We are thrilled to welcome our Summer 2026 interns Sienna Lee, Alisha Fathima, and Sophia Vaux to the team this summer.

Sienna is a student at Scripps College, pursuing a double major in Anthropology and Organizational Studies with a minor in Asian American Studies. She has experience working on long term projects and strong interpersonal skills related to office management. She wanted to intern with Shine Global because of its usage of film as a form of expression and representation for children, which aligns with her personal commitment to community advocacy. Shine Global also offers valuable insight into the nonprofit sector, and she is excited about the process of making real change through artistic mediums.

Alisha is a graduate student at Florida State University pursuing Media and Communication Studies. She is a multimedia storyteller and stands on the four pillars of filmmaking, music, creative writing and social media marketing. She is currently working on her capstone documentary about how stories transcend mediums. She has always believed in the emotional power of storytelling to ignite social and individual change. This is exactly what drew her to intern at Shine Global. It has been the perfect place for her to gain experience at the intersection of her two great loves: nonprofit work and filmmaking.

Sophia is a student at the University of San Diego, pursuing a degree in Political Science with minor studies in the Arabic language. Her experience lies primarily in advocacy and outreach work, emphasizing the importance of marginalized voices and protecting communities who may not be at the forefront of everyone’s minds. She was interested in working with Shine Global over the summer in order to explore the world of nonprofit advocacy further, as well as in order to integrate herself with a medium of storytelling that she hasn’t explored before. She is excited to contribute to the team with her skills in research, communication and outreach in order to further Shine Global’s missions!

Shine Global couldn’t do the work we do without the help of these three and our other amazing volunteers.  To learn more about our internships, including open positions and upcoming deadlines, see here.

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ABOUT SHINE GLOBAL

Shine Global is a nonprofit media company that improves the lives of children by telling powerful stories to raise awareness, promote action, and inspire change. We produce and support inspiring films and compelling content about underserved children. Through tailored distribution and outreach, we connect with our audiences in communities, classrooms, museums, and on Capitol Hill as part of a powerful engagement campaign to encourage social change.

Since our founding in 2005 by Susan MacLaury and Albie Hecht, Shine Global films have won more than 100 major awards, including an Academy Award® for Best Documentary Short Subject for Inocente, an Academy Award® nomination for Best Live Action Short for Anuja, and an Academy Award® nomination and two Emmys® for War/Dance. Recent films include the documentary-animation hybrid Liyana, the hit documentary The Eagle Huntress, Through Our Eyes: Homefront which is available on HBOMax, the Ariel Award winner Home Is Somewhere Else, and Comedy Against the Odds which is currently in film festivals.

ABOUT SHINE GLOBAL’S RESILIENCE AWARDS

The Shine Global Resilience Awards were created to honor films that highlight the strength, dignity, and power of children in the face of adversity. Past winners of Shine Global Resilience Awards include the feature documentaries Speak. (2025, Directed by Guy Mossman and Jennifer Tiexiera), Daughters (2024, Directed by Angela Patton and Natalie Rae), Name Me Lawand (2023, Directed by Edward Lovelace), and Lift (2022, Directed by David Petersen), Los Frikis (2024, written and directed by Tyler Nilson and Michael Schwartz) in partnership with Nantucket Film Festival, the short Rise (2025, Directed by Jessica J. Rowlands), the short documentary Ayenda (2023, directed by Marie Margolius) in partnership with Heartland Film’s Indy Shorts International Film Festival, Okthanksbye (2023, Nicole Van Kilsdok) with ReelAbilities Film Festival, Savauges (2024, directed by Claude Barras), and Dounia – The Great White North (2024, directed by Marya Zarif and André Kadi) in partnership with the New York International Children’s Film Festival.