Internship Description
Halle Martin ’25 and Leah Toler ’25 interned with Justice Through Code (JTC), an organization that provides AI education and career support to formerly incarcerated individuals, and is jointly offered by the Center for Justice and the Tamer Institute for Social Enterprise and Climate Change. Martin focused on strategic communications and led the development of the organization’s communications strategy as it transitioned to a new name, focusing on brand positioning, messaging, and scalable content systems. Her work included conducting a full communications audit, defining audience strategies, and creating implementation toolkits to support long-term growth and awareness. Toler focused on widening the program applicant pipeline by optimizing the recruitment and application process and helping JTC expand its reach.
After graduating from Columbia Business School I returned to Justice Through Code as a strategic systems and operations fellow. JTC provides AI‑focused education for justice‑impacted individuals, and rapid programme growth had outpaced its recruitment and admissions processes. I redesigned and operationalised these processes for an applicant pool of over 1,000, introducing standardised procedures that reduced admission time by more than half. I created documentation templates and workflows to support future technology development and automation. By widening the applicant pipeline and streamlining onboarding, I enabled JTC to expand its reach to a new university this fall while maintaining a high‑quality user experience.
I drew on my MBA experience as a REAP advisor and on coursework in global philanthropy and operations strategy. Working directly with justice‑impacted applicants gave me empathy for their concerns and informed how I mapped their user journey. My classes provided formal frameworks for addressing complex, resource‑constrained problems and designing efficient systems.
Resource constraints were the largest challenge. Staff capacity was limited, so I developed a phased rollout strategy that allowed gradual skill‑building and sustainable growth. I created processes that reduced individual dependencies and promoted knowledge transfer. Maintaining applicant momentum was another challenge; justice‑impacted applicants may doubt their capabilities or face technological barriers. To mitigate this, I expanded volunteer support throughout the applicant journey, ensuring timely engagement.
This fellowship deepened my appreciation for the operational demands of mission‑driven organisations and expanded my skill set into product management. I learned to build technical documentation, work with AI and technology teams, and navigate the differences between non‑profit and private‑sector operations. As I restart my career, I am committed to social impact work and will continue applying operational expertise to causes that expand opportunity.