Interns

Heidi Bruce, Editorial Intern(Spring 2012)

Heidi's persistent curiosity and commitment to social and ecological concerns has led her to work as a teacher, a legal advocate for migrant and refugee communities, an organic cook, and a sustainable small-business developer. Born and raised in a trilingual (English, Spanish, and German) home in Alaska, Heidi has cultivated a genuine love for continuously engaging with places and people that reflect the rich bio-cultural diversity that characterizes our world.  In 2010, after thirteen years of working in the Pacific Northwest and numerous travels to other nations, she decided to pursue a graduate degree from the SIT Graduate Institute. As part of her field-based practicum, Heidi worked as a research assistant with the Center for World Indigenous Studies where she investigated food security and climate change adaptations in western Mexico.   Having recently returned to the PNW, Heidi looks forward to formally stepping into the world of journalism by working with and learning from the YES! team.  In her not-so-much spare time (due to thesis-writing) she can be found savoring early mornings, asking questions, and practicing yoga.

Ayla Harbin, Online Editorial Intern(Fall/Winter/Spring 2011-2012) 

You could say Ayla is an enigma wrapped in a riddle surrounded by mystery, but she hates that phrase so let’s just not. It would, however, be accurate to say her life has contained a few conundrums. Having chosen a course of study in the liberal arts, her first “real job” was as a dental assistant (if she ever asks oddly specific questions about your trip to the dentist this is why). Swearing never never never to teach/work with children, some of her favorite experiences have been doing just that. Especially tutoring and working with the Pipeline Project at the University of Washington. A major in Creative Writing, a track that prepares one well for a lifetime in academia and solitude but little else, she decided she wanted to be out in the world working for something. Which is what brings her, and her passions for writing, photography, sustainable agriculture, and education equality enthusiastically into her internship at Yes!

Rachel Harmon, Media & Outreach Intern(Winter/Spring 2012)

A Bainbridge Island native, Rachel spent most of her childhood playing with worms and consuming copious quantities of fresh produce on her family's small organic farm. After graduating from Bainbridge High School in 2009, she followed her passion for biology, North to the University of British Columbia, where she spent two years in the Faculty of Science, frequently escaping to the mountains in an effort to satiate her need for outdoor adventure. Eager to gain 'real world' experience in the field of international health, Rachel put her studies on hold and flew to Haiti, where she volunteered with the Children's Nutrition Program of Haiti in Leogane, the epicenter of the devastating 2010 earthquake. She spent the next three months working with rural mountain communities, recording data and educating mothers on sustainable health and hygiene practices, with the goal of eliminating childhood malnutrition and raising a healthy generation of Haitian children, who in turn can raise Haiti from poverty. Inspired by her experiences and encounters, she tiptoed into the world of online photojournalism with her first blog. Fueled by new perspective from her time abroad, Rachel is eager to learn more about media and outreach, surrounded by powerful thought and positive actions at YES! She hopes to continue her studies in human nutrition at Bastyr University, and ultimately a career in Naturopathic Medicine, which she hopes to introduce to the global health arena. For now, she enjoys practicing yoga, reading YES! articles, exploring outdoors, and preparing deliciously nutritious snacks for herself and anyone else with a fetish for fresh, local ingredients.

Lindsay Kucera, Editorial Intern(Winter 2012)

Lindsay Kucera loves all kinds of stories. In fact, she loves them so much she developed her entire undergraduate degree around the creative, multimedia cultivation of stories. While working as an editor of multiple publications, she found her greatest passion is collaborating with other writers and artists to expand and polish their ideas, and helping to share them. Following the completion of her studies, Lindsay sought to join the team at YES! to be part of a community bringing stories of positive solutions to the world. When she’s not at YES!, she loves experimenting with food, and testing her creations on her coworkers, who happily enable her compulsive need to feed them. She keeps a regular food blog documenting her culinary adventures, The Omnomnivore’s Dilemma. After YES!, she plans on returning home to Anchorage, Alaska to work (hopefully), but also to cook, eat, write, and play. 

Mirabai Troll, Education Outreach Intern(Winter/Spring 2012)

Mirabai Troll grew up climbing oak trees and tromping through fields of golden poppies in the rolling hills of northern California. Only the damp grandeur of the Puget Sound and Washington’s snow capped mountains could draw her away from home. She has recently earned an undergraduate degree in creative writing at Western Washington University, and hopes to continue to study the world through words. Through the practice of non-fiction writing Mirabai has explored sustainable agriculture, the history of the Sierra Nevada and Cascade ranges, and the ups and downs of trying to live a healthier life for self and planet. With passions ranging from cultivation of food to cultivation of thought, Mirabai looks forward to the challenges of living in an ever-changing world. Whatever life brings, Mirabai knows that her path includes the smell of fresh baked bread, children sticky with blackberry juice, and mud between her toes.

Find out more about YES! internships.