Future Leaders Project
As Southwest Washington grows, so does the need to have people in leadership positions that reflect the growing diversity of our community.
The Future Leaders Project (FLP) is an initiative of Workforce Southwest Washington (WSW), Columbia River Economic Development Council (CREDC), and Washington State University Vancouver (WSU Vancouver) that aims to cultivate diverse leaders for our growing community. FLP places WSU Vancouver students from communities that have experienced longstanding inequities and exclusion and first-generation college students in employer sponsored summer internships, providing many benefits to both the student interns and their host companies.
Hosting Future Leaders Interns can provide your company with:
- New ideas and fresh perspective, as interns bring enthusiasm and diverse points of view.
- Much needed support for projects that employees might otherwise not have the time to complete.
- Proven, cost-effective way to recruit and evaluate potential permanent employees.
- Opportunities for staff to gain supervisory skills through mentoring and managing interns.
- Effective public relations ambassadors, as interns often help increase visibility of their host organization on campus and with their peers and family members.
- Opportunities to promote community involvement and demonstrate your organization’s commitment to workforce development – an excellent public relations tool!
“Interns bring in youthful energy, new ideas, fresh ways of thinking and challenge the status quo immediately in your business.” – Lisa Keohokalole Schauer, PointNorth Consulting
While recruiting and hiring can sometimes feel like a big undertaking, we are here to help lighten the load.
As the talent recruiting partners, the FLP Team agree to:
- Recruit from a pool of diverse, talented WSU Vancouver juniors and seniors.
- Facilitate a pre-screening and matching process to present qualified finalists for the final round of interviews.
- Convene employer company partners and Future Leaders Interns and provide complementary networking and professional development programming.
- Conduct a post-internship evaluation with both employer partners and Future Leaders Interns.
- Publicly represent the partnership between the partners and companies participating in FLP.
“Future Leaders Interns bring the best and brightest to our community organizations with a diversity of backgrounds and impact areas. We, as a community, benefit from the strength and impact of the FLP Internship Program.” – Marlene Ashworth, Clark County Food Bank
Hear what employers of Future Leaders Interns have to say about the program!
Each company hosting Future Leaders Interns is asked to:
- Provide an employer paid internship placement of at least 200 hours per Future Leaders Intern to be completed during the summer months.
- Pay each Future Leaders Intern a minimum of $19 per hour.
- Provide a point person or intern manager to work with the Future Leaders Project.
- Provide opportunities for each Future Leaders Intern to receive mentoring from one or more executive team members.
- Provide meaningful opportunities for the intern to observe and participate in real-world business operations across your organization, including, but not limited to, project work, staff meetings, board/leadership interaction, strategic planning, finance, etc.
- Submit a position description for each internship position that provides a brief overview of the company and notes position title; primary responsibilities; knowledge, skills, and abilities required to succeed in the role; internship duration; compensation; location and other relevant logistics.
- Ensure a safe, supportive, and accessible working environment for Future Leaders Interns – one that is free from harassment and discriminatory treatment.
- Complete a post-internship evaluation and remain engaged with the Future Leaders Project after the completion of internship.
- Provide current company logo and company/culture description/any relevant statistics for use in recruiting.
Companies who are considering hosting Future Leaders Interns are encouraged to review the Future Leaders Project Employer Guide and consider the timeline below.
Project Timeline
- October – January: FLP Team actively recruits company partners to host Future Leaders Interns during the upcoming summer.
- January – March: FLP Team actively recruits prospective Future Leaders Interns.
- April: Prospective interns complete screening interviews with members of the FLP Team before advancing to final round interviews with company partners.
- Early May: FLP Team works with company partners to finalize Future Leader Intern placements for summer.
- Late May – Mid-August: Future Leaders Interns complete a minimum of a 200-hour internship.
- September: FLP Team hosts an End-of-Summer Celebration to celebrate and recognize Future Leaders Interns and company partners.
Past Future Leaders Project host sites
- Columbia River Economic Development Council
- PointNorth Inc.
- Workforce Southwest Washington
- Columbia Bank
- Columbia River Economic Development Council
- Edgefi
- PointNorth Inc.
- TwinStar Credit Union
- Workforce Southwest Washington
- Bridgeview Resource Center
- Columbia Bank
- Columbia River Economic Development Council
- Greater Portland Inc.
- High Tech Council
- Identity Clark County
- Port of Vancouver USA
- Workforce Southwest Washington
- Clark County Food Bank
- Columbia River Economic Development Council
- Edgefi
- Fourth Plain Forward
- Greater Portland Inc.
- Pacific Power Group
- Partners in Careers
- Point North Inc.
- Port of Vancouver USA
- TwinStar Credit Union
- Verdant Web Technologies
- YWCA Clark County
- Association of Science Communicators
- Building Futures Foundation
- City of Vancouver, Economic Prosperity & Housing Department
- Clark County Food Bank
- Columbia River Economic Development Council
- C-TRAN
- Edgefi
- Educational Opportunities for Children and Families
- Fourth Plain Forward
- Greater Portland Inc.
- Greater Vancouver Chamber
- Hello Life Eating Disorder Recovery Services
- Molecular Testing Labs
- Nut-Tritious Foods
- Partners in Careers
- PointNorth Inc.
- Port of Vancouver USA
- Southwest Washington Contractors Association
- United Grain
The PY24 Future Leaders is supported by $206,682 (65% of total) U.S. Department of Labor, Employment and Training Administration federal funding and $109,947 (35% of total) non-federal funding from the J.P. Morgan Chase Foundation.
