Role: Grand Rapids Public Transportation Intern
Role Goal: Advance equitable and sustainable transportation outcomes in Grand Rapids through research, coalition-building, and community engagement.
Location: Grand Rapids, Michigan
Timeframe: Applications due August 25th, 2025. Target start date is September 8, 2025.
Compensation: Hourly: $22/hr with 20 hours, 3 months early-September-mid-December

About Climate Cabinet

Climate Cabinet helps state and local candidates run, win, and legislate on climate change. State and local policymakers are key to tackling climate change – they drive progress regardless of who is in the White House. That’s why Climate Cabinet exists.

We are a dynamic, passionate, startup team of experienced climate experts with staff on-the-ground across the country and a remote-first workplace. Our team culture prioritizes: supporting each other as full people, striving for the highest standard of excellence in our work, respecting local knowledge, embracing technology and innovation, curiosity, and a continuous growth mindset.

Role Summary

Climate Cabinet is accepting applications for a part time Transportation Intern in Grand Rapids, Michigan. This new role will be focused on growing engagement, collaboration, and strategy building to improve public transit in the Greater Grand Rapids region.

In communities across the United States, people are eager for better public transit options. From more frequent and reliable bus service, to protected and connected bike lanes, to light rail, communities are eager for quality of life improvements that also can create jobs and increase customer spending with local businesses.

This role would build on years of siloed transit advocacy efforts and ideally create a longer term plan for improving transit in the region.

This is a 3-month internship. If you’re ready to grow public transportation in Greater Grand Rapids—let’s talk.

Key Responsibilities

• With the support and direction of Climate Cabinet’s Michigan State Lead, you will:
• Build out a local transit advocacy table that brings together community groups, advocates, businesses, and other stakeholders to coordinate around shared priorities for improving the Greater Grand Rapids Region’s public transportation system.
• Research and assess opportunities to expand and improve local transportation and bicycle infrastructure in Grand Rapids and the surrounding region, focusing on projects that strengthen mobility, equity, and climate resilience.
• Attend local transit agency meetings, city commission sessions, and community forums to track developments, share information with partners, and ensure that community needs are reflected in decision-making.
• Develop and maintain relationships with local agencies, key city and county departments, and elected officials to foster collaboration and advance aligned transportation goals.
• Research and engage Grand Rapids’ transit community, including riders, advocacy organizations, and stakeholders, on local and state budget processes to identify opportunities for influence, protect transit funding, and advocate for increased investment in sustainable transportation.

• To achieve these goals, you will:
• Serve as a connector between state-level transit advocacy and local priorities in Grand Rapids, ensuring both are mutually reinforcing.
• Keep the Climate Cabinet team and the Michigan state lead updated with regular reports on opportunities, challenges, and wins, helping shape our broader strategy for equitable transportation policy.

Skills and Experience

The ideal candidate is detail-oriented and ready to jump into ongoing coalition work in Grand Rapids and help turn bold transportation and mobility goals into tangible outcomes. You are excited to dig deep into budgets, infrastructure plans, and community needs, and then bring those insights into coalition spaces. This internship is perfect for someone who thrives at connecting the dots between research and real-world change and builds relationships with intention.

Required:

• Experienced researcher with a knack for turning questions into actionable insights. You have spent time digging deep, whether in academic settings, policy shops, or advocacy campaigns, and know how to separate the signal from the noise. You thrive on finding credible sources, synthesizing complex information, and distilling it into clear, usable takeaways that move projects forward.
• Proven project coordinator who keeps complex work moving smoothly. With at least a year of managing or coordinating projects, you know how to balance moving pieces, keep stakeholders aligned, and adapt when priorities shift. You’re equally comfortable mapping timelines, tracking deliverables, and jumping in to solve problems before they become roadblocks.
• Grounded in how government works and how to work with it. You bring an understanding of municipal or state government, whether from coursework, advocacy, community organizing, or direct experience inside a public agency. You can read between the lines of policy proposals, understand the constraints decision makers face, and know how to navigate processes to get things done.
• Familiar with the world of public transit and active commuting. You understand the role buses, trains, bike lanes, and walkable streets play in building healthy, connected, and sustainable communities. Whether through personal experience, research, or professional work, you can speak to the challenges and opportunities in making these systems equitable and accessible for all.

Location: Remote based in Grand Rapids, Michigan.

Compensation

• $22 per hour, commensurate with experience. This internship is part-time at approximately 20 hours per week for three months, running from early September through mid-December.

Application Process

We are accepting applications via Greenhouse on a rolling basis through August 25, 2025. Include a resume, LinkedIn page, and answers to our application questions:

• Why do you want to work at Climate Cabinet and in this role? (200 words max)
• What is the most pressing challenge facing public transportation in the Grand Rapids region, and what will it take to address it? (200 words max)
• Describe your experience conducting research and turning it into actionable recommendations. (200 words max)
• Do you live in or near Grand Rapids, MI?
• Do you have experience engaging with local or state government agencies, elected officials, or advocacy coalitions?

All applications submitted by that date will be reviewed and candidates will receive updates on their candidacy no later than August 25, 2025. The interview process will include one Zoom interview with staff, including the Michigan State Lead and reference checks.

Target start date is September 8, 2025.

You should apply! We encourage applications from people of color, members of the LGBTQ community, women, first-gen and low-income people, and members of marginalized communities.

Climate Cabinet is an equal opportunity employer. Climate Cabinet believes every employee has the right to work in an environment free from unlawful discrimination. Consistent with applicable federal, state and local laws, Climate Cabinet provides all employees and applicants with equal opportunity in all aspects of the employment relationship. This includes employment decisions related to hiring, promotions, transfers, disciplinary action, termination, and training. Climate Cabinet will comply with all applicable laws prohibiting discrimination in employment.

Want to learn more about Climate Cabinet? Check out our recent interview on Volts and climatecabinet.org