Internships

Develop your professional skills and gain valuable work experience at North River Commission with a hands-on, high-impact, and high-responsibility internship. Our internships are ideal opportunities for ambitious and motivated individuals seeking cross-disciplinary development experience.

North River Commission is the nonprofit community and economic development organization for the Northwest Side of Chicago. Our mission is to improve the quality of life in our community by developing affordable housing, quality education, environmental sustainability, open spaces, arts & cultural endeavors, and thriving neighborhood businesses.

Interns at the high school, undergraduate, and graduate levels are welcome to serve in any of our departments, with responsibilities increasing with each level.

We accept interns year-round, with 2- 5 interns at a time. Typically, internships are organized by semester or project.

  1. Semester interns (Spring, Summer, Fall) can serve for one or more semesters and will agree on a weekly work schedule with their staff lead.
  2. Project interns will establish a plan including duration and deliverables with the lead staff for that project.
Intern Wasam using spray chalk to add neighborhood identifiers to Irving Park.
Intern Wasam creates neighborhood identifiers with spray-chalk.
Intern Caelin working the check-in table for Flavors of Albany Park.
Intern Caelin working the check-in table for Flavors of Albany Park, the largest restaurant crawl in Chicago.

Internships Available

Affordable Housing
  • update apartment vacancy database and research affordable housing programs
  • outreach to landlords to inform them of programs that support affordable units
  • Staff and tenant relations at low-income senior housing,  Mayfair Commons
Arts & Culture
  • catalog public art for submission to the Chicago mural registry
  • conduct outreach to local arts organizations, artists, and teachers
  • assist organizer to plan and help run fun, local cultural events
Communications

Media Relations

  • assist in crafting NRC's story of community work 
  • acquire media coverage for our stories
  • strategize on how to best utilize communication tools

Social Media

  • publish regularly to the website, Instagram, Facebook, and Tik Tok 
  • build out and maintain the NRC website on NeonCRM
  • strategize on how to best utilize social media and craft our story

Video Storytelling

  • produce video stories about NRC's impact on the community 
  • strategize on how best to utilize video stories for different audiences and purposes
Community Planning
  • assist Executive Director with all aspects of community engagement
  • strategize meetings on various areas of impact
  • conduct visioning and planning with staff, volunteers, and community stakeholders
Economic Development
  • assist with consultations with business owners regarding growth and areas of need 
  • research development projects and conduct outreach to elected officials, city departments, and developers
  • catalog retail rental availability and rates
Education
  • assist Education Coordinator in supporting youth council
  • assist Education Committee with the promotion of neighborhood schools 
  • conduct outreach to Local School Councils and "Friends Of" groups at schools in North River Commission's service area to assess school needs
  • attend Local School Council and/or "Friends Of" meetings as a North River Commission representative and update the Education team with key meeting discussion points and brainstorm initiatives based on school needs
  • connect with community members and stakeholders to explore parks and environmental issues and opportunities
  • research ongoing and upcoming environmental initiatives that overlap with NRC’s mission and service area and help secure grant funding
  • assist with facilitating local volunteer stewardship and recreation opportunities

Requirements

Hours per week
  • Summer Semester: 16 hours/week minimum, 7 weeks or more
  • Spring and Fall Semesters: 8 hours/week minimum, 10 weeks or more per semester
  • Project-based internships: 8 hours/week minimum, 4 weeks or more
Education
  • Interns may be current high school, undergraduate, or graduate students
  • Recent graduates will be considered

 

Selection Process

North River Commission partners with area colleges and high schools, as well as internship programs. Unaffiliated individuals can contact us directly, starting with the Internship Interest form. Click here. You will be asked to provide a resume and basic contact information. A staff member will contact you.

Project internships will be posted with an application deadline.

Selections of semester internships are made on a rolling basis until internships are filled. We recommend the following dates as guides. We encourage you to reach out if you are interested, even if the date below has passed.

  • Summer: contact us between February 1st and April 1st
  • Fall: contact us before August 15th
  • Spring: contact us before November 15th