As we plunge forth into spring we want to introduce everyone
to our new incoming Action Corps organizers! At the same time, we want to
celebrate and appreciate the time and dedication our current organizers have
poured into their teams.
So let’s give a round of thank you’s and applause to our
2012-2013 organizers — Jessica Shao, Amy
Torregrossa, Lance Massey, Amy Luebbert, Jessica Benoit, Adam Farag, Jen Kash, Hope
Berndt, Shannon Brown, Rebecca Light-Sergott, Carolina Garcia, Elizabeth
Harper, Kim Kokett, Emma Claudius, Lauren Ordorff, Jasmine McBeath, Kalen
Olson, Taryn Fusco, Jill Mizell, Djeynaba Ba, Jessica Buchard, Cheryl Dunn,
Lindsy Ray, Jackie Anderson, Shannon Morris, Heather Davis, Kayla Timmons,
Melissa Watkinson, Elise Swanson, and Kathryn DeLosh. We hope that you will
continue to play an integral role with Oxfam in your cities, as your experience
and enthusiasm are invaluable.
All 2013-2014 organizers will be returning to your cities in
full force after our Washington DC leadership training — so be prepared for a
year of action! Here they are:
California
Yoshiko Hill was born and raised in the Bay Area. She was educated
in San Francisco and currently employed as a marketing database manager.
Outside of Oxfam, she has worked with
local governments and the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency for various
community focused environmental initiatives. She has been volunteering with Oxfam for nearly a
year now and is ready to organize for the 2013-2014 Action Corps year!
Brook Sinclair
grew up in Vallejo, California which is ranked one of the most diverse cities
in the country. She received a degree in Psychology from California State
University, Monterey Bay. She currently works in elementary school with
developmentally disabled children but is interested in pursuing program management
for nonprofits.
Illinois
Megan Nakra was
born and raised in suburban Naperville, lives in rural Kankakee, but loves the
city of Chicago. She is a clinical R&D scientist with a passion for policy,
but also assumes many other roles which include teaching undergraduate
students, chairing events and marketing for the National Ovarian Cancer
Coalition, and practicing as a licensed EMT. With an eclectic background under
her belt, Megan is ready to forge forth and generate waves of solutions with
Oxfam.
Kathryn Sokolowski
is a native South Sider and has been involved with the Chicago Action Corps for
the last 2 years. She is in her 5th year as a high school teacher in a high
needs district in the far southwest suburb of Joliet. Issues of hunger and
poverty are an everyday part of her classroom, as a majority of her students
are low-income and receive free or reduced lunch. She encourages her students
to be problem solvers in their communities and further lives as an example by
studying policy and community development at DePaul University and tackling
problem solving at a global level with Oxfam.
Indiana
Christina Schneider
is from Louisville but has moved to Indianapolis for a change in scenery and
for an internship at the Indiana Statehouse. She is an Anthropology student who
works part-time for a non-profit that is fighting for consumer rights and
environmental justice. She worked at a state park last year as an AmeriCorps
volunteer and ran political campaigns across the state. I can't wait to
start working with Oxfam to promote food justice in Indy!
Kim Kiser works full-time
as the food-production manager at Second Helpings in Indianapolis, an
organization which provides 3,400 meals a day to people in the Indy area. This
coming May, Kim will graduate with her master’s from the Indiana University
School of Philanthropy where she has completed a lot of research related to
food-insecurity and hunger.
Iowa
Aaron Schlumbohm
lives in Des Moines, Iowa. He is both a University of Iowa graduate and US
Marine Corps veteran and is currently employed in the insurance industry. He
has been volunteering with the Iowa Oxfam Action Corps since last September and
decided to become more involved as an organizer. He is also getting married
this August, so 2013 is looking to be a very eventful year!
Kelly Buffalo
comes from the Meskwaki Nation in Iowa and has called Des Moines her home for
the past 2 years. She currently attends an area community college, but hopes to
transfer to the University of Oregon. Her studies focus mainly in conservation,
environmental science, and sustainability, particularly in an urban
environment. This is a big year for Kelly, as she will graduate in December
'13, get married in November, and lead the Des Moines Oxfam Action Corps!
Massachusetts
Sarah Lucey is
from a small town in central Massachusetts, but has lived in Boston for the
past five years while she attended Northeastern University. She majored in
human services & international affairs and has been focused on global
poverty since volunteering with Oxfam. Sarah loves traveling and has studied
abroad and interned in Costa Rica, Italy and South Africa. When not traveling
or fighting global justice you can find her singing in the university’s Choral
Society.
Suad Maow lives in Boston, was born
in Somalia, but has been in the United States since the age of seven. She is
working in the insurance industry, but hopes to branch out and expand her
experience in the field of international development. She discovered Oxfam and
the Action Corps last year after attending a fundraiser for an Oxfam-funded
project. She is currently studying Arabic and working to gain more knowledge on
poverty reduction and sustainable development.
Minneapolis
Jessica Spanswick,
a resident of Minneapolis, can often be found riding her bike around the lakes.
She was born in California and grew up on military bases around the country.
She studied at Augsburg College in Minneapolis for her undergrad in
International Relations. Currently she work as an admissions representative for
Globe University and is taking graduate courses in business through her
employer. She aspires to use her privilege and rights to make this world a more
equitable place for all people, animals, and environments.
Margaret Richardson
is a resident of St. Paul who has been very involved in her community. She is a
parent who single-handedly raised 5 almost adult children. She is an individual
who loves bringing people together to work on a problem, campaign, or a party.
She is currently a CNA/PCA/HHA science instructor for elementary school
children and is constantly challenging her students to be problem solvers. She has been involved with Oxfam for a while
and is thrilled to be organizing for the Minnesota team this coming year.
Missouri
Edna Wijnterp was
born and raised in the beautiful Caribbean island of Puerto Rico, but has been
in Kansas City, MO since 1999. She has a passion for travel and loves learning
about all world cultures and international issues. She is deeply concerned
about the devastating effects of hunger, poverty, war, and social injustice.
Thus she is looking forward to joining up with Oxfam which she has been
following for the past few years.
Joleen Goff has
recently moved from Warrensburg back to Kansas City. She has been teaching in
the art department of the University of Central Missouri, but will soon be
teaching art at the Nelson Atkins Museum of Art in the community outreach
programs beginning this summer. She has admired Oxfam’s work for a long time
and is excited to get involved on a deeper level as an Action Corps organizer.
New Mexico
Jasmine McBeath
is from Arizona, but moved to Albuquerque in the fall this year. She works at
Big Brothers Big Sisters, offering support to volunteers, families, and
children. She finds the work extremely rewarding (with the added benefit that
it helps her practice her Spanish!). When she returned from her year in Brazil,
she wanted to continue learning about development work and low-and-behold she
found Oxfam. She has been a leader for the New Mexico Action Corps this past
year and we are thrilled to have her join us again this coming year!
Katherine Chavez
was born and raised in New Mexico. She joined the US Navy at age 19 and served
four years before moving to Hanford, California where she worked as a
bartender in a Mexican restaurant. Kathy currently works as a pediatric nurse
at the University of New Mexico Hospital. She became involved with Oxfam at the
Albuquerque’s growers’ market where after she somehow found herself in a
kitchen full of great fresh food and wonderful, fun people.
New York
Sarah Hwang is an
attorney from New York City. She has always had a deep interest in
international human rights issues, which were her focus in law school. Through
past volunteer work abroad, she saw first-hand the devastating impact of
oppression, social injustice, poverty and hunger. Her memories and commitment
to amazing and inspiring people she lived and worked with are what led her to
Oxfam.
Elizabeth Norman
is originally from North Carolina where she grew up with her parents on a farm.
She moved to Brooklyn after graduating from Oberlin. In addition to working for
the City of New York on the healthcare budget and volunteering with Oxfam, she
is studying French. She loves to travel, and has had the opportunity to
volunteer on a cheese-making sheep farm in France last summer. She has loved
being a part of the Oxfam Action Corps for the past year and is ready to take
her commitment to the next level.
Ohio
Jeremy Ward has
had the opportunity to call a few places his home. However, he has lived in
Columbus for 9 years now. He studied at The Ohio State University for
International Economics with a focus on agriculture. After learning of Oxfam’s
work, Jeremy became interested in the organization which seemed to fit right
along the lines of his. He looks forward to leading the Action Corps in Ohio
and achieving Oxfam’s mission of righting the wrongs of poverty, hunger, and
injustice.
Lydia Bailey lives
near Columbus and volunteers with the Ohio State University to protect water
quality in the Great Lakes Watershed with the F.T. Stone Laboratory on Lake
Erie. She is working with some friends on smaller projects to accomplish goals
similar to those of Oxfam in both Bolivia and Peru with some particularly
impoverished populations in the Andes Mountains. She is inspired by the goals
Oxfam works to accomplish, and is certain that the Action Corps will make great
progress this coming year.
Pennsylvania
Information on our 2013-2014 organizers will be posted soon!
Texas
Miranda Birt lives
in Austin. She attends school online with Penn State and is majoring in
political science but has other ambitious school plans. She works for an internet
start-up that leases computers with a specific purpose for building credit, and
finds it to be an extremely rewarding job. She learned of Oxfam in one of her
international relations courses a few semesters back and she was thrilled to discover
the Action Corps in Austin. She is passionate about ending poverty and
inequality in the Middle East and North Africa, and that passion has only grown
since working in her local Action Corps team.
Lexy Keaton moved
from Arkansas to Austin, Texas a year ago. After graduating, she and some
friends started a non-profit called 3 Bags in 2 Days in 2009. Since then she
has traveled around the United States to share the idea, but finally put up
some roots in Austin. Lexy worked for grassroots on the Oxfam campaign, where
she fell in love with the organization. She is excited at opportunity to be a
part of a great community of people and advocate for the Austin Action Corps
Team.
Vermont
Ashley Grant
lives in beautiful Burlington, Vermont. She recently worked for the Vermont
State Senate where she was involved with reaching out and working with a number
of different constituencies to develop ideas into action. She is now a
consultant for start-up nonprofits in the area. While Ashley has never
personally experienced hunger or poverty, her experiences both abroad and
locally have lead her to actively seek lasting solutions to injustice — which
she will continue to pursue with the Burlington Action Corps.
Caitlin Lovegrove
has lived in a variety of places including Saudi Arabia, Switzerland, Romania,
Austria, England, Rhode Island, New York, and now Vermont. After graduating from Brown University with a
degree in international relations, Caitlin interned with several non-profits
before moving to the for-profit world of marketing. Yet she finds herself once
again in the non-profit world, working to improve the digital literacy and
capabilities of businesses and non-profits in small towns across Vermont. She
is passionate about sustainable food and is excited to work on the GROW
campaign.
Washington
Jena Dixon is one
of our incoming organizers for the Seattle Oxfam Action Corps. She is a recent
graduate from the University of Washington with a major in Society, Ethics, and
Human Behavior and minor in Human Rights. She is currently working at Safeco
Insurance as a personal lines underwriter. Philanthropy is a huge passion of
hers and thus she looks forward to a year full of community outreach and for
the opportunity to share in Oxfam’s efforts.
Ruby Mixon-Luecke
has been a volunteer with the Seattle Oxfam Action Corps for a while now and is
looking forward to leading the team this upcoming year. Influenced in large
part by her “hippie” upbringing and other various experiences in her life, Ruby
possesses a strong desire to give back and fight against the wrongs of poverty,
hunger, and injustice. She is excited at the opportunity to organize for Oxfam
in the coming year and is inspired to make a positive impact on a global scale.
Wisconsin
Mariela Quesada
is a native of Costa Rica, but currently lives with her husband and her 20
month old daughter in Madison, Wisconsin. She works at the Farley Center on a
project called Gaining Ground which assists minority farmers begin and sustain
successful farm businesses. In addition to this, she is pursuing a master’s in
public health.
Dawn Deransburg is
a southern girl born in New Orleans. She has lived in Chicago, Montreal, California,
but now finds herself in Madison Wisconsin. She recently graduated from a road
construction class and hopes to work in that field in the near future. Her
underlying belief that all individuals are entitled to shelter, food, and the
right to live the fullest life possible brought her to Oxfam last year. She is
ready to build-up and lead the Madison Action Corps this coming year.
