2025 Environment and Policy Internships (EPIC): The Nature Conservancy (TNC) - NatureVest
Job Title: Impact Investing Intern
Department/Team: NatureVest, The Nature Conservancy
Location: Mostly remote (work from anywhere that allows for standard US work hours), with opportunity for 1-2 in-person trips to meet with team members
Duration: 35-40 hours per week for ten weeks over the summer
Reports to: Ekaterina Alexandrova (Program Director, Impact Management, NatureVest, The Nature Conservancy)
Areas of Interest: Impact investing, private sector, measuring success, sustainable agriculture
About The Nature Conservancy:
The Nature Conservancy (TNC) is the world’s largest conservation organization. TNC’s mission is to protect the lands and waters upon which all life depends. As a science-based organization, we create innovative, on-the-ground solutions to our world’s toughest challenges so that we can create a world in which people and nature thrive. We’re rooted in our Mission and guided by our Values, which includes a Commitment to Diversity and Respect for People, Communities, and Cultures.
About the NatureVest Team:
NatureVest is the impact investing unit of TNC. NatureVest’s mission is to facilitate the development of global financial markets that value, monetize, and integrate natural capital at scale. It does so by sourcing capital and structuring investable deals that generate financial returns and achieve measurable environmental and social outcomes that support TNC’s 2030 Goals. NatureVest impact investments include but are not limited to debt, venture capital, equity, and guarantees utilizing direct investments, funds, facilities, special purpose vehicles, blended finance, and fund of funds structures. NatureVest has helped TNC and its partners originate, structure, fund and close investment vehicles representing more than $3.1 billion of committed capital. Within NatureVest, the Impact Management Team (IMT) is responsible for managing all day-to-day impact investing partnerships that NatureVest is responsible for. The intern would be a part of IMT and engage day to day with IMT and other NatureVest staff.
Position Description/Scope of Work:
The internship will focus on working with NatureVest IMT staff to develop a plan for measuring the influence that NatureVest is having on how the private sector makes investment decisions and manages investments, with a focus on the agricultural sector (but application beyond agriculture). NatureVest’s goal is to achieve conservation outcomes at scale globally by influencing investors, fund/asset managers, and conservation groups to do business differently and imbed conservation outcomes throughout the investment cycle. The intern will help us develop a detailed plan outlining who we aim to influence (what specific segments of the market), how we will measure the influence we are achieving, and what early indicators will tell us we are on track. The intern will also, time permitting, develop processes and templates for gathering data to assess this market influence, and will assist IMT in gathering initial data to determine baseline conditions. The intern will work with NatureVest staff, select staff from other business units of TNC (e.g. TNC’s Capital Raising team, TNC’s Chief Conservation Office metrics team, and others). The final internship deliverable will be a fully developed Monitoring, Evaluation and Learning plan ready for TNC to begin to implement immediately. The position will work most closely with Catherine Burns, IMT Managing Director, and Ekaterina Alexandrova, IMT Program Director.
List of Potential Projects:
Support the NatureVest team in designing and beginning to implement a robust plan to evaluate the influence our impact investing partnerships are having on private market actors (investors, fund/asset managers, companies).
Desired Skills/Qualifications:
- Self-driven and independently motivated, can balance multiple projects at once and meet deadlines.
- Strong verbal and written communication as well as analytical and organizational skills, and ability to engage effectively with people from a variety of cultures and areas of expertise.
- Attention to detail and ability to produce high quality written products.
- Interest in working at the intersection of conservation and finance, and familiarity with basic principles of conservation and business/econ/finance (e.g. at least one introductory course in each field).
- Systems-level thinker who is intrigued by concepts related to systems change and evaluating how large systems (like capital markets) change over time.
Logistics:
- EPIC fellows are required to work full-time (35-40 hours per week) for 10 weeks over the summer, and will receive a stipend of $8,000 - $9,500, depending on financial need. This stipend is intended to help cover living and transportation expenses during the fellowship, which the student is expected to arrange and coordinate.
- Start and end dates are flexible (start date no later than July 7, 2025).
Eligibility:
Stanford undergraduates from all academic disciplines are encouraged to apply, and applicants may vary in academic interests, public service involvement, and experience. Learn more about our previous EPIC cohorts! Students must be enrolled for winter and spring quarters of this year and be in good academic standing to be eligible for a fellowship. Applications will only be accepted from students who will be enrolled as undergraduates for the following academic year, so unfortunately, graduating seniors cannot apply. The one exception to this rule is seniors who will be working toward a co-term degree during the following academic year. Co-term students must be in the undergraduate billing group in spring quarter. Please refer to the Haas Center for Public Service's website for additional Cardinal Quarter Undergraduate Fellowship Program Policies and Requirements.
Note: students are only eligible for one Stanford-funded full-time experiential learning opportunity during the summer, and are not permitted to engage in another full-time internship, job, coursework, or volunteer opportunity. Students are responsible for arranging and paying for their own housing and transportation during the fellowship.
Requirements:
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Spring Quarter:
- Commit to working full-time (35-40 hours week) for 10 consecutive weeks
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Complete an online program orientation through the Haas Center for Public Service
- This will include designing a personal learning plan that you will share with your site supervisor and academic mentor
- Complete the Engaging in Ethical and Effective Service in-person workshop or worksheet
- Meet with your assigned Stanford academic mentor at least once prior to the start of the fellowship (more check-ins during and after your experience are encouraged)
- Attend EPIC cohort building events and activities in spring quarter, as your schedule allows
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Complete and submit all required forms and paperwork
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Summer Quarter:
- Engage in your full-time fellowship (starting no later than July 7, 2025; exact start date to be determined with your site supervisor)
- Attend EPIC cohort building events and activities in the summer, as your schedule allows
- Submit a mid-summer evaluation
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Submit a final project report, complete a program evaluation, and correspond with donor(s) as requested by program staff
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Fall Quarter:
- Debrief with your academic mentor at least once
- Attend a de-briefing meeting for the purpose of reflecting upon and evaluating summer experiences
- Participate in outreach activities to share your experiences and help publicize the program
