WASHINGTON – The Gay & Lesbian Victory Institute named Yanelis Martinez to the summer class of Victory Congressional Interns. This competitive program places LGBTQ college students in a semester long internship with an LGBTQ or LGBTQ friendly member of Congress in their Washington, D.C. office. Martinez was one of eight individuals selected, from a pool of over 100 applicants. During the internship Martinez will be working in Arizona Rep. Raúl Grijalva’s office as part of the 2015 class of Victory Congressional Interns.
“Victory congratulates this year’s class of exceptional young LGBTQ leaders,” said Aisha Moodie-Mills, president and CEO of the Victory Fund and Institute. “The Victory Congressional Internship is a crucial part of the Victory Institute’s mission – to build and support a network of LGBTQ leaders. I look forward to the role that these eight young people will play in expanding LGBTQ representation.”
Martinez is a junior at the State University of New York at Albany, where she studies Political Science, Latin America & Caribbean Studies, and LGBTQ* Studies. On campus, Martinez serves as the Associate Director for the Student Association’s Gender and Sexuality Concerns Department and as a staff assistant in the Office of Diversity and Inclusion. She is also the President for Shades of Unified Liberation, the queer person of color organization on campus and the founder and Vice President of the student group Unity Amongst Cultures.
Each semester, the Victory Congressional Internship develops the next generation of out public leaders by bringing outstanding LGBTQ college students to the nation’s capital to participate in an intensive program which includes firsthand experience working for a member of U.S. Congress, educational and leadership skills trainings, and a mentorship program. In November, the students will attend the Victory Institute’s annual international conference in Las Vegas.