Career Paths & Internships
Gender Studies alumni/ae are encouraged to send news from their lives and careers to appear on the Program's website and in the newsletter. Please email updates, including your year of graduation and/or your graduate program, to gender@northwestern.edu.
To connect with other Gender & Sexuality Studies alumni please join our LinkedIn group.
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Alumni Spotlight
Naliaka Wakhisi, Class of 2007
B.A. Performance Studies, B.A. Gender Studies
Project Ready Youth Facilitator, Project Reach Youth (PRY), New York City, NY
Careers in Gender & Sexuality Studies
Students majoring or minoring in Gender and Sexuality Studies have gone on to rewarding careers in law, medicine, education, journalism, business, advocacy work, and the arts. Many of our students have won prestigious Coro Fellowships in Public Affairs, secured teaching placements through the Teach for America program, or gone onto graduate school, law school, or medical school upon completing their B.A. at Northwestern.
Field Studies in Social Justice
We are pleased to announce that the Gender and Sexuality Studies Program has partnered with the Chicago Field Studies Program to offer “Field Studies in Social Justice” in Winter 2014 for students interested in pursuing careers that focus on issues of gender and sexuality.
Chicago Field Studies merges academic study and career exploration by pairing a seminar class with an internship placement at an advocacy, public policy, non-profit, or social justice organization. Once accepted into the program, students receive individual career advising to help them identify and apply for internships that match their career interests.
The course, taught on the Evanston campus, connects academic theory to the advocacy, public policy, outreach and education work being done at Chicago-area organizations committed to social justice around issues of gender and sexuality and counts as one credit toward the Gender and Sexuality Studies major or minor.
Host Organizations
Organizations that have or would like to host interns include:
- Center for International Human Rights
- Center on Halsted
- Chicago Abortion Fund
- Chicago Foundation for Women
- Chicago Women's Health Center
- Chicago Women's AIDS Project
- Equality Illinois
- Howard Brown Health Center
- Illinois Caucus for Adolescent Health
- IMPACT LGBT Health and Development Program
- Lambda Legal
- National Immigrant Justice Center, Asylum Project
- OneGoal
- Planned Parenthood of Illinois
- Project Nia
- Upwardly Global
- Women's Global Education Project
Find out more information on the Chicago Field Studies website.
Careers of Gender and Sexuality Studies graduates include the following:
Business and Industry
- Account Executive, Mean Communications
- Account Manager, QuickSchools, Inc.
- Business Development Representative, NetSuite
- CEO, Ludgood Online Marketing Services
- CEO/Co-Founder, Preemadonna
- Community Manager, Change.org
- Director of Advisory Services, VML
- Director of Strategic Alliances and Foundation Relations, American Marketing Association
- Events Manager, Canvas Chicago
- Executive Assistant, Bridgewater Associates
- Executive Communications Manager, EMC
- HR Operations Manager, Morningstar
- Integration Coordinator, ADP
- Manager - Brand Innovation, Constellation Brands
- Management Coordinator, Bridgewater Associates
- Marketing Manager, Uber
- Merchandise Manager, Abercrombie & Fitch
- National Regional Director, Enroll America
- Operations Manager, Core-apps
- Owner, Pivot Boutique
- Product Manager, BMO Harris
- Production Manager, Meez Meals
- Relationship Manager - Search and Staffing, LinkedIn
- Research Associate, Slayton Search Partners
- Sales Strategy Analyst, PepsiCo
- Senior Analyst, 360i
- Senior Marketing and Communications Associate, SmithBucklin
- Senior Research Analyst, Ipsos
- Senior Strategist, The Culinary Edge
- Senior Strategy Consultant, Accenture
- Social Media Manager, Perfect Search Media
- Strategic Relationship Manager, LinkedIn
- User Support Specialist, Northwestern University
Healthcare
- Care Navigator, The Institute for Family Health
- Fellow Resident, Highland Hospital
- Global Health Program Assistant, Northwestern University
- M.D. Student, Cooper Medical School of Rowan University
- M.D. Student, Feinberg College of Medicine, Northwestern University
- M.D. Student, Tulane University School of Medicine
- M.D. Student, The University of West Indies, Mona
- M.S. Counseling Psychology Student, Northwestern University
- Mental Health Therapist, Seattle Counseling Service
- Neuropsychology Intern, Lindner Center of HOPE
- Outpatient Therapist, John F. Kennedy Behavioral Health Center
- Pediatric Social Worker, North Shore Pediatric Therapy
- Ph.D. Student, Clinical Psychology, Northwestern University
- Psychotherapist, Ginkgo Tree Counseling
- Research Project Coordinator, Neurodevelopmental Disabilities Lab, Northwestern University
- Resident, Illinois Eye and Ear Infirmary
- Resource Advocate, Broadway Youth Center
- Sexual Violence Prevention Educator, Northwestern University
- Visiting Research Specialist, University of Illinois at Chicago College of Nursing
- Wellness Educator, Bubble Eats
Human Services
- Client Social Work Intern, ServiceNet
- Crisis Line Shift Supervisor, YWCA
- M.S. School Counseling Student, Loyola University Chicago
- Therapist, Center for Growth
Education
- Achievement Director, Milwaukee Academy of Science
- Attendance Coordinator, Chicago Public Schools
- Associate Director, South Asia Center at University of Pennsylvania
- Assistant Professor in Anthropology, UC Merced
- Communications Manager - Marketing, TNTP
- Corp Member - Richmond, CA, Teach for America
- Curriculum Engineer, Codeacademy
- Lead Curriculum Developer, Grand Canyon University
- NYC Recruitment Team Member, SAGA Innovations
- Paraprofessional Worker, Clarksville School District
- Ph.D. Student - Comparative Studies, University of Minnesota
- Ph.D. Student - Comparative Studies, Yale University
- Ph.D. Student - Philosophy, University of Michigan
- Professor, Universidad San Francisco de Quito
- Public Policy Analyst, NASPA - Student Affairs Administrators in Higher Education
- Reading Intervention Specialist, Young Scholars Douglass Elementary School
- Research Information Specialist, University of Illinois at Chicago
- Senior Manager - Educator Professional Learning, Denver Public Schools
- Teacher, KIPP DC
Writing
- Associate Editor, Science of Us, The Atlantic
- Associate Editor - Digital Innovation, Refinery29, inc.
- Associate Entertainment Editor - Teen Vogue
- Communications Associate, National Council of Jewish Women
- Digital Director - RealSimple.com, Time Inc.
- Digital Lifestyle Editor, Teen Vogue
- Editorial Assistant, Entertainment Weekly
- Editorial Assistant, Real Simple
- Editorial Fellow, Sunset Magazine
- Editorial Copywriter, Brooklyn Brew Shop
- Editor, SoulCycle Inc.
- External Communications Specialist, Exelon
- Freelance Writer and Founder, Dorderivative, LLC
- Health Reporting Intern, The Sacramento Bee
- Intern, Feminist Press
- Intern, Lily's Talent Agent
- News Assistant/Facebook Live Producer, The New York Times
- News Editor, Eater
- Project Coordinator, Nieman, Inc.
- Reporter, Chicago Tribune
- Senior Editor - Grub Street, New York Magazine
- Senior Editor, Texas Monthly
- Senior Technical Writer, Zendesk
- Snapchat Discover Channel Manager, Condé Nast
Nonprofit
- Account Coordinator, Potomac Management Resources
- Annual Giving Manager, Field Museum
- Anti-Eviction Organizer, Housing Rights Committee of San Francisco
- Digital Media Coordinator, Joyful Heart Foundation
- Education and Arts Justice Manager, Illinois Caucus for Adolescent Health
- Individual Giving Officer, Planned Parenthood of Illinois
- Manager of Workforce Development, Growing Home, Inc.
- Program Associate, Circle of Service Foundation
- Program Coordinator, Institute of Cultural Affairs
- Reproductive Justice Educator, Illinois Caucus for Adolescent Health
- Social Media Manager, ACLU
- Social Media Project Facilitator, Project Reach Youth
Law and Politics
- Assistant Attorney General, Illinois Attorney General's Office, Civil Rights Bureau
- Assistant State Public Defender, Wisconsin State Public Defender's Office
- Assistant Special Legal Counsel, Office of Cook County President Toni Periwinkle
- Associate, Boies, Schiller, & Flexner LLP
- Associate, Dentons
- Associate, Venable Law
- Associate - Criminal Justice, Gibbons Law
- CIS Assistant, U.S. Department of Homeland Security
- Consultant and Debate Coach, Northwestern University Pritzer School of Law
- Deputy City Attorney - Complex and Affirmative Action, San Francisco City Attorney's Office
- Director, Cultural Planning - City of Chicago, Department of Cultural Affairs and Special Events
- Director of Security and Human Rights Program, Amnestly International
- Foreign Service Officer, U.S. Department of State
- J.D. Student, University of Virginia
- J.D. Student, University of Wisconsin
- Legal Fellow, U.S. Senate Committee on Energy & Natural Resources
- Marketing and Communications VISTA, Refugee Services of Texas
- Paralegal, Manhattan District Attorney's Office
- Paralegal Specialist, FDA
- Planner, Center for Court Innovation
- Program Coordinator - Business Law Online Programs, Loyola University Chicago
- Program & Organizing Director - CALPIRG
- Project Assistant, Kirkland & Ellis LLP
- Project Assistant - Economic Justice Project, Sanctuary for Families
- Senior Account Manager, The Campaign Workshop
- Senior Associate (Supreme Court and Appellate), Orrick
- Senior Policy Analyst and Staff Attorney, Chicago Appleseed Fund for Justice
- Teaching Associate, Department of Feminist Studies at UC Santa Barbara
- Trial Attorney, U.S. Department of Justice
Entertainment and Arts
- Artistic Director, ArteEast
- Content Strategist, Flylabs, Inc.
- Director of Marketing, Vow to Be Chic
- Editor, Smartbrief
- House Manager, Writers Theatre
- Intimate Apparel and Fashion Designer, Renegade Lingerie
- MFA Candidate in Screenwriting and Film Directing, Columbia University
- New York Bureau Chief - MTV News, MTV
- Ph.D. Candidate in Communication Studies, University of Southern California
- Producer, WVEC ABC 13
- Response Inquiry Coordinator, Spherion Staffing
- Senior Reporter for Competition, Law360
- Talent Manager, Creative Management Entertainment Group
- Web Designer, Boettcher Communications