End Poverty in California - Remote

Summer 2023 Fellows:

Summer 2024 Fellows:

Sophia Bi

Summer 2025 Fellows:

Anya Nelson

Office Description

EPIC aims to end poverty in California by elevating the voices of people experiencing it, creating and implementing bold policies rooted in their needs, and advancing a state agenda focused on equal opportunity for all.

All of our current and future efforts will help change the narrative about poverty from one based on lies and stereotypes, to an authentic narrative based on the strengths, assets, and lived experiences of individuals and communities.

Founded by Michael Tubbs, and led by President, Devon Gray, we conduct listening sessions throughout the state to hear the stories and ideas of people living in poverty, and help educate the public and policymakers. We also provide platforms for people to tell their own stories to help heal feelings of shame and stigma, increase agency, enable political action, and ultimately, change the narrative. Our biggest body of work is collaborating with partners and lawmakers through our "Poverty Abolition Network" to develop a local and state policy agendas focused on poverty elimination that centers the wisdom we hear from our partners and from Californians across the state during our listening sessions.

Description of the Work

In 2026, our fellows will lead and support projects that address a wide variety of activities including policy advocacy, research, community outreach and engagement, and program design and development. Specific opportunities known for 2026 include the following (others will be added between January - March 2026):

Anti-Poverty Policy Research:

1. Undertake a state and national landscape analysis of existing innovative anti-poverty legislation to help us identify potential policy solutions we might want to champion in CA. This study could include documenting insights that address the following:

- Impact on current participants

- Barriers to access (such as eligibility requirements)

- Implementation challenges

2. Identify the agencies EPIC and our partners could engage to learn from their work and explore potential scale or replication in CA; schedule and facilitate meetings with these partners

3. Outline a summary of key insights including recommendations for anti-poverty policy reform worth amplifying in other parts of the state and/or replicating in CA

Local Poverty Abolition Network (PAN) Briefings:

1. Research the state of poverty in each of our PAN regions, and the current and emerging local policies impacting poverty in those regions.

2. Develop accessible briefs or one-pagers for an audience that includes EPIC’s advocacy team, community partners, and lawmakers.

3. Track relevant bills and assist in building EPIC’s legislative tracker and policy playbook.

4. Utilize research to help plan a Fall 2026 statewide anti-poverty briefing for lawmakers (which will be scheduled after their recess ends in August 2026 and before the November 2026 election)

Desired Skills

Candidates will demonstrate the following values, skills, and competencies:

Unwavering belief in the EPIC’s mission.
Demonstrated commitment to disrupting the status quo, which perpetuates wealth inequality, gender oppression, and systemic racism.
Experience working closely with others, taking initiative and being resourceful, and managing multiple work streams.
Background or interest in project management, research, writing, community engagement, communications and social media.
Background or interest in the areas of housing, safety net, worker empowerment, wealth-building, and/or criminal justice.

*** The fellow must be able to start on July 6th, 2026. This is a non-negotiable start date.