Volunteering

The DWI Resource Center is pleased to offer a variety of internship and volunteer opportunities for students and community activitists. In addition to assisting the Center at local events, DWI Resource Center volunteers may also participate in our court monitoring program.

Court Monitoring Court monitors are responsible for attending, observing and recording the disposition of DWI court cases as they move through the criminal justice system. In addition to sending a strong message to judges and prosecutors that the public has an active interest in DWI issues, research indicates that consistent court monitoring also has a direct effect on the legal process. The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) has published research indicating that court monitoring has several positive effects on DWI adjudication, including a 10 percent higher conviction rate and a 70 percent lower dismissal rate for cases where the driver’s blood alcohol levels were at .10 or higher. According to the NHTSA study, monitored cases where the driver refused the BAC test were 25 percent more likely to be convicted and case dismissal rates were 90 percent lower.

If you are interested in volunteering for the DWI Resource Center or the New Mexico Victims' Rights Project, please email us at info@dwiresourcecenter.org to discuss your interests and skills.

The Center offers a variety of internship opportunities for students in the Albuquerque/Santa Fe area. Currently, we have intern openings for:

Court Monitoring Data/Statistical Analysis
The DWI Resource Center specializes in providing DWI data, statistics and analysis to keyleaders throughout New Mexico. The Center analyzes crash data, publishes court and law enforcement statistics, and developes a variety of tools for use by local enforcement agencies and community activitists in the fight to reduce DWI death and injury. Students interested in data analysis internship positions must be enrolled in a college or university, must be a junior, senior or graduate student, must have prior experience and/or relevant course work, and must be willing to intern 10 or more hours each week at the Center's headquarters in Albuquerque. Students will be required to contribute to current projects at the Center, but are encouraged to propose their own data analysis project. Proposed projects must be targeted at or be useful for reducing DWI death and injury in New Mexico communities.

Business/Marketking
Students interested in business or marketing internships at the Center will be asked to assist the Center in marketing and promoting existing programs, as well as propose and develop their own business/marketing plans for a project designed to reduce DWI death and injury in a New Mexico community. With the oversite and input of DWIRC staff, students will design and implement a unique project within the confines of available resources. Students interested in marketing/business interships must be a majoring in business, marketing or public administration, and must be willing to work a minimum of five hours each week on their projects. Business/marketing interns are not required to work on-site at DWIRC headquarters, but will be required to submit weekly progress reports and attend bi-weekly meetings to evaluate work to date.
Grant Writing
The DWI Resource Center is a 501c(3) not-for-profit organization funded primarily through federal, state and community grants. Students interested in learning more about grant writing will assist the Center's staff in researching, evaluating and writing grants, developing budgets, and forming alliances with potential grant partners. Interested students should be majoring in English, communications, business or a related field. All interested applicants will be required to submit three writing samples and must be available to work a minimum of five hours per week. Grant writing interns are not required to work on-site, but will be required to submit weekly progress reports and attend bi-weekly meetings to evaluate work to date.

Interested students may send a letter of interest, a scholastic transcript, and current resume to Shannon Johnston. Your letter of interest should contain the following information:

• Internship area of interest
• The name of your college or university
• Major/minor
• Year of study
• Anticipated date of graduation
• Contact information

Applicants will be considered based on their interest, experience, scholastic achievements, and available positions. If you have questions about positions available, please contact Shannon Johnston at (505) 881-1084.