 AmeriCorps Staff and Member Biographies
AmeriCorps Staff:
 Angie Wagner, AmeriCorps Program Manager - Angie is originally from Spokane, WA and attended college at Eastern Washington University in Cheney, WA. She graduated with a B.A. in Outdoor Recreation, her true calling. During those years at EWU, she overcame her fear of whitewater, became a raft guide, tried whitewater kayaking (decided her place was guiding a raft), worked for the City of Spokane's Parks and Recreation Department "Outdoor Program" and graduated in the Spring of 2005. After graduation, Angie moved to Lake Tahoe, CA in the fall of 2005 to become a ski bum... Surprisingly, this worked out well! She worked as a repair tech at a local mountain and a rental tech in a local shop for 2 winters. From Lake Tahoe, Angie headed north in the spring of 2007 to join the NYC team as an Assistant Crew Leader and Crew Leader for Spring and Summer field seasons. Angie has continued on with NYC as the AmeriCorps Program Manager and is excited to be here!
Daphne Derven, AmeriCorps Program Director - Daphne is also the Program Director for NYC. She worked as an archaeolgist for many years in various parts of the Americas. She then applied her experiences in science, education, and conservation to management. She was the Director of Public Programs for the California Academy of Sciences in San Francisco. Later, she was the founding Program Director at Copia in Napa, CA, and Stone Barns Center in Pocantico Hills, NY. In addition to her passion for driving her Mini Cooper S, and playing with Chachuka, her Afghan Hound, she loves to cook. Currently, she is studying for a Masters of Science in Sustainable Development from the University of London. She joined NYC in 2007.
 Katie Muilenburg, AmeriCorps Corps Respond Team Leader - A native Minnesotan, Katie is enjoying exploring the northwest with NYC. Previously, Katie attended a small women's college in St. Paul, where she completed, mostly unscathed, but with an overdose of estrogen, a bachelor’s degree in history and political science. She moved to the great port city of Duluth, on the beautiful North Shore of Lake Superior, to work on a crew with the Minnesota Conservation Corps. Needing a warmer climate, Katie went to Bay St. Louis, Mississippi for 8 months where she joined the West Seneca Youth Bureau to do Hurricane Katrina reconstruction. She is considered among some to be a master mudder, though she prefers to lay ceramic tile. Katie recently took several months to enjoy a temporary "early retirement" - vacationing, adventuring and traveling. She loves babies, bodies of water (particularly Caribou Lake), editing text, running an occasional 5k, making random friends and climbing on things (though she is careful not to fracture her skull again).
AmeriCorps Members:
OutDoor High School Team Leaders
 Eric Boggs - Eric Boggs has been working with youth in the outdoors for the last decade. He is an instructor for the National Outdoor Leadership School, the Wilderness Medicine Institute, the Wilderness Education Association and the American Canoe Association. He is currently pursuing a Master's Degree in Education, trying to find time to go surf kayaking and working on his book, "Zen lessons from Baja Road Signs."
 John Ely - John Ely grew up in the town of Tillamook on the Oregon Coast. He attended the University of Oregon where he triple-majored in History, Spanish, and Folklore. John is very interested in outdoor pursuits, especially, hiking and biking. He joined the ODS staff after serving as the NYC landscaper during the summer of '07. John is an avid Yogi, practicing Bikram's Hot Yoga 5 or 6 times a week.
 Megan McCarter - Megan McCarter is a recent graduate of Pomona College with a major in Applied Mathematics and minors in Studio Art and Spanish. After surviving four years of the Southern California smog, Megan is excited to be back in her home state of Oregon. In her free time she enjoys playing basketball, drawing, painting, snowboarding, pondering mathematical problems, listening to music, and laughing. Her many talents include an amazing appetite, the capacity to sleep for hours, and a jukebox like ability to remember and spew random song lyrics.
 Liz Greco - Elizabeth is a transplant to the west - originally hailing from Massachusetts. She cherished a childhood without television cramping her outdoor style, earning the nickname Pigpen by entertaining herself in heat, rain, snow, or whatever the New England elements had to offer. Her love for the outdoors drove her to sail a grueling 6 weeks on a scientific research vessel from Tahiti to Hawaii, to hike to Everest base camp, to spend her college summers working on a fishing boat, and to move cross-country to eventually work as a crew leader for NYC. Elizabeth has a nagging passion for travel - nationally and internationally - that has landed her in many beautiful places including India, Thailand, Australia, Greece and Egypt. She spent a year after high school traveling the world and two semesters in college abroad feeding her obsession. She graduated with a B.A. in Socio-cultural Anthropology with a minor in film and has always adored working with youth. Elizabeth is never quite sure where the road will lead next, but she knows her rocking kitty Mookey will be by her side, a small herb garden will quickly be planted, and cheese - a lot of it - will be someplace very, very nearby.
 Sarah Lange - Sarah has a Bachelor of Arts degree in Wilderness Leadership and Experiential Education from Brevard College, a liberal arts college in the mountains of Western North Carolina. She moved to Oregon this past summer and has been enjoying living on the west coast for the first time. She has been exploring as much as possible with her dog, Emma Frost and can't wait to discover more places with ODS. Sarah has a special love for the outdoors that stems from her experiences as a youth at an outdoor based school in St. Louis, Missouri. Some of her favorite outdoor activities include, but are certainly not limited to, hiking, backpacking, and whitewater canoeing. Other than being outside, Sarah likes to cook, read, play with her dog and stay physically active. Additionally, Sarah enjoys long walks on the beach and getting caught in the rain. The most random thing about Sarah is that while she is an outdoorsy person who doesn't mind getting dirty on work weeks, she was also a cheerleader for 3 years in college.
OutDoor High School Garden Coordinator
 Angela Andre - In 2004 I graduated, just after my daughter but before my son, from the OSU College of Forestry with a degree in Natural Resources Education. My current goal is to pay off my student loan before I start collecting Social Security. My life's work and interests are pretty eclectic. I have been a dancer and actress, a horse logger, a tree planter, a flight-line service technician, a sheep shearer, a warm-up jockey, an organic market farmer, a landscaper, a park naturalist, and a forestry educator. I can build a house, milk a goat, paddle and kayak and recite Shakespeare (not all at once). Most importantly, I've been a Mom. I was the mom in classroom, the field trip chaperone, the 4-H club leader, the cross-country team chauffeur, the yearbook adviser, and the site council chair. I believe we all have the power to make a difference in the lives of our children (all children are our children). The Vice Principal at my kid's high school had a poster that read, "They don't care how much you know until they know how much you care."
Rural School AmeriCorps Members
 Cheri Ferre - Cheri Ferre is in her second year as an AmeriCorps volunteer and her rural school position is at Lincoln Middle School in Cottage Grove, Oregon. She is a fourth generation Oregonian who was born and raised in North Bend, Oregon. For the past 25 years, she has lived in the Southern Willamette Valley. In that time, she has been working and raising her daughter Danielle. Motherhood steered her in the direction of volunteering with the Creswell School District, Western Rivers Girl Scout Council and as a volleyball coach for Kidsports. Cheri just finished her Bachelor's of Science in Social and Behavioral Science from Linfield College. In 2004, she received an Associate of Arts Oregon Transfer from Lane Community College. After completing her AmeriCorps position, she plans on a career in social work. In her spare time, she enjoys gardening, traveling and shopping with her daughter.
 Val Rylands - Val Rylands is the after school program coordinator at Marcola Elementary. Rylands was born and raised in Eugene and lives in Marcola with her husband and two children who attend Marcola Elementary. Marcola is a small, unincorporated community east of Springfield. The after school program serves about 28 students beginning at 2:40 p.m. Monday through Thursday and about 15 students from 8:00 a.m. to 6 p.m. on Friday. The Marcola School District currently holds classes Monday through Thursday, with slightly more 100 students currently enrolled at the elementary school. Rylands was employed as an educational assistant last year with the school district and also served as a volunteer in the after school program. She is a child advocate with the Lane County Chapter of Stand for Children. She has a keen interest in art and teaching children different techniques. After School program participants work on recycling classroom paper and plastics, sorting them into bags that can be taken to the Lane County facility. Students also take frequent trips around their small community to eliminate the littering problem.
 Teara Tyler - Teara Tyler grew up in Myrtle Creek, Oregon and got her BA in Anthropology at the University of Oregon. She currently resides in Oakridge, Oregon where she works as coordinator of the after-school activities program for AmeriCorps. Her favorite things to do are: spend time with her son, hike, read, do Yoga, and coach girls' softball. She hopes to continue working with youth and pursue her teaching degree.
Corps Respond Team Members
 Beth Canter - Beth was born and raised in the small city of Martinez, CA, outside of Berkeley. Desperate to leave suburban life and looking for a change, she attended the University of California, Santa Cruz where she got her BA in Community Studies, with a focus in Social Justice in Agro-food systems. After a short stint in St. Louis, MO, she worked at the American Cancer Society for a breast cancer walk. Most recently she decided to move herself and her cat (Steve McQueen) up to beautiful Eugene to work for Corps Respond. Interests include, but are not limited to: coming of age novels, documentaries, and trying very hard NOT to become a crazy cat lady.
 Asia Harman - A native Hoosier, Asia Harman hails from Bloomington, IN. She has a BFA in Photography from Indiana University. She has gone on two 1000+ mile self-supported bike tours, hiked the Grand Canyon three times and enjoys all things outdoors related. She likes playing with dogs, running around in the woods, traveling with sweet folks, drinking strong coffee, fresh kale, Motown music, Italian and motivated individuals.
 Kim Massey - Kim was born in the great state of New Jersey. Moved to Colorado after high school to Fort Collins to get a BS in Natural Resource Recreation and Tourism. Left the country for the first time at age 20 to study in New Zealand, caught a travel bug. Graduated. Drove to Alaska with two friends. Has since driven the ALCAN and back three times. It is her favorite road trip! She worked at the Alaska SeaLife Center season after season in Seward Alaska doing environmental education and summer camps. In 2005 she moved to Bellingham Washington to work with at risk teens at a therapeutic wilderness program. This is where she learned to sail traditional schooners, which has since become a passion. Lots of work but loads of fun. She has traveled in Central America, Africa, and the Carribean. She is an ocean lover. She SCUBAs, sails, and has recently been surfing, yet it's rare to find her far from the mountains, biking, hiking, backpacking, and snowboarding.
 Michelle Sheffer - Michelle is a cheese head from Wisconsin. She has always felt a pull from the west and after a week long road trip across the country with her dog Parker as co-pilot she finds herself at home in Eugene. On the Corps Respond Team at Northwest Youth Corps she hopes to find inspiration from working with incredible people on an amazing planet. Before her westward retreat she attended Northland College in Ashland, WI on Lake Superior where she studied Animal Psychology and discovered the many natural beauties of the Chequamegon Bay. Michelle also enjoys distance cycling, The Beatles and old growth trees.
 Brian Scott - Brian has been a long time NYC'er and trail junky. Living as far off as Bend, OR and County Donegal, Ireland, he enjoys traveling and delving into cultural experiences with locals. An Otaku at heart he spends far too much time watching anime and playing DOMO for his own good. Toast and noodles are a constant companion to Brian as he helps organize and implement youth and community outreach efforts in Bend, OR; Olympia, WA; and Eugene, OR. His spare time is spent reading provocative sociological texts and bad fantasy novels lent to him by the NYC Ops guy. Working trail, co-managing a Horse Ranch, washing dishes, and counting traffic at intersections have been pastimes and jobs of worth for him and offered a great deal of introspective soul searching. He graduated from The Evergreen State College with a B.A. in Literature and Poetry with minors in Aquatic Ceramics and Juggling. After years of being a crew leader for NYC he ventured into the depths of the office in hopes of finding plausible employment with Corps Respond earlier this year.
 Chad Smoot - Chad comes from the great state of Texas, where he attended Texas Tech University and studied Architecture. While there, he cycled daily and enjoyed activities that were both physically and mentally challenging, such as hiking, snowboarding, climbing and camping. He is extremely happy to be part of Corps Respond and NYC, and looks forward to the many adventures that await.
 Anthony Savvis - With roots reaching back to New Jersey, Anthony first found his way to NYC in the summer of 2007. As a crew leader, he saw the power of this program and the beauty of this land and decided to seek a longer term of employment as a member of the Corps Respond Team. He feels fortunate to smile with each day and is grateful to walk the earth.
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