Matt Gillam- Public Affairs & Policy Intern

Hi guys! My name is Matt Gillam and I am a rising third year from Long Island, NY studying Leadership & Public Policy in the Batten school. This summer, I am interning at the International Chamber of Commerce’s Permanent Mission to the United Nations as a Public Affairs & Policy Intern. A super long-winded title, I know. Basically, I work to engage private sector partners with the UN to leverage business as a positive force for sustainable development.

Throughout my internship, I have gotten to work in a small office of experts on global development policy, international diplomacy and finance. Our team has wide ranging experience and expertise that is crucial to furthering the United Nations’s 17 Sustainable Development Goals, or as we call them, SDGs. I have learned so much about the inner workings of the UN, writing policy briefs and talking points, and planning small sessions for C-suite level executives to have productive dialogues about business-led sustainable development. I have also gotten to explore Manhattan – a city I could be looking for a job in just two years from now. Getting to experience professional life here has been important for me as I look down potential career paths.

Hillel has taught me to embrace the wide range of perspectives that people can have, even within the same age and faith. This mindset has served me well at the United Nations, as I have worked with people from across the world- France, the United Kingdom, Kazakhstan, and Brazil are just some of the more recent ones. As I begin to wrap up my internship, I am constantly seeking to be exposed to as many cool things as possible and am absorbing as much advice as possible.
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Exploring Manhattan one oat milk latte (see photos) at a time has been an incredible experience, but I cannot wait to get back to Charlottesville in just 12 short days! 

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