Melissa Flambert and Tariana Munoz, NY League of Conservation Voters

In the final hour of today's workday, I made my way to the financial district to visit Melissa Flambert and Tariana Munoz at the New York League of Conservation Voters. Melissa has been a solid NYLCV intern since the program began in October, while Tariana just came on board last week. According to their mentor Joshua Kleinberg, Melissa has been consistently productive in all the tasks assigned to her. She provides a happy presence for an already friendly and focused office environment. Tariana's first task was to organize and file newspaper clippings that cover current NYLCV projects. This has given her an excellent opportunity to read up on the organization's work and gain a more complete contextual understanding. In general, the interns' work clearly supports the NYLCV's mission to educate, evaluate, endorse, and elect. The League has a unique niche as a behind-the-scenepoliticalal advocacy group without a large grassroots membership base. Part lobbyist, part research, and part publicity machine, the League seems to be extraordinarily successful in its efforts to influence the electoral and policy making process on behalf of the environment. As for the exact definition of the "environment" and what that actually means for citizens, we can only trust that what's good for the planet is indeed good for the people!