School: Emory University

I reach the end of my internship at the Fulton County Child Advocacy Center on both a triumphant and sad note. Today, I had the privilege of attending the Center's first Board Retreat---a day of facilitated discussion between the staff and the board members (including District Attorney Paul Howard) about where the Center is, where it should go, and how it should get there. It was a triumphant event for me in the sense that it represented the culmination of months of steady work becoming a member of the team and developing an integral voice in the discussions over strategy, planning and politics. I felt that, with the discussion oriented format of the retreat, my voice and insights were given the forum I'd been preparing for all summer. I expressed opinions to the assembled Board on a variety of important topics, from funding, to the plan for building a center of co-located agencies, to increasing community exposure, to developing an intern program. I even gave a lengthy presentation on the Center's opportunities going forward, as I saw them. I discussed the possible plans for co-location with Paul Howard, and I played an integral role in a subcommittee of board members. It was, indeed, an empowering day. At the same time, however, it was sad. It was sad, of course, because I will be leaving after coming so far with this special staff, but it was also sad because, ultimately, the board and staff failed to achieve the necessary understanding to make the ambitious vision of a co-located center become a reality. While many of the discussions were intensely positive, when it came time to commit to objectives the discussion was frayed by a lack of listening from the Board and disagreement over the details of the new building. First, the Board was inadequately attentive to the views of the staff members themselves. The most specific disagreement over the new building was over whether the comprehensive CAC building should be located within a hospital or situated on its own parcel of land, independent of a hospital. Dr. Sawyer, a board member and pediatric emergency physician at Grady, took the position that an off-site emergency medical care center could not possibly provide adequate medical coverage for children. She advocated building the center as an extension of the hospital, where, she argued, children could receive the fullest range of medical care. Mr. Howard, on the other hand, felt that a fully separate center would have operational advantages, including a fully independent administration and more control over the center. This crucial disagreement, in addition to a lack of concretized plans on a variety of fronts, remained unresolved at the conclusion of the retreat. That said, the meeting, in addition to the Board's recent visit to the Chicago CAC, clearly invigorated those Board members (roughly half) who took part, and this new sense of purpose should yield benefits going forward.

Overall, I feel honored to have had the opportunity to work with the remarkable, dedicated staff of the CAC, and to have contributed to their worthy, steadfast efforts. I learned a tremendous amount, about policy, people and the importance of a unifying purpose. I feel fortunate to have had such a richly varied experience, which included policy analysis and editing, lobbying efforts, learning a case tracking system, and, perhaps most valuably, working and contributing as part of a tight-knit team. I must point out, in particular, the work of the director, Kim Shellman-Borna. Kim is one of the most dedicated individuals I've ever had the pleasure of meeting. She epitomizes, to me, the standard of effective leadership in this difficult area. And that is both inspirational and discouraging. Her qualities of boundless perseverance, unwavering dedication, unshakeable work ethic, cooperative spirit, and a powerful, readily expressed vision for the center are, indeed, inspirational, but also quite hard to find in a leader. Kim's love for children---she is a former school teacher----has lead her to sacrifice working with them directly in order to better improve the system which they so desperately depend on. I anticipate recalling Kim's passion as source of personal inspiration in my own life.

As for the internship program as a whole, I cannot praise the Barton Clinic's efforts strongly enough. The training program was superb. I drew on the wealth of information and discussion countless times throughout my internship, and I will continue to reference the materials provided during training in the future. This was a wonderful experience. I will be volunteering at the Center until I leave the state on August 11^th.

Based on my experience and ability to genuinely contribute to the office, it is my estimation (and Kim's desire) that one or several intern positions be added to the staff going forward. Though their office and staff are small (and to some extent precisely because of that) the opportunities for substantive intern work abound. Moreover, they really could use the help. Kim is very interested in facilitating for-credit internships with qualified Emory College, graduate, or law students during the year, in addition to hopefully receiving another Barton intern next summer. I feel that students with a variety of backgrounds, from pre-law to social work to psychology, could benefit tremendously from the opportunity to join the team. I was planning to contact the Emory College pre-law advisor, Rodia Vance, with information regarding the Center and Kim's interest in hosting one or more interns during the year. I would also appreciate any suggestions as to how I might go about helping the Center host a for-credit or work study internship for Emory students during the year. Additionally, Dr. Mary Sawyer, an assistant professor of pediatrics at Emory Medical School and on the front line of medical exams for children at Grady, noted that she would be very interested in hosting an intern in the near future or next summer.

Thanks so much for this opportunity and experience.