City Hall Creative Interns
Building a pipeline of young digital storytellers for Albany.
When I stepped into the City of Albany’s first Director of Marketing role, it was clear the City needed more than one person with a skillset like mine. We needed a pipeline — especially for young people who had the talent, but not yet the access. I designed and launched a digital marketing internship housed in the Mayor’s Office, giving local students real campaigns, real deadlines, and real impact across City departments.
Snapshot.
PROGRAM
City Hall Creative Interns – Digital Marketing & Storytelling
ROLE
Program founder · Curriculum designer
PARTNERS
Mayor’s Office, City of Albany departments, Youthful Impact
AUDIENCE
Branding · Social media · Video · Campaign support
TYPE
Ongoing talent pipeline and internship program
The Problem
There were two parallel gaps:
Departments needed more hands and fresh ideas to support digital marketing, video, and social content.
Young people — especially those coming out of programs like Youthful Impact — had skills, but no clear pathway into government or real-world creative work.
Marketing tasks were often added on top of other jobs. Students had portfolios full of assignments, but few chances to work on live civic projects.
There was no bridge between the two.
The Idea
Create a structured internship that lives inside the Mayor’s Office and:
Gives students meaningful, credit-worthy work on real City projects
Supports under-resourced departments with design, social, and content help
Exposes young creatives to public-sector storytelling, not just commercial work
Builds a repeatable pipeline of talent the City — and the region — can draw from
How the Program Works
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Placement inside the Mayor’s Office
Interns sit within the Mayor’s Office, giving them a front-row seat to how citywide messaging is made and coordinated.
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Project-based learning
Each intern cycle is built around real projects: event campaigns, department features, short-form video, social media series, and storytelling for capital projects or community programs.
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Cross-department collaboration
Interns work with multiple departments (Youth & Workforce Services, Water, Parks, Neighborhood Services, etc.), learning how to translate one brand system across different audiences.
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Mentorship & feedback
I serve as creative director — setting briefs, reviewing work, and coaching them on everything from color choices to copy tone to how to present ideas to senior staff.
Impact.
For the City
Extra creative capacity without hiring a full in-house agency
Fresh, youth-centered perspectives on how residents actually consume content
Stronger, more consistent visuals across departments working with interns
For the interns
Real client experience inside local government
Published work they can point to — not just classroom assignments
Exposure to how policy, communications, and design intersect
A clearer sense that creative skills are needed — and valued — in civic spaces
A pathway for Youthful Impact Google Digital Marketing graduates into City Hall
Portfolio-ready projects and reels interns could take into their next job or program
Why It Matters
This program proved that local government can be a training ground for creative talent, not just a place that outsources design and storytelling. It turned “we need help with social media” into a structured opportunity for young people to build careers, confidence, and portfolios — while helping their own city communicate better.
I didn’t just ask for more help.
I built a pipeline.