| |
|
Home | Programs | AmeriCorps*VISTA | Current VISTA Members |
Current VISTA Members | |
Current Members and Sites
View Larger Map
- Adam Stanley, Bakersfield
Upon his May 2008 graduation from Juniata College in Central Pennsylvania, Adam found himself asking the question: "What do you want do with your life?" After realizing he had only planned this out to the end of his college career, he decided to go to California and volunteer for a year. He very much enjoys helping others, and hopes that some day to continue his education and become a professor of communication. Until then, however, he will be surfing, biking, running, traveling and doing his best to help out the Cesar E. Chavez Service Learning Clubs.
Tyson Wirth graduated from the University of Iowa in 2008 with a BA in Journalism. Tyson also completed a secondary focus in Business and studied abroad in Viterbo, Italy, during the spring of 2007. He enjoys basketball and football, discovering great causes, and exploring different career paths; during the past few years he has worked as a reporter and editor at The Daily Iowan, a live-in mentor to disadvantaged high school students through the Upward Bound Project, a Campus Campaign Coordinator with Teach For America and a Counselor for individuals with disabilities. Tyson currently works as an AmeriCorps VISTA with the Cesar Chavez clubs in Coachella, CA. He is the proud uncle of two mischief-makers in Coralville, Iowa, near where Tyson grew up.
- Kamil Faridi, San Francisco
Kamil Faridi started his year of service with Americorps in July. He is working with the Cesar E. Chavez Clubs in San Francisco. He graduated from Duke University with a B.S. in biology last May and will be returning to his alma mater in 2009 to begin medical school. He hails from Lawndale, North Carolina and enjoys exercising, reading, and watching movies.
Linda also known as Lynn Flanders for short, moved to California from back east in the early 1980’s and formed, ADPRO Unlimited, a marketing consulting company. For the next 25 years, she opened and operated offices in Newport Beach, Riverside and Carlsbad, California. As a consultant, Lynn provided marketing, advertising, public relations, promotions and event planning serviced to diverse industry groups. Ms. Flanders joined VISTA/AmeriCorps in April, 2008, as the Community Resource Liaison for the Cesar E. Chavez Service-Learning Clubs in four of Riverside County’s Middle Schools. Her mission is to help find community resources for the Clubs and build sustainable partnerships so they can accomplish their goals and maintain their core values. Graduating from RSID and the Advertising Arts College, Ms. Flanders is a member in the American Marketing Association, the National Association for Female Executives and holds a seat on an Advisory Board at the local Community Center.
Laurel joined as an AmeriCorps*VISTA last April serving in Hayward. She brings her experience from traveling, living abroad in Budapest, Hungry, and history of community service projects such as Co-Coordinating an AIDS Food Drive in High School, volunteering in soup kitchens, working on farms in Italy and Costa Rica, helping to start a school garden for at-risk youth, and organizing events for Choice USA, an organization that promotes women’s rights and health. Laurel graduated from UCSC with a degree in the History of Art and Visual Culture. In her spare time Laurel likes to work on her culinary skills, hike in the Oakland hills, go on really long bike rides, garden, practice yoga, and write for fun. In the future, Laurel is planning to volunteer abroad in Latin America, and will someday probably go to Grad School for Public Health, or Cultural/Diversity Studies. But, she’s not sure quite yet. Currently, Laurel is most proud of the project her Clubs have been working on called “Cooking For Change”, where the middle school youth cook a meal once a week for a local domestic violence shelter, using mostly fresh produce from their school garden.
Erica Louche currently serves as an Americorps*VISTA at Greer Elementary School, in Galt, Ca. She works to help coordinate the Cesar E. Chavez Afterschool program. She also works at the Cosumnes River Preserve helping facilitate school field trips. She has experience working with an organization in the bay area called Carp, which focuses on building character, relationships, and core values for the individual. Projects include beautification and landscaping projects throughout the bay area. These were all great experiences for her in which she has been proud to have had the opportunity. On her free time she enjoys hanging out with friends, going to live theatre, writing, reading, and drawing.
- Kimberly Ramsingh, Modesto
Late one afternoon, while browsing the internet, I came across the AmeriCorps website and was immediately captivated by the stories and
experiences of past AmeriCorps members. Shortly thereafter, I joined as
an AmeriCorps*VISTA and since then it has been a truly enriching
experience, both spiritually and professionally. I am motivated by the
sense of achievement and knowledge that, in some way, my contributions
help to make a difference in our community.
Varsha was born and raised in America. Her name means tiny droplets of rain in Hindi. Hindi is her parents' mother tongue. Both parents were born and raised in northern India. She has her BA from Siena College and her MPA from Rutgers University. She got started working with middle schoolers while being a Sylvan tutor in math and reading. She loves being an AmeriCorps*VISTA member and enjoys doing service for the youth in America. She is passionate about her music, racquetball, and cooking. She hopes to learn Spanish someday and travel more around the world.
- Rebecca Spence, Riverside
Rebecca Spence started her VISTA position after graduating from Guilford College in Greensboro, NC. At Guilford, Rebecca majored in political science with a concentration in religious studies. She was active in the Bonner Scholars program, with which she worked with the Glen Haven Multicultural After School Tutorial Program, a tutoring center for refugee children, as a tutor and project coordinator. During her summers she undertook internships at the American Civil Liberties Union of MD and Charles Village Community Benefits District in Baltimore, acted as co-director of the Glen Haven summer camp, and backpacked across Europe, spending six weeks studying in Prague. She helped plan and participated in service trips to the Crow Reservation in Montana, Nicaragua, and India. Rebecca, who grew up in West Virginia, likes practicing yoga and speaking German. She enjoys cooking and eating vegan food, going on trips, and playing with her cat Kiley.
Julie Wanamaker has been working with students for the last nine years. She has worked and volunteered in numerous schools and after-school programs. She worked with homeless youth at the Bethune Transitional Center as an after-school tutor and mentor. Following an internship mentoring at-risk youth for Long Beach BLAST, she worked as a liaison to strengthen their CAHSEE intervention tutoring program. She recently completed her BA in Psychology with a minor in Middle Eastern Studies from California State University Long Beach. While working on her degree, Julie also worked as a video game tester for Square Enix. In her free time, she enjoys cooking, hockey, basketball,
and reggae.
Riana Dilley is a recent graduate of Lewis & Clark College in Portland, Or with a BA degree in Sociology/ Anthropology and a minor in Latin American Studies. A native of Minnesota, Riana has also spent a year in Chile as a Rotary Exchange Student and seven months in Rio de Janeiro on a college
study-abroad program and, as a result, is proficient in both Spanish and
Portuguese. Riana hopes to go back to school for a Master’s degree in Education and eventually teach in a bilingual classroom. She enjoys bike riding, reading, cooking, traveling and would like to learn to speak Arabic.
Elizabeth has spent most of her professional life working in schools as a teacher and an organizer. She recently earned a teaching credential in Social Science for Secondary Education at Humboldt State University where she also earned her BA in Social Science. During her time as a student and a teacher she gained a passion for Service Learning and the positive impact it has on students, and the community as a whole. She has worked as an instructor for Humboldt Upward Bound, a program designed to help low income students from rural areas finish high school and set positive goals for post secondary school. Prior to this she worked and volunteered in several community venues spreading awareness and teaching strategies to deal with homophobia in schools and the community. She was recognized for her work with GLBT teens by Humboldt County’s Board of Mental Health. This is her first year as an AmeriCorps volunteer. Although indirect service is the focus of the VISTA, Elizabeth does work with students in the EAST lab on occasion. EAST is a service learning based class that Elizabeth co-facilitated as a student teacher. Beyond working on the CECSC, Elizabeth also works on a number of other projects in Eureka City Schools, including educating youth about hunger in the community, and promoting Service Learning at all school sites in the district by contacting teachers, preparing information for administrators and giving Service Learning workshops. She likes to ride bikes, watch movies, and spend time with family and friends.
FYI: Leadership Institute 2/9/2008-2/11/2008
NEED THIS?
Links to Forms (PDF/Word documents that are important)
1. Quarterly Reports
2. Timesheets
3. Travel Reimbursement Request
4. Sustainability Plan
|
| Links and Related Resources
Corporation for National and Community Service
The National organization that is charged with coordinating all government service programs.
AmeriCorps Home Page
The national service program that incorporates and manages AmeriCorps*State and National, NCCC, and VISTA.
Peace Corps
International Service Opportunities
CaliforniaVolunteers
The California State organization that coordinates and state service programs.
Chavez Foundation
The organization dedicated to promoting the life and Legacy of Cesar E. Chavez.
AmeriCorps*VISTA
The twelve-month AmeriCorps position focused on fighting poverty.
VISTA Member Handbook
The on-line resource covering all the Terms, Conditions, and Benefits for VISTA service.
|
