PR, Media Relations & Public Accountability Fellow

About Make Me Visible

Make Me Visible is an advocacy and accountability platform being built for people who become invisible when families, healthcare systems, employers, professionals, law enforcement, courts, and other institutions fail them.

Our work centers on evidence, continuity, accountability, protection, advocacy, and ensuring that vulnerable people are not left without a credible witness.

Make Me Visible is developing a model that brings together case development, evidence organization, legal advocacy, investigative research, media engagement, and public accountability. The platform is grounded in lived experience and examines what happens when a vulnerable person is expected to investigate, document, finance, and resolve serious harm alone.

The Fellowship

Make Me Visible is seeking a driven PR, Media Relations & Public Accountability Fellow for a fast-paced, hands-on, 3.5-month educational experience.

The fellow will learn how to identify meaningful public-interest stories, research the professionals best positioned to cover them, develop responsible media materials, and participate in supervised outreach to journalists, editors, producers, documentary teams, podcast hosts, newsletters, and other credible media channels.

This is not primarily a social-media posting position. It is not built around generic press releases, mass contact lists, or publicity without substance.

The work requires understanding why a story matters, what evidence supports it, why it is timely, which journalist is genuinely relevant, and how to pursue the opportunity accurately and persistently.

The fellow’s work will complement Make Me Visible’s advocacy efforts without replacing an employee or independently controlling the organization’s media relationships. The primary purpose of the fellowship is to develop transferable skills in media research, story development, public-interest communications, interview preparation, professional outreach, and responsible advocacy.

The Matters Behind the Work

The fellowship will include supervised work involving real, document-heavy matters.

One matter concerns the disparity between a multimillion-dollar family estate and a permanently disabled adult currently relying on disability income and food assistance. It raises broader questions about disability, trust and estate systems, possible undue influence, fiduciary responsibility, access to justice, and what happens when family wealth does not translate into safety or protection for a vulnerable beneficiary.

Another matter concerns a Nevada financial-fraud case involving the loss of more than a quarter of a million dollars. Although the matter resulted in criminal prosecution, the disabled victim has received no meaningful financial recovery after extensive contact with attorneys, financial institutions, law-enforcement agencies, and government authorities.

These matters must be communicated responsibly. Fellows will learn to distinguish verified facts, allegations, unanswered questions, legal issues, and matters requiring attorney review.

What You Will Learn and Contribute

Media Research

Research journalists, editors, producers, documentary teams, podcast hosts, newsletter writers, legal reporters, disability reporters, and financial-crime reporters
Review each contact’s actual reporting history before recommending outreach
Identify the specific article, investigation, episode, project, or subject connecting that person to Make Me Visible
Explain why each contact is relevant and what credible contribution Make Me Visible can offer
Look beyond famous names and basic search results to identify emerging reporters, freelancers, trade publications, regional outlets, and specialized programs
Maintain an organized media-contact and relationship tracker

Story Development

Identify public-interest angles grounded in evidence, current events, original work, founder expertise, and larger institutional questions
Develop focused story angles instead of attempting to place an entire life history into one pitch
Connect individual experiences to wider issues involving disability, financial exploitation, institutional abandonment, elder protection, and access to justice
Identify what makes a story timely without forcing Make Me Visible into an unrelated news cycle
Separate documented facts from interpretation
Identify supporting materials needed before an angle is ready for outreach
Revise story angles in response to substantive feedback

Media Outreach

Draft individualized pitches for review and authorization
Explain why a story belongs with a particular journalist, outlet, podcast, or program
Participate in supervised outreach after approval
Develop thoughtful follow-ups that add information instead of merely repeating the original request
Track every approved pitch, response, referral, follow-up, interview request, publication interest, and next action
Analyze unsuccessful outreach and recommend a stronger angle, contact, channel, or timing opportunity
Help build professional relationships that continue beyond a single pitch

Interview Preparation

Research the interviewer, program, audience, format, and previous coverage
Prepare concise briefing materials for the founder
Anticipate difficult, skeptical, and sensitive questions
Identify the strongest central message and supporting facts
Organize approved evidence and background information
Help the founder distinguish what can be discussed publicly from what must remain confidential
Review completed interviews and identify lessons for future opportunities

Press and Communications Materials

Help maintain accurate founder biographies, organizational descriptions, media summaries, fact sheets, timelines, and approved visual assets
Develop supervised media packets for specific audiences
Help create concise summaries of complex matters
Review materials for unsupported claims, confusing language, and unnecessary legal risk
Correct inaccurate descriptions using approved facts and supporting sources
Maintain consistent language describing Make Me Visible’s mission and work

Public Accountability

Identify situations in which media attention may improve public understanding, create accountability, or connect a vulnerable person with meaningful assistance
Help explain institutional failures without presenting disputed allegations as established conclusions
Research prior reporting on similar patterns
Identify credible experts, advocates, and professionals who could provide independent context
Document which institutions received notice, how they responded, and what remained unresolved
Protect confidential medical, legal, financial, and personal information throughout the process

Educational Structure and Supervision

Each fellow will receive:

An Individual Fellowship Plan identifying skills and professional goals
Orientation covering confidentiality, evidence handling, media ethics, source verification, and responsible advocacy
Weekly instructional and media-strategy meetings
Defined assignments connected to learning objectives
Regular access to a designated supervisor
Feedback on research, story angles, pitches, and interview materials
Opportunities to revise and strengthen work
A midpoint evaluation and final skills assessment
Coordination with an academic institution when credit is requested
A final summary of the skills, assignments, and professional competencies completed during the fellowship

Fellowship Milestones

Weeks 1–2: Foundations and Media Analysis

Complete confidentiality and responsible-communications orientation
Learn the difference between verified facts, allegations, and unanswered questions
Review Make Me Visible’s mission, audiences, and case-based advocacy
Analyze examples of strong and weak media pitches
Establish an Individual Fellowship Plan
Select an initial media-research lane

Weeks 3–5: Contact Qualification and Story Development

Build a qualified media-contact matrix
Document why each contact is relevant
Develop focused public-interest story angles
Identify supporting evidence and missing information
Draft initial pitches
Revise the work after receiving feedback

Weeks 6–9: Supervised Outreach and Relationship Development

Participate in approved outreach
Track responses and follow-up dates
Develop value-adding follow-up messages
Research adjacent reporters and alternative media channels
Analyze what is producing engagement
Adjust the angle, contact strategy, or timing when an approach fails

Weeks 10–12: Interview and Media Preparation

Prepare an interview briefing packet
Develop anticipated questions and evidence-supported responses
Organize approved background materials
Help prepare for a journalist, podcast, documentary, or public-interest conversation
Review the outcome and identify improvements

Weeks 13–15: Capstone and Professional Development

Complete a targeted media-strategy packet
Present the strongest contacts, angles, risks, and recommended next steps
Produce a redacted portfolio-quality writing sample
Complete a final skills assessment
Receive a written summary of demonstrated competencies
Develop a résumé-ready description of the fellowship experience

Measurable Learning Deliverables

By the end of the 3.5-month fellowship, the participant should be able to demonstrate meaningful progress through work such as:

A qualified media-contact matrix with documented relevance
Separate audience and media strategies for selected Make Me Visible initiatives
At least two evidence-supported story angles
Individualized pitch and follow-up sequences
A media tracker documenting approved outreach and next actions
An interview-preparation packet
An approved fact sheet or media backgrounder
A written analysis of what generated interest and what should change
A final media-strategy capstone
A redacted portfolio-quality writing sample
Documented improvement between the initial and final skills assessments

Every material factual statement must be connected to a reliable source. Work will be evaluated for accuracy, judgment, relevance, organization, confidentiality, initiative, responsiveness to feedback, and completion of agreed learning milestones.

Media placements, interviews, publication decisions, partnerships, funding, and other outcomes controlled by third parties cannot be guaranteed and will not be the sole measure of performance.

What Success Looks Like

Success means the fellow can demonstrate that:

Media contacts were selected for documented reasons
Pitches were tailored to the recipient’s actual work
Story angles were focused, timely, and supported by evidence
Make Me Visible’s work was not reduced to a generic founder profile
Interview preparation was thorough and accurate
Every approved media lead received appropriate follow-through
Failed approaches produced a thoughtful change in strategy
Sensitive information was handled responsibly
Completed work could be understood and continued by another team member
The fellow developed stronger professional judgment across the semester

Non-Negotiable Work Standard

The people Make Me Visible serves cannot afford careless or passive advocacy. This work requires urgency, accuracy, persistence, and the ability to act while an issue remains timely.

Fellows must be able to conduct research independently, identify what makes a story important, propose the next step, communicate blockers promptly, and follow approved opportunities through completion.

Initiative does not mean making unauthorized decisions. It means investigating the problem, presenting a thoughtful recommendation, asking questions when necessary, and continuing to work when the first approach does not succeed.

Repeated missed deadlines, generic pitches, inaccurate claims, unverified contacts, mishandling of confidential information, unexplained silence, or failure to respond to feedback may result in reassignment and may lead to the fellowship ending under the written agreement.

Who Should Apply

Apply if you:

Are pursuing or recently completed studies in public relations, journalism, communications, media, public policy, law, advocacy, or a related field
Understand how journalists, editors, producers, documentary teams, and podcast hosts evaluate stories
Can identify a specific public-interest angle instead of relying on promotional language
Write concise pitches with a defensible reason to care now
Can handle sensitive disability, financial, legal, institutional-failure, and advocacy subjects responsibly
Understand the difference between media activity and a credible media opportunity
Can follow a story from research through approved outreach and follow-up
Accept feedback and strengthen your work through revision
Continue working when the most obvious approach does not succeed
Take confidentiality, accuracy, and source verification seriously

Prior professional PR experience is helpful but not required. Honest judgment, strong research, careful writing, and a willingness to learn matter more than exaggerated claims of expertise.

What You Will Gain

This fellowship provides supervised experience in:

Public-interest story development
Investigative media research
Journalist and producer qualification
Individualized pitch development
Interview preparation
Media-list and relationship management
Evidence-based communications
Disability and institutional-accountability advocacy
Ethical communication involving sensitive matters
Message development for complex subjects
Analyzing outreach performance and adapting strategy
Translating complicated evidence into understandable public narratives
Receiving substantive feedback and improving work through revision

Fellows will not be given meaningless administrative assignments simply to fill time. Work will be connected to defined learning objectives and active efforts to create public understanding, credible visibility, institutional accountability, and pathways toward resolution.

By the end of the fellowship, participants should leave with stronger professional judgment, tangible work, clearer evidence of their capabilities, and a deeper understanding of how responsible media advocacy can support people whom institutions have failed to protect.

Important Fellowship Boundaries

The fellow will not:

Present allegations as established facts
Speak publicly on behalf of Make Me Visible without authorization
Contact media using unapproved materials
Promise publication, representation, recovery, funding, or government action
Disclose confidential legal, medical, financial, or personal information
Upload protected information to personal accounts, unapproved platforms, or AI tools
Provide legal advice
Independently control active media relationships
Replace the work of a paid employee

All external communications must be reviewed and authorized before being sent. Fellows will work within their agreed schedules and will not be expected to remain available outside those hours.

The fellowship does not create an entitlement to future employment. Either party may end the fellowship in accordance with the written fellowship agreement. Confidentiality, return of materials, transfer of completed work, and deletion of protected information remain required at departure.

Proof-of-Ability Requirement

Applicants must spend no more than 45 minutes completing the following:

Identify three media contacts whose previous work directly connects with Make Me Visible
Provide one specific example of each person’s relevant work
Develop one original public-interest story angle
Write the opening three to five sentences of a pitch
Explain the next two actions you would take if the recipient did not respond

The exercise is for candidate evaluation and will not be used externally without the applicant’s permission.

Famous names without relevance, generic media lists, unsupported claims, and copied pitch templates will not be considered.

About the Founder

Make Me Visible was founded by Sweta Patel, an entrepreneur, investigative researcher, and patient advocate who has spent years navigating complex legal, medical, financial, and institutional systems.

The platform is being built from lived experience, not from a distance, to create the structure, visibility, continuity, and protection that vulnerable people are too often denied.