throughout the trajectory of her undergrad experience to work for the EPA and further her knowledge of the federal government’s environmental policies. Upon finishing college, Brittany moved to D.C. and immediately got involved in environmental politics working first for the Southern Utah Wilderness Alliance as a policy intern and then interning on the Hill for U.S. Representative Ron Barber. She currently helps manage the activities and operations of the National Alliance of Forest Owners (NAFO) and the NAFO PAC.
Brittany was delighted when PLEN approached to her to speak at the 2014 Women in Public Policy seminar. “If I can help someone the way PLEN helped me, that will make everything I have done and will do worth it.”
2015 • updated 2017