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What's New? - August Newsletter

9/9/2020

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Meet Your 2020-21 Leadership Team!

9/4/2020

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KENZLEY DEFLER,
VISTA TEAM LEADER

Kenzley grew up in Kentucky, went to college in Alabama, and has most recently been living in Tanzania for 2 years volunteering with the Peace Corps. She will be serving as the VISTA Team Leader and is excited to get involved with the community, learn, and develop new skills through her role. Kenzley is passionate about environmental sustainability and can’t wait to explore the many outdoor activities Alaska has to offer. In her free time, Kenzley can be found reading, running, or at a coffee shop to escape the snow.

MICHAEL SANDERS,
PROGRAM DIRECTOR

Mike Sanders has been the Housing & Homeless Coordinator for the City of Fairbanks since March 2017 and has overseen the local AmeriCorps VISTA program since January 2019. Mike is a certified Project Management Professional with a PhD in Public Policy Administration. Mike is married and the father of two sons.

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Welcome Your August Year-Long VISTAs!

9/4/2020

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Mikayla, Tessa, Hal, Sol, Nicole, and Stephen will serve Fairbanks from August 31, 2020 - August 30, 2021. Year-long VISTAs perform indirect service focusing on capacity building. Stay tuned for updates as their year progresses!

Mikayla Riley,
Reentry Program Associate

Mikayla was born and raised 40 minutes south of Boston, Massachusetts, and recently graduated with her Masters in Social Work from Roberts Wesleyan College with a focus on mental health. She will be spending the year working with the Fairbanks Reentry Coalition on capacity building projects centered around creating awareness of and providing comprehensive services to individuals who have experienced incarceration. She loves the outdoors and spending time in nature.

Tessa Holmes,
FSWCD Project Development Specialist

Originally from Cleveland, Ohio, Tessa comes to Alaska to join the Fairbanks Soil and Water Conservation District (FSWCD). She will assist in the development and implementation of a large-scale hydroponic vertical farm that aims to improve food security and provide job training opportunities for the Fairbanks community. Excited to combine her interests in community development and sustainability, Tessa sees this VISTA year as a great opportunity to gain work experience and explore the Alaskan wilderness!

Hal Gensler,
Northern Hope Center Development Coordinator

Hal is a recent High School graduate from Illinois. Hal is a full year AmeriCorps VISTA, working with the Northern Hope Center. She will be helping build organizational capacity to achieve long term stability and financial independence. Hal has never been to Alaska prior to the VISTA program, and is looking forward to going to the mountains for the first time, meeting new people, and being involved in the community. After her time with AmeriCorps, she is hoping to go to college. As of now, she wishes to major in Peace and Social Justice to be able to work with nonprofits in the future.

Nicole Wills,
ThrivAlaska Development & Communications Coordinator

Nicole comes to Fairbanks from the Finger Lakes region of New York. She will be spending her year working with ThrivAlaska focusing on fundraising, marketing, and sustainability. She is very excited to learn the ropes of how nonprofits make a tangible difference in people’s lives and to get to use her experiences working with children and families for a big picture goal. In her free time, Nicole loves choral singing, making art, and spending time outside with her dog, Juniper.

Stephen Greenlaw, FNSB Public Library Services Coordinator

Stephen is originally from San Diego, California. He has been living in Fairbanks, Alaska for several years now. He received his Bachelor's of Arts degree in Fisheries and minor in Spanish at the University of Alaska Fairbanks. He will be spending his year serving as a Library Program Specialist VISTA with the Fairbanks North Star Borough Public Libraries. He will be assisting in projects centered around poverty alleviation and community outreach. He is a foodie and loves coffee.

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THANK YOU, ZAK!

9/2/2020

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Zak wrapped up her service year on September 1, 2020. She served at Fairbanks North Star Borough Library as their Library Program Specialist. In her role, she created programs and resources for the community like the GED Scholarship and Library-Con for teenagers. In addition, she creatively reminded the community of the many programs already offered at the library and by other organizations they partnered with. You may remember her from her funny and literacy centered videos she created and launched on Facebook for your laughs and information. Zak will continue to live in Fairbanks for the next two years attending UAF and working as an amateur videographer. Her long term goal is to attend medical school and eventually live and work abroad.

From the moment Zak arrived, I could tell we were very lucky to have her here. Rarely do you meet someone with such imagination and creativity combined with skill. Using her talents to encourage literacy and library use she began a very successful run of highlighting library resources to members of our community. I have no doubt she made a difference in the lives of very many people. Zak fit right into our crew and became a member of the library family and will be missed. We wish her all the best in her future endeavors!"

- Melissa Harter, director of FNSB libraries

Zak, thank you for your service to our community. You helped our local program with your creativity, humor and passion. We look forward to seeing you around town!

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WHAT'S NEW?

What's New? - August Newsletter

Meet Your 2020-21 Leadership Team!

KENZLEY DEFLER,
VISTA TEAM LEADER

MICHAEL SANDERS,
PROGRAM DIRECTOR

Welcome Your August Year-Long VISTAs!

Mikayla Riley,
Reentry Program Associate

Tessa Holmes,
FSWCD Project Development Specialist

Hal Gensler,
Northern Hope Center Development Coordinator

Nicole Wills,
ThrivAlaska Development & Communications Coordinator

Stephen Greenlaw, FNSB Public Library Services Coordinator

THANK YOU, ZAK!

Archives

Categories

WHAT'S NEW?

What's New? - August Newsletter

Meet Your 2020-21 Leadership Team!

KENZLEY DEFLER,​VISTA TEAM LEADER

MICHAEL SANDERS,​PROGRAM DIRECTOR

Welcome Your August Year-Long VISTAs!

Mikayla Riley, ​Reentry Program Associate

Tessa Holmes, ​FSWCD Project Development Specialist

Hal Gensler,​Northern Hope Center Development Coordinator

Nicole Wills, ​ThrivAlaska Development & Communications Coordinator

Stephen Greenlaw, ​FNSB Public Library Services Coordinator

THANK YOU, ZAK!

Archives

Categories

KENZLEY DEFLER,
VISTA TEAM LEADER

MICHAEL SANDERS,
PROGRAM DIRECTOR

Mikayla Riley,
Reentry Program Associate

Tessa Holmes,
FSWCD Project Development Specialist

Hal Gensler,
Northern Hope Center Development Coordinator

Nicole Wills,
ThrivAlaska Development & Communications Coordinator

Stephen Greenlaw, FNSB Public Library Services Coordinator