Federal Relations Intern

Who We Are:

Trust for Public Land (TPL) is the leader of a movement to connect everyone in America to the outdoors. A national nonprofit, TPL partners with communities to create high-quality parks and protect public lands—especially in communities that need them most—to improve public health, create social cohesion, strengthen historic and cultural connection to place, and increase climate resilience. Since 1972, TPL has protected more than 4 million acres of public land, created more than 5,500 parks, trails, schoolyards, and iconic outdoor places, generated over $112 billion in public funding for parks and public lands, and connected nearly 10 million people to the outdoors. To learn more, visit tpl.org.

Position Summary:

The Federal Relations team at Trust for Public Land (TPL) is seeking two highly motivated undergraduate students, graduate students, or recent graduates for a Fall 2026/Spring 2027 internship. Our team is dedicated to TPL’s mission to create parks and protect land for people. We are responsible for TPL’s federal policy strategy and advocacy, including appropriating federal funds for conservation programs, ensuring equitable outdoor access, protecting public lands, and increasing opportunities for outdoor recreation.

The Federal Relations Interns will fill a distinct role on our team, while sustaining ample opportunities to collaborate. The Intern will work on our federal portfolio including, but not limited to trails, tribal lands, Black history and culture, landscape protection, community schoolyards, and federal grants. Both positions will also include assorted administrative, clerical, and programmatic tasks. These duties will be in support of staff’s lobbying activities on Capitol Hill and our federal grant management.

Essential Functions:

• Support the implementation of our national campaign to increase funding for local parks and schoolyards across the country
• Research Trust for Public Land initiative areas including federal schoolyards and urban park legislation, tracking support and opportunities to engage members of Congress
• Research and track federal grant and funding programs focused on increasing equitable access to the outdoors
• Conduct research and prepare blogs, advocacy letters, fact sheets, internal communications, and press releases related to schoolyards and park equity
• Track outreach and communication to members of Congress
• Attend lobby meetings, coalition meetings, federal agency webinars, etc.
• Participate in regular team and organizational meetings
• Perform general administrative duties in support of assigned project work
  
  

Qualifications:

• Strong commitment to TPL’s shared values (Belonging, Creativity, Collaboration, Impact, and Hope) to effectively work across the organization.
• At least 6 months experience in an internship position required. Policy, government, or environmental experience strongly preferred
• Demonstrated desire to learn about our work
• Excellent oral and written communication skills
• Detail oriented and organized
• Self-motivated, passionate, and professional
• Must be a team player; ability to work both independently and in a collaborative environment
• Willingness to adapt and remain flexible as projects and priorities change
• Basic computer skills and working knowledge of Microsoft Office programs
  
  

Compensation:

This is a paid internship at $19/hour.

Applicants must be able to work 20-30 hours per week. The Internship runs for one academic calendar year, from September 1, 2026 through May 31, 2027.

Trust for Public Land’s active goal is to be an inclusive and equitable place to work and build community. As the organization actively works to eliminate racial and other disparities, it welcomes candidates with diverse backgrounds and/or multicultural skillsets. We are open to the possibility that a great candidate for this job may not precisely meet all the above criteria; if you believe you are the right person for this job and can persuasively make that case, we encourage you to apply.