Not just a random homeless girl either but one of our very own, Bri, today heard that she was to be given the opportunity to work with Elle Magazine’s advice columnist E. Jean. So, just how does a homeless girl get to become an intern at one of the world’s most prestigious fashion magazines?

The story goes back to April when she came across an ad last looking for writers/fashionistas to do an advice columnist competition.

“I believe they were specifically looking for ‘the Next Carrie Bradshaw’. OK, I have to admit, I’ve never seen a single episode of ‘Sex and the City’.  Yes, I’m a traitor to my gender.”

It was more a shot in the dark than anything and she was quite certain she would never hear anything back from them but figured she would send in a quick letter with her story and see what happened.

“I mean, I’m less of a writer than a blogger, but I do love writing, and I love fashion, especially vintage and retro clothing. I bet I could out-cute SJP and her super-overpaid stylist any day, haha.”

Only she did hear back from them:

“…a certain chika was called in for a screen test this week. Guess who? (hint: me!!!!!)”

Of course now she found out what she was actually getting herself into. She discovered that the little competition she thought she had entered was in fact a reality tv show, produced by Freemantle Media of American Idol/America’s Got Talent fame.

“And the prize?  An internship at Elle magazine, being mentored by a very funny, slightly crazy, super-awesome columnist whom I’ve read for years.”

Everyone remembers Chris Gardner, subject of the movie Pursuit Of Happyness, right? For those that don’t know the story, Chris Gardner earned a high-profile internship while living homeless - an internship which enabled him to go on to become a giant in the financial sector and multi-millionnaire.

However, it was too early to start thinking about movie deals just yet as this was certainly not to be the end of the story. On the day of the screen test, nerves got the better of her and in her own words, “I bombed it.”

Now regular readers here who know Bri also know how spirited and determined she can be and that she is not one to give up on something easily. She then took it upon herself to write in to E. Jean herself via her column at Elle.

Dear E. Jean: I’m currently homeless and living in a Wal-Mart parking lot. I’m educated, I have never done drugs, and I am not mentally ill. I have a strong employment history and am a career executive assistant. The instability sucks, but I’m rocking it as best as I can. Recently I stumbled across a job notice (a reality show casting call for executive assistants) and was intrigued enough to apply. It was a shot in the dark, and I assumed I’d never hear back. Surprise! I was called in this week! And I promptly bombed it. When I found out who was involved in the show I got kind of starstruck and completely froze up. My usual personality did not radiate. My question: How does one get another shot when one screws up a job interview? —Homeless, but Not Hopeless

Once more, Bri never expected to receive any response so you can imagine her surprise when she discovered not only that her letter had been published in Elle Magazine but also to the response that E. Jean had written to her.

“Of course, the cleverest way to land a good job (and get an apartment) is to already have a good job/internship/volunteer position. This strategy permits you to impress the interviewers with the superhuman passion you have for your current projects.”

“This is what you did with your letter: You knocked me out with your courage and spirit. I am therefore, Miss Not Hopeless, offering you a four-month internship……. If you accept this internship, you’ll telecommute to my East Coast mountain office one hour a day, six days a week. At the end of the four months, if you don’t have a job and an awesome place to live, I will becomeyour intern.”

There was one more small potential problem, the article was a month old already and Bri only found out today. Some frantic emailing and a little cyber-stalking later though and Bri was able to make contact and verify that the position was still available to her. She starts September 1st.

NEW YORK (CNN) -- In a recent CNN commentary entitled "Green jobs: hope or hype?" Samuel Sherraden argues that green job creation will be insufficient to bring America out of recession. But Sherraden narrowly defines green as a "sector," and fails to see its potential as a strategy for the revitalization of the entire economy.

When the public debate is focused around the precise number of green jobs created in, say, a solar panel factory, we miss the opportunity as a country to think more broadly about greening the economy -- and building a foundation for real growth and competitiveness.

The aspiration to create "green jobs" should really be seen as shorthand for two public priorities -- immediate job creation and long-term transformation of the economy for sustainability and prosperity -- and both goals can be addressed simultaneously. However, in judging our progress, a simple tally of jobs in "green sectors" is only a partial indicator of the impact and thus can be misleading.

A lot depends here on definitions. For example, Sherraden cites a 2008 report produced by Global Insight on behalf of the U.S. Conference of Mayors, which identifies a little more than 750,000 green jobs in the United States today.

A report in the same year, from the American Solar Energy Society, counts more than 9 million green jobs in the United States. This is not to say that one report is better than the other, but to point out that much difference -- in this case, more than 8 million jobs -- depends on how you count.

The critical point Sherraden misses is that it's not just job creation in new green industries that matter, but also new jobs in traditional industries -- or the retooling of old jobs -- to make those industries greener.

A great example is the real estate industry. Energy efficiency retrofits of buildings and homes have the potential to yield significant savings in energy costs while creating work for building engineers, electricians, contractors, manufacturers and people in a whole host of other industries that would not typically be considered "green."

By comparison, 10 or 15 years ago anyone who used a computer was considered to have a "tech job," but now nearly everyone uses a computer (and a cell phone and a PDA) and yet we don't call all jobs "tech jobs." We talk about how technology has changed every industry and profession.

Moreover, even investments in sectors we recognize as green can have other positive economic impacts. Investing in wind power, for example, creates jobs in wind turbine manufacturing plants as well as jobs in the industries that supply the plant with parts, jobs producing the materials that make up these parts, jobs producing the electricity used in the plant, and so on.

There is solid evidence that investment in green economic activity will result in more jobs than many other comparable investments because a greater proportion of funds would go toward labor and would remain in the United States.

The Center for American Progress and the Political Economy Research Institute examined the impact of comparable investments in the oil and gas industry, tax refunds to stimulate household spending, and six specific energy efficiency and renewable energy strategies.

They concluded that $100 billion of investment in renewable energy and energy efficiency would create approximately 2 million jobs, compared to 1.7 million jobs from stimulating household spending and about half a million jobs from investment in oil and gas.

By investing in renewable energy and energy efficiency as strategies for our economy, we will create jobs in the United States, not just green jobs. More importantly, we lay the groundwork for American economic competitiveness and moral leadership in a carbon-constrained world.

If we fail to support environmental innovation through investment and public policy, the United States will find itself at a disadvantage relative to other nations.

America is at a crossroads. If we see green as an engine of growth, there is an unprecedented opportunity to create jobs and revitalize the economy through smart, wide-ranging investments supported by changes in public policy. In the debate over green job creation, we must not lose sight of the larger objective -- the creation of an economy that is more sustainable, in terms of employment, competitiveness and impact on the natural world.

What we need to be asking is: How can we make every industry a green industry and every job a green job?