• Passion for AIUSA’s priority issues: securing the rights of refugees and migrants, advocating for prisoners of conscience and other individuals at risk, campaign against the illegal use of lethal force by police, gun violence, women’s rights, and gender equality. Other core areas of work for the organization include: Death Penalty, Security with Human Rights, LGBTQ rights, Criminal Justice, and Business & Human Rights.

• Currently serve as or are interested in becoming Area Coordinators, Student Area Coordinators, Grassroots Communications Subcommittee, Grassroots Training Subcommittee, Grassroots Activism Subcommittee, Grassroots Infrastructure Subcommittee or Events interns. Full descriptions of each volunteer leadership position are provided in the application.  

• We are seeking applications from people in marginalized, underrepresented, and directly impacted communities. People of color, women, especially women of color, LGBTQ and gender nonconforming individuals, and those with limited financial resources are all highly encouraged to apply.

• Commitment to applying the skills you learn at this Institute by coordinating at least 1 training in your local area and to ongoing movement building with AIUSA organizers.

• Desire to organize, and to develop skills for strategic campaigning, facilitation, one-on-one relationship building, and effective communication.

• Commitment to building a US human rights movement that is connected to an international human rights network.

• Geographical balance, so that we have representation from the five regions around the country,

• Participants must be able to attend the full length of the Human Rights Leaders Institute to qualify.

The SAC and AC member leaders primarily correspond with the Field Organizers stationed across the country and work at the local and regional levels to support local and student groups with their work advancing priority campaigns, trainings, and organizing in their respective areas.

An experienced Amnesty International student or youth volunteer who represents the organization to assigned groups by serving as an advisor to student and youth groups on group activities, campaign opportunities and policy related issues; acts as a liaison between AI groups, staff and other volunteer leaders; promotes area-wide initiatives; and acts as a spokesperson for AI where appropriate.

Provide support for the Local Groups in a geographical area; sometimes an entire state, sometimes an area with a large population. They work very closely with Field Organizers and their regional office staff. Area Coordinators give Local Groups a connection to the greater world of Amnesty International beyond their immediate and state boundaries, advising on event organizing and other advocacy work.

The Grassroots Project is a four year initiative that will seek to build, or in some cases, rebuild, the volunteer structures we need for effective and rewarding activism now and into the future. Specifically, the Grassroots Project will address the strategic goal to empower volunteers, improve the impact of our activism, to better understand what goals we are organizing towards, and what shifts in training we need to make to get there.

The activism subcommittee will address the volunteer experience in our student and local groups, and in our volunteer leadership. The committee will also explore what systems, structures, and opportunities AIUSA needs to build and invest in to expand upon what works in our current structure and create a plan to address growth points in our strategy and/or execution.

The training subcommittee will address the volunteer experience in our regional and national trainings. The committee will explore what training needs our volunteers need to make human rights impact. The subcommittee will also assess what works in our current training approach and create a plan to make any necessary changes in our trainings.

The communication subcommittee will address the volunteer experience as it pertains to communication, including communication between staff and volunteers and lateral communication between volunteers. The committee will explore the ways in which we can expand what works in our current communication strategy and bridge the gap between our current and most effective ways of work.

The infrastructure subcommittee will address the infrastructure we need to provide a quality volunteer experience. The committee will explore the tools we need to effectively track data, engage members, and make remove barriers to engagement and involvement with respect to the tools we use to manage data and information.