Tasia is excited to re-join the Campus Compact network. Originally from, Miami, Florida. Tasia attended Spelman College where she earned a Bachelor’s degree in Psychology. After college, she joined the Campus Compact network through the Massachusetts Campus Compact (MACC) AmeriCorps VISTA Program where she served at Pine Manor College. At Pine Manor, Tasia developed and implemented a service-learning course that incorporated hands-on experience in New Orleans for students in support of the rebuilding of the city and the surrounding communities after the devastation of Hurricane Katrina. Tasia served as co-VISTA Leader for two years before transitioning to work in the non-profit sector and higher education where she supported low to moderate income teens and families in roles such as Volunteer Coordinator, Teen Center Director and Educational Advisor. Her work within higher education and her passion for community work encouraged her to pursue her Master’s degree in Education with a concentration of Community Engagement from Merrimack College. Tasia is devoted to institution – community relationships which can provide a holistic approach to student support from all backgrounds while promoting institutional access to all communities.

Tasia can be reached at: tcerezo@compact.org

As a Michigan native, Chelsey is a graduate from Michigan State University where she studied Social Work and Spanish. After graduation, Chelsey served as a Team Leader and Unit Development Assistant for AmeriCorps National Civilian Community Corps (NCCC) in the Southwest Region where she completed service projects that spanned from flood recovery to tax preparation. From there, Chelsey joined the Peace Corps as a Community Economic Development volunteer in Paraguay.  Through community asset mapping, she partnered with the local municipality, school district, and youth groups to complete town beautification projects and develop courses in financial literacy, entrepreneurship, and leadership. By the end of her service, Chelsey decided to return to school so as to broaden her understanding of sustainable development and NGO management. She will be graduating from DePaul University in June 2020 with a Master’s in Public Administration and International Public Management. While completing her degree, Chelsey worked as a Marketing Coordinator with a legal association. She is looking forward to re-joining the AmeriCorps community and offers a diverse background in program management and development. When not at work or writing a paper for school, Chelsey prefers to spend time outdoors with her dog or reading a good book under a blanket with her cat.

Chelsey can be reached at: chudson@compact.org

Aly grew up on Cape Cod. Following her undergraduate years at Saint Michael’s College, where she studied Spanish and Political Science, Aly pursued a career in the legal field as a paralegal. After becoming involved with Big Sister of Greater Boston as a mentor, Aly was inspired and sought a career and life change. She joined the Peace Corps and served in Guyana, where she worked in a primary school from 2015-2017. Aly collaborated with community partners, including youth from her school, to develop a library where students could borrow books, community members could volunteer, and teachers had the opportunity to incorporate new reading materials into their lessons. Following her service, Aly wanted to learn more about community-based development; in 2019, Aly completed a Master’s in International Development and Social Change from Clark University. Aly enjoyed learning about youth and community development, monitoring and evaluation, grant-writing and project management. She is excited to share and further develop her new knowledge and skills as a Campus Compact AmeriCorps VISTA Leader. Aly lives with her adopted Guyanese fur-babies: a cat named Bora (Guyanese for “string bean”) and a dog named Phoenix. She enjoys making pottery on a wheel, painting, and binge-watching Netflix with her pets.

Aly can be reached at: akenney@compact.org

Megan grew up in Vietnam, where she attended the United Nations International School of Hanoi. She then went on to earn her Bachelor’s degree in Political Science from The University of South Alabama from 2014 to 2017. Following her undergraduate degree, she worked in Human Resources for a short period before starting her Peace Corps service as an English Education Volunteer in Nepal. In Nepal, she learned about the importance of community and collaboration and worked on English teacher capacity building through co-planning, co-teaching, and organizing teacher communities of practice where positive reinforcement practices for classroom management were discussed. During her Peace Corps service, she trained 18 teachers in first aid, founded and facilitated two English clubs and an art club focused on communicative language functions, critical thinking, building student confidence and creating a safe space for expression. She also promoted literacy through reading by collaborating with Darien Book Aid to obtain English books for her school’s library. Though she was evacuated from her post in March of 2020, she hopes to continue her career in public service as a Campus Compact VISTA leader, assisting VISTA members with their projects in any way that she can. In Megan’s free time, she enjoys being outside, traveling, and watching movies. 

Megan can be reached at: mnewell@compact.org

Gwen grew up in Windsor, Connecticut and graduated from the University of Connecticut in 2017 with a degree in economics. Through her coursework, Gwen became interested in international development which led her to join the Peace Corps shortly after graduating. Gwen served in the Dominican Republic from 2018 to 2020 as a community economic development volunteer in a rural community in the northwest province of Dajabón. As a Peace Corps volunteer, Gwen led a number of economic empowerment and community development projects. Her favorite was her Somos Mujeres course, which taught financial literacy and basic entrepreneurship skills to local women. The women who graduated from the course formed a club to produce household products such as liquid soap which were not previously available within the community, and which they could sell as an income generating activity. Gwen worked closely with the individual club members to train them in bookkeeping, promotion, inventory management and other administrative skills. Gwen’s Peace Corps experience sparked her passion for service and community development, which led her to Campus Compact as an AmeriCorps Vista leader! Gwen is excited to apply her project management and leadership skills in a new context and continue to grow as a non-profit professional. Gwen enjoys exploring new places, learning about cultures and languages, and dancing bachata (she is usually only slightly off-beat)!

Gwen can be reached at: gpeyton@compact.org