Summer Internship with REDF
Annie Forest, Daytime MBA 2024
This summer, I interned at REDF, a nonprofit that invests in organizations reducing barriers to employment, as a Farber Fellow. REDF pairs Farber Fellows with employment social enterprises in its Growth Portfolio and I was matched with Coalfield Development in Huntington, WV. My project was specifically with Revitalize Appalachia – their construction and real estate development arm – to map federal and state tax credits available. I also created a decision-making tool they can use to align these various tax credit incentives with their existing and future real estate projects.
I have already noticed how skills I learned through this experience relate to Fuqua classes like Project Finance, Strategy Implementation, and Impact Investing and can contribute my new knowledge to help classmates learn more.
My advice for anyone considering an impact-oriented summer internship is to run your own race! Pursue what matters to you, and don’t worry about what others are pursuing. Make a list of what’s important to you for a summer internship and just go for it. It’s okay to use the internship to test out what you want in a full-time job.
This internship was supported by the Student Internship Fund, which enables first-year Duke MBA students to learn about the rewards and challenges of using business to drive positive impact without making a significant financial sacrifice. The program enables organizations that otherwise could not afford to hire MBA student interns to benefit from students’ expertise. Funds are raised through student fundraising and from donors who believe in the mission of the program. If you would like to contribute, you can donate online using your credit card.