Brazil Air Quality Research Intern

Environmental Defense Fund; Washington; Hybrid; USD 21,000 - 34,000; Part time

Job summary

Environmental Defense Fund, Inc. invites a part-time spring 2027 internship to contribute to a national air quality initiative in Brazil.

The role focuses on reviewing materials, distilling insights, and producing audience-ready resources for decision makers and funders. The intern will gain skills in research synthesis, technical writing for varied audiences, and policy communication while working remotely with limited hours.

Qualifications

• Must be enrolled in SDSU and affiliated with the Center for Brazilian Studies.
• Demonstrated interest in environmental policy, public health, or environmental economics and finance.
• Coursework in environmental or public policy, international relations, public health, or environmental economics and finance.
• Familiarity with air quality or environmental governance and the Brazilian context is preferred.
• Ability to read and write in Portuguese; oral comprehension is a plus.
• Excellent written and oral communication skills.
• Must be well organized, motivated, and detail-oriented.
• Ability to multi-task, prioritize and meet deadlines.
• Ability to work in a team setting and independently when needed.
• Demonstrate self-awareness, cultural competency and inclusivity, and ability to work with colleagues from diverse backgrounds.
• Demonstrate initiative and problem solving skills.

Responsibilities

• Synthesize project documentation to identify key themes, findings, and lessons relevant to Brazil work.
• Draft and refine materials supporting next project phase.
• Translate best practices into audience-specific resources for decision makers, funders, and city staff.
• Assist in drafting policy briefs for submission to journals with senior staff.
• Participate in team meetings and contribute to project strategy discussions.
• Support EDF values and contribute to organizational culture goals.

Skills

Environmental policy

Public health

Research & writing

Project coordination

Portuguese reading/writing

Education

Enrollment at SDSU Center for Brazilian Studies

Coursework in environmental/public policy

Brazilian context familiarity

Job description

Location

U.S. Remote with option to be hybrid out of an EDF office in Austin, TX, Boston, MA, Boulder, CO, Raleigh, NC, San Francisco, CA, New York, NY or Washington, D.C. Intern supervisor works remotely in the east coast.

Term

Spring 2027

Hours

Part-time (10 hr/week)

Program/Department Overview

EDF's Global Clean Air team works at the city, regional, and global levels to cut harmful air pollution and climate super-pollutants like methane, ozone, and black carbon, delivering more equitable health outcomes. In Brazil, EDF is helping lead a national clean air overhaul by strengthening standards, modernizing monitoring, and aligning financing. Globally, EDF equips cities with tools like Air Tracker to identify pollution hotspots and deliver targeted solutions. In the U.S., EDF is vigorously defending clean air rules under attack and helping local leaders use local data to design interventions that reduce pollution and climate risks to protect community health.

Overall Function

The intern will contribute to EDF's work in advancing a national air quality initiative in Brazil by reviewing existing project documentation, reports, summaries, interviews, and workshop materials and translating those findings into practical materials for the project’s next phase and broader scaling efforts. This includes distilling best practices from EDF developed reports into audience-specific resources for decision makers, funders, and city staff, as well as drafting policy briefs suitable for publication in policy journals. By the end of the internship, the intern will have gained hands-on experience in research synthesis, technical writing for varied audiences, and policy communication, along with a deeper understanding of how project research translates into scalable, actionable policy. This role is well suited for someone with strong research and writing skills, an interest in environmental or public policy, and the ability to work independently on a remote, limited-hours basis.

Key Responsibilities

Tasks will include but are not limited to:

• Review and synthesize project documentation (reports, summaries, interview transcripts, and workshop materials) to identify key themes, findings, and lessons learned relevant to the Brazil work and its scaling strategy.
• Draft and refine materials that support the next phase of project implementation, incorporating feedback from the project team.
• Analyze best practices from developed reports and adapt them into clear, audience-specific resources tailored to decision makers, funders, and city staff.
• Assist in drafting policy briefs intended for submission to policy journals, working with senior staff to ensure accuracy and alignment with EDF and publication standards.
• Participate in team meetings and contribute to discussions on project strategy, gaining exposure to how research translates into policy and practice.
• Participate in advancing EDF's organizational effectiveness and culture goals, so people from all backgrounds and experiences feel connected, included, and empowered to address environmental and organizational challenges in ways that align with EDF values.

Qualifications

• Must be enrolled in San Diego State University and affiliated with the Center for Brazilian Studies.
• Demonstrated interest in in environmental policy, public health, or environmental economics and finance.
• Coursework in environmental or public policy, international relations, public health, or environmental economics and finance.
• Familiarity with air quality or environmental governance and the Brazilian context is preferred.
• Ability to read and write in Portuguese; oral comprehension is a plus.
• Excellent written and oral communication skills.
• Must be well organized, motivated, and detail-oriented.
• Ability to multi-task, prioritize and meet deadlines.
• Ability to work in a team setting and have the ability to work independently when projects are due.
• Demonstrate self-awareness, cultural competency and inclusivity, and ability to work with colleagues and stakeholders across all cultures and backgrounds.
• Demonstrate initiative and problem solving skills.

Compensation

This internship would involve compensation for work by SDSU's Center for Brazilian Studies.