Community Engagement and Impact

Punnya joined FRONTLINE PBS as Audience Engagement and Impact Intern in September of 2024. The primary objective of the Impact team was to bring FRONTLINE’s films to new audiences through the creation of screening events and collaborations with local news and community organizations. Punnya was responsible for conducting impact campaign research to identify key areas where new audiences could be engaged, as well as assisting in the planning and coordinating of screening events.

Key Tasks Accomplished:

• Conducted impact research on thirteen films and over thirty events, determining the best places across the country to host film screenings, keynote speakers, and event partners.
• Performed deep dives on niche communities, including Deaf and Hard of Hearing, Latin American, Indigenous youth, HBCU, and Asian American hubs respectively, to determine how to create culturally sensitive film screenings that revolve around issues central to these communities.
• Contacted over one hundred local community organizations to assist in spreading the word regarding screening events.
• Designed promotional assets for events, including flyers and contact postcards (featured below).
• Assisted in the program development and facilitation of two youth town halls ahead of the 2024 presidential election.
• Tracked and designed an impact report that secured grant funding for the next three years (featured below).

In her senior year of high school, Punnya joined the National Parks of Boston as a Fellow. Passionate about environmental issues, Punnya joined the organization to learn more about the national parks in her city, and most importantly, how to take care of them. With the global COVID-19 pandemic underway while she was a fellow, she learned remotely alongside a group of fifteen other students, about how pandemics disrupt the national park ecosystems. The fellowship culminated in a final project, where she presented on sustainable ways to maintain and preserve local national parks.

Punnya joined Community Labor United (CLU) as a Fellow in the summer of 2020 amidst the Covid-19 pandemic. The organization was dedicated to bridging labor unions and community leaders to advance advocacy on a number of issues, including environmental justice, early education and childcare, and housing. In her time at CLU, Punnya worked closely on the Early Education and Childcare (EEC) initiative, facilitating interviews with local day care providers to discuss their stories and struggles staying in business amidst the pandemic. Collecting their testimonies, Punnya helped to develop a storytelling campaign that amplified the experiences of community leaders on the ground, while advocating for greater protections and subsidies for vulnerable businesses in the city. Punnya’s work on the EEC initiative also included sitting in on state hearings from the EEC Committee and monitoring policy changes as the pandemic continued to develop rapidly. Additionally, Punnya worked closely with the Massachusetts Environmental Justice Coalition to further advocacy on climate resiliency matters. She participated in monthly strategy meetings and conducted research on additional climate organizations that could serve as coalition partners.

Ultimately, Punnya walked away from CLU with a profound understanding of how to make others feel seen. Many of the community leaders she spoke to were undergoing many challenges, and they needed to speak to people who would work tirelessly to improve their situations, without exploiting their trauma. In collaborating with other community leaders, Punnya learned how to manage complex partnerships, facilitate difficult yet productive conversations, and work collaboratively with others towards a common goal — skills that will comprise the cornerstone of her work ethic for the rest of her professional career.

Punnya became a Fellow at Our Climate, a climate policy advocacy organization, in the summer of 2019. She found her voice as an activist at Our Climate, as she lobbied at her local Representative’s office to garner his support for a carbon pricing bill that was passing through the State House. Her efforts resulted in a collaboration with her local Representative on an op-ed piece, spreading awareness and advocating for the passing of the carbon pricing bill. Outside of her writing, she also participated in a storytelling campaign with Twilight actress and environmentalist Nikki Reed, to produce a gripping personal narrative about her experience navigating dangerous flooding on the streets of her ancestral home, Kerala, India. Nikki Reed posted her narrative to her feed to spread awareness and increase Our Climate’s exposure. In addition to lobbying, Punnya also participated in several conferences where student leaders from different organizations reflected on the qualities of intentional, effective advocacy.

The Fellowship bestowed Punnya with a sense of confidence to act on her most ardent passions, share her story with the world, and make a difference in her community.