In loving memory of our dearly departed colleague, VisionSpring established the Patricia Sagna Memorial Internship for Women of Color in Supply Chain Operations and Logistics.
 

The internship is named in honor of a former VisionSpring employee, Patricia Sagna, who skillfully managed VisionSpring’s global supply chain from 2018-2019 and touched the VisionSpring family with her humor, curiosity, and friendship. Patricia’s untiring commitment to raising up others inspires us to serve her memory by creating an opportunity for promising students to build their international career experience.
 

VisionSpring created the internship in recognition of barriers that prevent qualified people, particularly for women of color, from entering careers in international development and progressing in the field of supply chain management and operations. Internships in international development are typically unpaid, such that students and new graduates must self-fund their time with a non-profit. This makes opportunities expensive and inaccessible for many candidates and results in elite capture of entry-level opportunities. The field of Supply Chain Management and Logistics is primarily occupied by men (75%) and women hold just 5% of leadership positions.
 

The internship is designed to advance more women of color into the fields of international development and supply chain operations by creating an opportunity for interns to gain mentorship and expand their practical knowledge and their global experience.
 

Interns will assist VisionSpring in maintaining a reliable supply of radically affordable eyeglasses to hospitals, vision centers, non-profits, and government agencies serving low-income customers in emerging markets. Interns will have responsibilities within operations, supply chain, analysis, and sales support. Interns will report to the Global Supply Chain Director and will collaborate with the global finance and sales teams. 

The current internship is scoped as a Spring semester engagement. For candidates who excel in the role and show enthusiasm and commitment, there is the potential to extend the internship through the summer and fall semesters upon mutual agreement. Extended-term candidates may also be invited to visit one of our global locations in India, Bangladesh, or Sub-Saharan Africa where they will work alongside VisionSpring team members.

Internship begins: Monday, March 2nd, 2026

Internship completes: June 2026

 

About You:

• You are motivated to take on new projects as your role evolves with your personal and professional growth.
• You are passionate about learning about international non-profit supply chain operations.
• You have great follow-through, are deliverable and deadline-oriented, and have an eye for detail.
• You are interested in working in a global. fast-paced and dynamic environment.
• You’re a team player, ready to work alongside a vibrant international team.

About Us: 

• We are creating affordable access to eyeglasses, everywhere. Clear vision creates opportunities for increased learning, work, safety, civic participation, and quality of life.
• As a social enterprise, social change motivates us. Our focus on sales and revenue targets serves and advances our mission – to increase functioning, productivity, and income-earning potential for low-income consumers through the correction of refractive errors with eyeglasses.
• We are working to transform the systemic dysfunction of the optical market, which has failed to deliver eyeglasses, a 700-year-old technology, to a billion consumers in need of vision correction, most earning less than $4 a day.
• We serve low-income consumers not as beneficiaries but as customers. Our customers expect a high-quality and affordable product and will spend a limited discretionary income for the immediate and tangible benefits of vision correction.
• By selling eyeglasses, we awaken new demand and seed a viable market. By selling new eyeglasses we are able to serve four times more people per dollar input than the alternative of donating recycled ones. To efficiently scale, we must deliver each new unit with less cost.
• We believe in scaling our impact, not our organization. We are a lean team of doers.

 

Compensation

$5,600 ($20/hr.) in total stipend for the duration of the internship. 

We invite foundations, corporations, and individuals to contribute as a commitment to countering systemic bias in non-profit workplaces and advancing diversity in supply chain professions.

Requirements

• An undergraduate or graduate student majoring in Supply Chain Management.
• A commitment to a 20 hours per week work schedule.
• Demonstrate an interest in social enterprise, international development, global health, or livelihoods.
• Currently authorized to work in the U.S. and located within Eastern or Central U.S. time zones.

What You’ll Do

• Participate in supply chain meetings and discussions related to the day-to-day management of the department on such topics as inventory management & forecasting, third-party logistics and warehouse operations, and analysis of procurement vs. sales performance.
• Receive hands-on training in the use of VisionSpring’s ERP System “SAP”. Learn how to:
  • create item codes and business partner records
  • process purchase orders, goods receipts PO and A/P invoices
  • process sales orders, deliveries, and A/R invoices
  • conduct inventory transfers
  • run sales reports and analyze trends
• Receive a hands-on introduction to Salesforce (CRM).
• Create and analyze sales and procurement reports. Assist with tracking Supply Chain metrics.
• Interview department leaders in Supply Chain, Finance, Development, Marketing, and Sales to understand how the supply chain team works across the organization and across functions
• Develop and undertake a strategic project aligned to your interests and VisionSpring’s needs. Present your findings and recommendations to the CEO, Global Supply Chain Director, and other relevant
• Gain real-world knowledge and experience that will take you beyond the supply chain textbooks and theories.