Internships at the National Center on Sexual Exploitation provide energetic and highly motivated individuals the opportunity to address issues of sexual abuse and exploitation through meaningful projects. Our internship program aims to foster a national culture that stands for freedom from sexual exploitation.
Sexual Justice Advocate Interns also enjoy abundant opportunities to meet nationally recognized leaders in the field of anti-sexual exploitation and attend education briefings.
Meet our Fall 2021 interns and fellows!
Samantha Baker, Legal Intern
“In 2012 I worked at a nonprofit with a mission to abolish modern-day slavery. I was an abolitionist for the movement but also naïve about how change could come about. I wrote a blog post titled “The John’s” (using now-outdated terminology) and was enraged that the community wasn’t addressing what seemed obvious to me – that no business could survive without supply and demand, and yet the sex trafficking and prostitution that upheld modern-day slavery continued to be one of the fastest growing criminal industries in the world. I didn’t see real change happening and I felt defeated. I continued my career hosting fundraising events for national nonprofits and doing good in the world in a way I knew how, but never forgetting the deep passion I had for dismantling the sex trafficking industry and supporting the survivors in the movement.
NCOSE is at the cutting edge of this work today, creating real change with policy activism and ground-breaking lawsuits which hold companies and governments accountable for their complicit behavior in prostitution, pornography, and sex trafficking. NCOSE supports policy change that would protect those in prostitution and hold profiteers accountable, not policies that protect the commercial sex trade industry.
This is the current abolitionist movement, and I am honored to be a part of it. As a second-year law student at Willamette University, I am eager to learn from the incredible attorneys at the Law Center and work on pioneering lawsuits; taking on Nevada’s system of legalized prostitution and holding companies like Pornhub, MindGeek, and Twitter accountable for abuse and exploitation. As a Legal Intern almost ten years later, I look forward to being an active abolitionist again and am eager to learn how law and policy can create real, impactful change in this industry.”
Summer Crockett, Legal Fellow
“Having just graduated law school, I am excited to be working with NCOSE’s legal team on their current litigation against many corporations who have been long suspected of supporting human trafficking through their platforms via pornography and other means. I was drawn to NCOSE because of their abolitionist goals. The many opportunities to help people through the law is one of the things I look most forward to being able to do with NCOSE.
My hope is that while I am here at NCOSE I will be able to be on the front lines of precedent setting cases that will help positively influence the movement of liberation for women and children from all forms of sex slavery and trafficking. NCOSE has inspired me to be a more involved citizen, and I look forward to working with them.”
Gabrielle Gibson, Graphic Design Intern
“I am a Graphic Design major at Virginia State University. I am from Alexandria, VA and I enjoy movies and other entertainment. My favorite type of designing is poster and character design; I love recreating movie posters from my favorite films like Coraline, X-men, and the Harry Potter franchise. I plan on working in the film industry in my career future.
I chose NCOSE because of the message they are trying to send. Sexual exploitation is not an easy topic to talk about and most people do not know about the many harms it can cause. I want to learn more about it so I can help others learn too.”
Walker Jensen, Legal Intern
“I am a 3L at the Sandra Day O’Connor College of Law and a legal intern with NCOSE this fall. This semester, I am looking forward to meeting the members of the NCOSE legal team and everyone associated with NCOSE in whole and in part. I am looking forward to helping the legal team conduct research and produce documentation that will ultimately assist individuals that have been and currently are victims of sexual exploitation in all of its forms.
I joined NCOSE because I know how harmful pornography is to those that view it and I also want to help put an end to prostitution and sex-trafficking. While these goals are ambitious, the hope that I have is that I can contribute in a meaningful way in my role as a legal intern with NCOSE this fall.”
Ariana Joseph, Communications Intern
“I’m honored to spend the next 12 weeks working with NCOSE. I’m looking forward to working with some of the brightest minds in the industry while better educating myself on the topic. NCOSE’s mission and values are a cause I can proudly stand behind. I hope to make a difference and be part of ending sexual exploitation.”
Kathryn Latona, Public Policy Intern
“The United States judicial system is one of the world’s most complex yet respected branches of our government. Statutes and laws often vary between the federal and state levels. However, each set of policies all have one thing in common—protecting the rights of every American citizen and their safety from the dangers of human trafficking, pornography, and child sexual abuse. It is my desire to vigorously learn from the National Center on Sexual Exploitation to put forth the highest quality of intern. The National Center on Sexual Exploitation is one of our nation’s most respected nonprofit organizations and its primary objective is to keep the American people safe from the dangers of pornography, prostitution, and a variety of related topics.
In addition to the above, combating human trafficking is an area that I have had great interest, as it is undeniably an epidemic. Many victims are young women, often from broken homes, and who, in large numbers, suffer addiction issues. Many victims are also runaways and/or have a history of juvenile delinquency, which historically leads to low self-esteem and a cycle of poverty. Only recently has our government acknowledged the serious nature of this issue, and has only begun to bring it to the forefront of public discussion and it is my personal and professional goal to see it through. In the United States there is legislation and policies that protect those who are victims of human trafficking, but these laws are very broad which can make it difficult to prosecute a trafficker. Though our judicial system is beginning to recognize that the victims need services to help them process their experiences, the services are lacking. It is my hope to assist these victims to obtain desperately needed services that they may have been denied most of their life. A second area of interest is to one day be involved in sting operations to assist law enforcement in catching and arresting human trafficking perpetrators. An arduous battle is ahead of us but it is certainly a battle worth fighting.”
Rachel Millison, Executive Support Intern
“NCOSE has provided a dynamic and hands-on space for public health students like myself to understand the inner workings of a global issue that continues to endanger the lives of people of all ages. As an advocate for the mental and sexual health of women, I have always been interested in advocacy work that promotes women’s safety and autonomy. While interning for NCOSE, I look forward to supporting new and existing projects that help expose child pornography and human trafficking. Some movements and departments I am looking forward to making contributions in are the 2022 Dirty Dozen List, the International Centre on Sexual Exploitation, and demand-related campaigns. My goal in participating in these initiatives is to provide myself and others with an understanding on how to raise awareness against corporations who have a hand in perpetuating the systemic abuse of women. The tools utilized in these macro-level campaigns will directly contribute to ongoing human rights movements. In addition, I am looking forward to highlighting the importance of mental health awareness and support networks for victims of sexual exploitation. I hope to leave a lasting mark by being a force of positive change to help end sexual exploitation in all forms.”
Cristina Valianatos, Research Intern
“During my internship with NCOSE, I look forward to getting familiar with the inner workings of the organization and gaining exposure to the strategies used to combat sexual abuse and exploitation and hold perpetrators accountable. Additionally, I am looking forward to becoming more educated on the various different forms of sexual abuse and exploitation, their relationships with one another, and the impact they have on affected individuals both physically and mentally. While working with the Research Institute, I hope to become an expert on these topics. I also intend to hone my research skills and more specifically, become more effective at analyzing and evaluating data. I am here at NCOSE because I share a deep interest in the anti-trafficking and anti-sexual exploitation field. I wanted the opportunity to be able to apply my research skills to a social issue that I find incredibly important and one that I believe does not get as much attention as it should. Most importantly though, I wanted to be part of an organization that helps make a difference in the lives of those who have been personally affected by sexual abuse and exploitation and one that holds responsible those who perpetuate the issue and play an active role in its systems.”
Spring 2022 Internships
Want to join our team of talented interns? Apply today for Spring 2022. Application requires cover letter, résumé, two letters of reference, unofficial transcript, and writing sample.
Don’t hesitate! Apply for a Sexual Justice Advocate internship position today to change your life and change the world.
