As part of a project sponsored by C-SPAN and Comcast Cable to encourage dialog between students and national figures, Erica Williams talked to students at Eastern High School in Washington, D.C., about careers in nongovernmental organizations (NGOs).

Erica Williams is the deputy director of Campus Progress, part of the Center for American Progress. The group does grassroots and national organizing for progressive causes among young voters. Ms. Williams previously worked for the Leadership Conference on Civil Rights.