Meet Our Team
2011-2012 VOAWW AmeriCorps*VISTA Team
Eleven AmeriCorps*VISTA members currently serve Snohomish County through VOAWW’s VISTA Team. In addition to passion and a commitment to service, they bring a wide variety of experiences and skills to improving local communities.
Heidi Cook
Darrington Family Resource & Support Center
I will be spending my year as part of the VOAWW AmeriCorps VISTA team at the Darrington Family Support and Resource Center. My primary goal is to do anything and everything to support the kids of Darrington in their goal of getting a skate/bmx park built. I will also be working with the local Youth Coalition, running after school kids programs and planning activities for the teens of Darrington to keep them from saying that classic small town line, "there's nothing to do in this town."
Lauren Kominkiewicz
Lake Stevens Family Center
I am working at the Lake Stevens Family Center on building an outreach program in the City of Snohomish known as Family Support Snohomish. Through speaking with community members, building relationships, and analyzing the current needs of the community, we will work to establish an outreach site to bring effective family support services. I am originally from South Bend, Indiana, the land of the Fighting Irish but lived in Ann Arbor, Michigan the last year of my life to obtain my Masters degree in Social Work. I have previous experience working with individuals with brain and spinal cord injuries and undergraduate internships in the policy sector. When I get time away from my assignment, I like to go to concerts and out dancing with friends or go see the latest movie. So far, being a VISTA has been an exciting opportunity that has challenged and shaped what I want to do with my future. I can't wait to see what the rest of this year has in store for me!
Rachel Fisher
Cocoon House
I am working at the Cocoon House in the development and community outreach office as a volunteer coordinator and outreach assistant. The Cocoon House is a non-profit organization that provides services to at-risk and homeless youth and their families in Snohomish County. I grew up in Elk River Minnesota. I recently graduated from the University of Minnesota in 2011 with a Bachelors of Science in marketing. In my free time I like to sew, go hiking, read, and socialize with friends.
Robby Robinette
Imagine Children’s Museum
I am working at Imagine Children's Museum in Everett, Washington as the Community Engagement and Volunteer Coordinator. The museum is designed to encourage children to learn about the world around them in an interactive and fun environment. My primary duty is to build on the Museum's current volunteer program and make it stronger in terms of diversity and sustainability. In conjunction with that task, I work on the Museum's anti-poverty programs. In this capacity I help with grant writing, programming, event planning, and with administrative tasks. I started out life in Singapore and lived there during my early childhood. My family later moved to Guthrie, Oklahoma. I went to the University of Oklahoma for my BA in anthropology and history. I later went on to grad school in Boston and studied at Boston University; I graduated with a MA in archaeology. During my time there I developed an interest in community engagement based on my experiences on the archaeological digs I worked on in Belize. Right before I graduated from Boston University, I moved to Armenia as a Peace Corps Volunteer; I spent two years working in a village school teaching environmental studies. That experience taught me the positive impact volunteerism can have on a community, and served as the impetus for me to apply to become an AmeriCorps VISTA.
Rebecca Ziegler
Big Brothers Big Sisters of Snohomish County
Big Brothers Big Sisters of Snohomish County creates quality one-to-one mentoring relationships to help children achieve their highest potential. Mentors, or "Bigs", are also rewarded with the unique experience of helping a child along in life. Our organization holds resource fairs, picnics and many fundraisers for community awareness and education on the importance of mentoring. I was born and raised in Cincinnati, OH, but moved to Bozeman, Montana to attend Montana State University in 2007. I graduated in May with a BA in American Studies and a minor in English Literature. I am interested in music, writing, traveling, philosophy, culture, cooking, photography, comedy-- largely anything social or progressive!
Evanie Parr
Smithwright Services
Smithwright Services provides housing and medical care for adults with severe developmental and physical disabilities and children with autism in Snohomish County. Smithwright residences are safe, homelike environments where clients can live, work, and play in their own communities while receiving the round-the-clock care they need. My responsibilities as a Resource Specialist are secure funding (including grant-writing and organizing an annual fundraising event), organize and coordinate the volunteer program, and provide support to parents and families of Smithwright clients. I grew up in Redding, California, but have always felt a strong connection to the Pacific Northwest. I attended the University of Puget Sound in Tacoma, WA, and graduated this May with a Bachelors in English and a minor in music. Although I come from a long line of teachers, I am fairly positive that I do not want to teach--though I am not yet sure what I want to be when I grow up! I love to read, sing, and cook, and would really like to take better advantage of the natural beauty in this area by hiking, cross-country skiing, etc.
Sojung Choi
Everett Housing Authority
I graduated from the Liberal Arts College at the University of Illinois at Chicago with a degree in English and Philosophy. My interest in politics and advocacy led me to do grassroots organizing with local nonprofits such as ICIRR and the Asian American Institute advocating for diverse, low income and immigrant communities in the north side of Chicago. My VISTA year will take place at the Everett Housing Authority. The housing authority has designated a number of projects that coincides with their affordable housing mission to provide a healthy living environment for the diverse and low-income families of Snohomish County. One of my first tasks will be to create communication outlets between the EHA and landlords in order to encourage increased access to housing. I am currently assisting with the review of the Section 8 Housing Choice Voucher Administration Plan to ensure that EHA’s objectives and policies are clear, consistent and connected to both the owners and residents that will be affected.
Deanna Dunkin-Smith
Carl Gipson Senior Center of Everett
I'm serving my third and final year at the Carl Gipson Senior Center of Everett. You can imagine that I identify well with seniors as "Eye are One!" During my first year I recruited more than 40 volunteers and seeded 7 new programs. In addition, I initiated a documentation tool recording 80 volunteers who collectively served 3,300 volunteer hours. During my second year I furthered the documentation program that identified and tracked 200 volunteers who collectively served 23,300 volunteer hours. A significant increase . . . and clearer picture of the what all the center offers to its own worth. In my third year, I've been asked to join with RSVP to build a project to service veterans: in addition, I will train staff and volunteers toward the sustainability of all the structure I've developed at this active municipal senior center. I hold a BA in business education and an MA in supervision/leadership from the University of Nebraska. Before joining VISTA, I had retired after a twenty-year gig as the Director of Adult Basic Education for Mid-Plains Community College serving central Nebraska.
Sophie Duba
Familias Unidas Latino Resource Center (Lutheran Community Services NW)
Familias Unidas is the first and only Latino resource center in Snohomish County. We focus on the Hispanic community that lives in the area and provide a great variety of services, such as connection to housing, jobs, basic food, document translation, registration for cancer screening, educational programs such as English classes, parenting classes, citizenship classes, support groups, and much more. My role at Familias Unidas is to provide youth advocacy and engagement. I work with the Youth Advisory Council, provide leadership opportunities for Latino high school students, and run a bilingual play group. I am also responsible for creating Familias Unidas' monthly newsletter and planning events such as the Holiday Fundraiser and the annual Cinco de Mayo Festival and Resource Fair. I grew up in Seattle, Washington and went to Lewis & Clark College in wonderful Portland, Oregon. I graduated in May of 2011 with a B.A. in Psychology and Hispanic Studies. I lived in Chile on and off throughout college and am grateful for every moment I spent in South America. In my spare time I like to rock climb, play, and read.
Cathie Hutton
Volunteers of America Western Washington, Youth Action Team
I am working at VOA with Youth Action Team which is a volunteer program designed for teens living in Snohomish County. Right now we have students from eleven high schools in Marysville, Edmonds, Sultan and Everett areas who meet monthly during the school year to learn leadership skills and give back to the community through volunteering. Some of my primary duties are to plan monthly volunteer activities and reach out to schools in the community to get more participants for the upcoming year. A few things that we have done in the past are: raise money and collect toys for children at Christmas, sort food for the Food Bank, visit and clean up a teen shelter in Everett called Cocoon House, and much more! Teens in our program are eligible for a scholarship, on field recognition at Safeco Field with the Mariners, and personalized letters of recommendation. This is a great program! I come from Lacey, WA and have spent a lot of time there, as well as in Tacoma where I studied Hispanic and Global Studies at Pacific Lutheran University.
Jose S. Jimenez Jr.
Volunteers of America Western Washington, AmeriCorps*VISTA Team Leader
I am originally from California. I have an AA in History from Bakersfield College and a BA in Business Administration from the University of La Verne. I served two years of VISTA with NeighborWorks Montana (NWMT) where I was the facilitator of the matched savings program for first time homebuyers, a community organizer for three mobile home communities that own and operate under the cooperative model, and a liaison for NWMT with their Tribal Housing Partners. During my service with NWMT I became NCHEC certified as both: a Pre-Purchase Homeownership Educator, and a Homeownership Counselor. I am now the AmeriCorps VISTA Leader of the VOA Project CARE program. It has taken a little getting used to having been on the front lines as a VISTA, and now assisting others who are on the front lines, namely the Project CARE VISTA team. I really like being a part of Volunteers of America. They do tons of great work around the community. Helping others has become my passion.