{"id":2304,"date":"2026-01-20T16:25:43","date_gmt":"2026-01-20T21:25:43","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.commoncause.org\/maryland\/?post_type=article&p=2304"},"modified":"2026-03-01T21:12:27","modified_gmt":"2026-03-02T02:12:27","slug":"welcome-2026-legislative-intern","status":"publish","type":"article","link":"https:\/\/www.commoncause.org\/maryland\/articles\/welcome-2026-legislative-intern\/","title":{"rendered":"Welcome to our 2026 Legislative Intern"},"template":"","class_list":["post-2304","article","type-article","status-publish","hentry","article_type-article"],"acf":{"details":{"summary":"Get to know our new 2026 Legislative Intern and learn more about her work over the course of the 90-day session","featured_image":"","article_type":70,"authors":"","related_issues":false,"related_work":false,"location":null},"sidebar":{"helper_enable_sidebar":false,"helper_media_contact":{"heading":"Media Contact","manually_enter_person":false,"person":"","name":"","role":"","phone":"","email":""},"helper_links_downloads":{"heading":"Links & Downloads","links":null}},"page_layout":[{"acf_fc_layout":"layout_wysiwyg","_acfe_flexible_toggle":null,"component_wysiwyg":{"content":"

We are thrilled to welcome our 2026 Legislative Intern!<\/h1>\r\nLegislative Interns assist in our efforts to pass our top legislative priorities over the course of the 90-day session, with the goal of building a more equitable and inclusive democracy here in the state of Maryland. Read more and get to know them below:"}},{"acf_fc_layout":"layout_wysiwyg","_acfe_flexible_toggle":null,"component_wysiwyg":{"content":"

\"\"Ihemanma Ugo-Akwada<\/h2>\r\nPronouns:<\/strong> She\/They\r\nSchool:<\/strong> University of Maryland, College Park\r\nMajor:<\/strong> Public Policy with a concentration in International Relations and Policy\r\n\r\nHi, my name is Ihemanma Ugo-Akwada. I am a senior at the University of Maryland, College Park, majoring in public policy with a focus on international relations. I aspire to work in international development and infrastructure projects, particularly with organizations like the United Nations Development Programme, to support the redevelopment of weakened political, economic, and social structures and facilitate positive change around the globe.\r\n\r\nI am a Spring 2026 legislative intern at Common Cause Maryland, where I work on advocacy and legislative work related to voting rights, redistricting, and democracy reform. My responsibilities include planning and executing events such as Lobby Night, supporting outreach to volunteers and coalitions, and assisting with legislative research and policy development. Through this internship, I am gaining hands-on experience in the Maryland legislative process."}},{"acf_fc_layout":"layout_add_component","_acfe_flexible_toggle":null,"component_add_component":null},{"acf_fc_layout":"layout_work","_acfe_flexible_toggle":null,"component_work":{"heading":"Work","manually_curate":false,"work":null}},{"acf_fc_layout":"layout_related_articles","_acfe_flexible_toggle":null,"component_related_articles":{"heading":"Updates","button_text":"See all Related Articles","manually_curate":false,"articles":null}}]},"yoast_head":"\nWelcome to our 2026 Legislative Intern - Common Cause Maryland<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/www.commoncause.org\/maryland\/articles\/welcome-2026-legislative-intern\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Welcome to our 2026 Legislative Intern\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/www.commoncause.org\/maryland\/articles\/welcome-2026-legislative-intern\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"Common Cause Maryland\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:modified_time\" content=\"2026-03-02T02:12:27+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:image\" content=\"https:\/\/www.commoncause.org\/maryland\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/08\/common-cause-share-image.png\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:width\" content=\"1200\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:height\" content=\"630\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:type\" content=\"image\/png\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:card\" content=\"summary_large_image\" \/>\n<script type=\"application\/ld+json\" class=\"yoast-schema-graph\">{\"@context\":\"https:\/\/schema.org\",\"@graph\":[{\"@type\":\"WebPage\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.commoncause.org\/maryland\/articles\/welcome-2026-legislative-intern\/\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/www.commoncause.org\/maryland\/articles\/welcome-2026-legislative-intern\/\",\"name\":\"Welcome to our 2026 Legislative Intern - 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