#AskFoodCorps: Making Your Application Shine

Interested in applying to be a FoodCorps AmeriCorps service member? Join our alumni panel on Thursday, February 9 from 3 PM – 4 PM ET via Google Hangout to learn more about the application process and to hear tips about how to put together a successful service member application. No RSVP required.

Share your questions in advance in the comments, on this Facebook event, or using #AskFoodCorps on Twitter.

Meet the Panelists

Rebecca Cohen

Rebecca served on the Tohono O’odham reservation in AZ. Rebecca still works for the school where she served as a college counselor helping native students apply to college.

Kristi Silva

Krista is from and served in NM and still lives in the community she served. She currently works for the National Latino Behavioral Health Association. You can read an interview with Kristi in this article on Grist.org.

Kalu Oyama

Kalu was born on the island of Oahu and served at Naalehu Elementary, the very same school her sons attend.

Erika VanDyke

Erika works as a family resource coordinator at an elementary school in Grand Rapids, Michigan, helping families with basic needs, making mental health referrals, handling attendance issues, recruiting volunteers and donors, and wearing 100 other hats, as well.  Erika has been in this job since this late September, and is currently plotting to revive some raised bed gardens that she spotted underneath all the Michigan snow.

Andrea Blanton

Andrea Blanton is a food enthusiast and garden educator in the metro Atlanta area. After finishing her term of service with FoodCorps, she has continued her love for good food via managing farmer’s markets, supporting garden initiatives and now acts as the first Garden Coordinator for the Clayton County School District. With compassion and skills, she hopes to be a conduit of health, food, and service.

Special Introduction

Jerusha Klemperer, a FoodCorps co-founder and now our Communications Director, will introduce the panel! Jerusha has over 15 years experience working in nonprofits, including as an Associate Program Director at Slow Food USA, where she helped design and implement national lifestyle and advocacy campaigns that sought to transform food policy as well as individuals’ relationships to food.

Moderator

MJ Santiago, Service Member Recruitment Coordinator for FoodCorps, will moderate the conversation. Originally from a small town in central Florida, MJ has worked to increase access to critical resources for underserved communities across the nation. Prior to joining FoodCorps in 2016, MJ served a year in AmeriCorps with Reading Partners.