Cornerstone Government Affairs Policy Intern Experience

By Maya Rosenberg, Justice and Legal Thought

Throughout my time at CGA, I found that I was passionate about public health policy after watching a congressional hearing on the maternal mortality rate in this country. Public health policy encapsulates everything I’ve learned about in my time in the JLT program: an institutional system that is rife with structural inequalities that hasn’t changed with the times.

This semester, I interned at Cornerstone Government Affairs, a bi-partisian lobbying and public affairs firm in Washington, D.C. As a bipartisan firm, many of the people working at CGA have connections with both current and former Congress members from both parties. Many of the more senior members of the firm didn’t start their career in politics or policy, and instead worked their way into that space after a career in journalism, horticulture, communications and more. During my internship, I worked primarily on covering congressional hearings, conducting in-depth policy research and creating content for the firm’s internal COVID-19 newsletter. I worked alongside a team of six other interns, which was one of the highlights of my time at CGA. Working with my own team of peers (who came from UMD, Wake Forest, and GW) was a great way of working on my teamwork and delegation skills, as well as building relationships with people who were doing the same thing that I was. I was the youngest of the group, and the support I felt from both the other interns, associates and the whole CGA team made me feel comfortable to try new things and to even make mistakes despite being the baby of the group. Throughout my time at CGA, I found that I was passionate about public health policy after watching a congressional hearing on the maternal mortality rate in this country. Public health policy encapsulates everything I’ve learned about in my time in the JLT program: an institutional system that is rife with structural inequalities that hasn’t changed with the times. I also discovered I am really interested in American Indian policies as well as education and international affairs. It was such an eye opening professional experience, and really taught me how to be confident in asking for help, believe in myself and form connections throughout the workplace.