My name is Carlie Cintrón and I am a senior studying Sociology and Social Policy & Practice with a minor in Gender & Sexuality Studies. This spring, I was very lucky to continue my work with Planned Parenthood Gulf Coast as the Nonprofit Management Intern through the Reproductive Rights, Health, and Justice Internship. I was drawn to this position and work because of my goal of starting or leading a non-profit one day. The fight for reproductive health, specifically in Louisiana, is a cause that I am extremely passionate about. Growing up as a low-income, Hispanic female in Southern Louisiana gave me the drive to stay close to home and be involved in the amazing work surrounding reproductive health constantly being done here in New Orleans. This internship combines my interests and background and gives me meaningful experiences and information that have and will continue to help me grow intellectually and personally.
This semester, I focused more on volunteer outreach and management. This is a vital aspect of the management of non-profits, as the efforts of volunteers help to enhance and spread the organization’s mission. PPGC’s volunteers include general public volunteers, Community Health Ambassadors (CHA), interns, service learners, and participants in certain programs. I worked on establishing communication with most of these groups, ensuring they were actively engaged. As a certified Community Health Ambassador who does weekly sex education sessions with high schoolers, I assisted in training new CHAs. Throughout the semester, I have been consistently reaching out to them with updates and opportunities for them to fulfill their required monthly hours. Additionally, I received training to become familiar with the PPGC databases used to track and contact volunteers. I used these to gather participation from individuals in community tabling events.
Over the past few months, I have served as the President of Planned Parenthood Generation Action. Along with other PPGC interns, we hosted meetings and tabled on campus to connect with the Tulane community. For Sex Week, we participated with three events focused on education around sexual and reproductive health, providing safe sex supplies, and sharing information about resources at the New Orleans PPGC Health Center. We also got students to become involved off-campus by attending a New Volunteer Orientation and becoming approved volunteers with PPGC. PPGen ended the semester with a Legislative Session 101 meeting, as Louisiana recently entered the 2025 legislative session. Now, we are in the process of electing new executive board members for the next school year.
I have learned a lot over the past year and a half about how a nonprofit is run and the multiple parts of it that make it successful, including annual events, donor outreach, and community organizing. I have learned from each department and gained an understanding of the work they do that contributes to the overall fight for reproductive justice in Louisiana. With this knowledge, I have been able to grow professionally and accumulate new insights into the nonprofit space. I will use this progress as a way of advocating and educating the people in my community and beyond. I am looking forward to continuing my work with PPGC post-graduation as the New Orleans Community Organizer. I am grateful for the new skills and wisdom that will assist in the development of my career with this organization.
