MADISON — The Wisconsin Board for People with Developmental Disabilities (BPDD) opened the second year of Internship Applications for Wisconsin Disability Policy Program, an innovative paid experience to empower people with developmental disabilities and their family members to engage in policy advocacy and leadership. BPDD’s internship program is made possible through funding from the Inclusa Foundation, which supports initiatives aimed at advancing services and policies for individuals with disabilities and older adults. Their continued commitment to fostering leadership and advocacy has been instrumental in bringing this program to life and ensuring its success
The Wisconsin Disability Policy Internship aims to train future leaders by equipping people with the knowledge and skills necessary to impact disability policy and advocate for change through a short-term 6 month paid part-time internships. This program focuses on professional development, offering valuable work experience and mentoring to create early career-level opportunities in the disability policy and advocacy field. By fostering a better statewide understanding of disability issues, the program seeks to expand inclusive policies in Wisconsin.
“We are excited to open this year’s Internship application to continue growing the pathway for people with disabilities and family members to shape disability policy in Wisconsin,” said BPDD Executive Director, Beth Swedeen. “Each cohort brings the opportunity to add the voice of lived experience to policy work, and to build the next generation of strong, effective disability policy leaders.”
BPDD will be accepting applications for the Wisconsin Disability Policy Internship beginning today October 1, 2025, with an application deadline of October 31, 2025, at 5 p.m. The internships provide people with disabilities and their family members the opportunity to develop their skills in policy analysis, advocacy, and leadership. Interns will work closely with mentors and have access to a range of professional development opportunities.
The Board will offer an informational session about the internship, the application process, and tips for applying and interviewing. Join BPDD on October 8th from 12-1:30 p.m. People interested can register at Informational Session Registration
Please visit WI Disability Policy Leadership Program – Wisconsin Board for People with Developmental Disabilities (wi-bpdd.org) for the application or contact Sally Flaschberger at
sally.flaschberger@wisconsin.
