Interns

Our interns form the backbone of our program. In our selection process, we look for students who have:

A proven interest in equality and justice
A sensitivity to the power differential between those who volunteer in prison and those who are incarcerated
The nerve to advise and direct senior professors
The responsibility to abide by the strict regulations of a high security prison
Some familiarity with the criminal justice system

Interns are thoroughly trained in our embodied learning approach. Working closely with professors, they devise ways to connect philosophical questions to appropriate forms of embodied learning in every class. Thanks to the Marc Sanders Foundation, we are able to reward our interns with some financial assistance. Many of our interns have gone to law school or graduate school to work on issues concerning criminal justice and its reform.

Current Interns

Kylie Clark
Teaching Assistant at Just Ideas

Kylie is pursuing her Master's in Human Rights at Columbia University. Before coming to grad school, Kylie worked as a case manager for people experiencing homelessness, then went into policy and community organizing to advocate for changes related to incarceration, homelessness, housing, food insecurity, and more. She plans to use her degree to continue to fight for justice, especially related to homelessness and incarceration. During her free time, Kylie does the flying trapeze, cooks, reads, creates art, and hangs out with her cat Mr. Sunshine.

Gianna Campa
Teaching Assistant at Just Ideas

Gianna Campa is the Program Coordinator at Justice Ambassadors, teaching assistant at Just Ideas, and a senior at Columbia University studying Psychology and Human Rights. Gianna has focused her career in the fight against the mass incarceration system and its intersections with gender, race, and class. Her lived experience as a survivor of gender based violence coupled with her work mitigating the harm caused by mass incarceration informs her driving imperative to collaborate with diverse populations in constructing what restorative justice, especially those affected by gender based violence, looks like.

Claire Suzanne Helfman
Teaching Assistant at Just Ideas

Claire is currently earning her MA in Human Rights Studies at Columbia University's Institute for the Study of Human Rights. She earned her bachelor's degree in sociology and criminology at Hofstra University in 2023. She is passionate about socioeconomic rights and access to education.

Clémence Roy
Teaching Assistant at Just Ideas

Clémence is a rising senior in the dual-BA program between SciencesPo and Columbia University, and currently majors in Human Rights. She was born in France and raised in Hong Kong. She is passionate about international criminal law, philosophy, and psychoanalysis.

Laïssa Alexis
Teaching Assistant at Just Ideas

Laïssa is a current MA student in Human Rights Studies. She was born in Haiti and raised partly in New Jersey. She enjoys writing, food and always pencils time during her day to daydream.