GLI awakens girls to the full potential of their authentic selves. We work with girls, their families, and school communities through our camps, after-school programs and in-school resources.

Our programs give girls a personal foundation of assertive self-expression, emotional intelligence and conflict management skills for success in leadership and life.

About the GLI Summer Program
The GLI summer program is a residential camp for middle and high school girls held at Miss Halls School, Pittsfield, MA. GLI’s founder and director is Rachel Simmons, author of the New York Times bestseller Odd Girl Out: The Hidden Culture of Aggression in Girls. In summer 2008, GLI will host 100 participants in two consecutive two-week sessions.

Unlike traditional girls’ leadership programs, which teach girls “external” skills like public speaking or interviewing, GLI specializes in building the internal skills necessary for leadership. Cultural messages about femininity send girls mixed messages about personal strength: In a recent Girls Inc. study, 45% of girls said “girls are told not to brag about things they do well,” 52% said “girls were expected to speak softly and not cause trouble;” 84% said “girls were supposed to be kind and caring,” and 74% said girls “are under a lot of pressure to please everyone.” Twice as many girls than boys mentioned their physical appearance as the thing that they liked most about themselves. The GLI curriculum empowers girls to locate the impact of cultural messages on their individual and interpersonal habits, and to envision and practice alternatives.

Internship Position
GLI Interns join a staff of outstanding professionals who oversee the extraordinary GLI community. Three will be hired in three categories of specialty: physical fitness, operations support, and the arts (performing and/or visual). Two will serve as general Interns. Each position offers an extraordinary opportunity to observe, influence, and study girls’ psychology and development. Each Intern will:

• Create a safe and comfortable residential community. Interns live in single rooms on camper halls. They serve as “RA’s” and are available to the campers for informal gatherings, hall meetings, and general support.
• Manage camper logistics. Interns oversee wake up and lights out. They ensure campers arrive and depart from activities on schedule.
• Develop and oversee evening activities. Interns work in teams to create and supervise evening recreational activities for campers.
• Attend one two-hour workshop, four days a week. Workshops help Interns reinforce GLI themes in advisory groups and informal interactions with campers.
• Lead advisory groups four days a week. Every Intern will be trained to teach a curriculum to a small group of advisees. Interns meet in groups and individually with advisees, call each advisee’s parents once per camp session and write final evaluation paragraphs for advisees.
• Attend pre-camp training and post camp evaluation. Interns attend a two-day training and orientation at Miss Halls School immediately before the start of Session One. Staff depart one day after the last day of Session Two, following a debrief and evaluation.
• Write for the Camp Blog. Interns contribute posts to the GLI blog through photos and writing.
• Support senior staff. Interns support senior staff as needed. The fitness Intern will work closely with the senior Fitness Instructor and assist teaching fitness four days per week. The Operations Intern will work closely with the Director of Operations to manage the day-to-day needs of the camp, including assistance with shopping, mail, and the GLI store. The Arts Intern may assist in running morning games, designing craft-based evening activities, or developing visual arts projects for the workshop curriculum.

Qualifications
Candidates must be at least 18 years of age and have experience working with young people.

The ideal candidate will:

• Be passionate about girls’ empowerment and leadership
• Relate well with girls in grades 7-12
• Possess excellent communication skills
• Be responsible and self-motivated
• Work well with others as part of a team
• Be comfortable with professional observation and regular feedback
• Possess experience creating and executing activity or lesson plans for young people
• Approach problems creatively and proactively
• Excellent professional references are expected

Salary
$400/week for four weeks

Dates
June 22 – July 27, 2009

Applications
Applications will be reviewed and processed in the order received. Although the application deadline is March 1, 2009, hiring decisions may be made prior to this date. Applicants should send a cover letter and resume in Word or pdf format to simone@girlsleadership.org. The subject line of the email should include your full name and “Intern application.” Please call 410.878.2258 with any questions. To watch the GLI video, see photos from past summer as read testimonials please visit www.girlsleadership.org.