About

NYU 19' B.A. in Psychology with a concentration in Human Cognition and a minor in Anthropology. Passionate about mental health and holistic living while integrating facets of cultural humility and human empathy. All things minimalistic, dietary, fitness and travel-related, homeopathic, anthropologic, alternatively medicinal, and mindful in nature.

Fellowships

AmeriCorps VISTA - 2019
Impact Evaluator
Building capacity to serve underrepresented youth population in the Providence metro area.

GivePulse Stats

Groups

  • BrownEngage

  • Beat the Streets

  • The Swearer Center

  • Swearer Center Community Partners

  • Brown University AmeriCorps VISTA Fellowship

  • Impacts

    Brown University AmeriCorps VISTA Fellowship

    Success: Things are definitely picking up in the BTS world! We have a lot going on in terms of developing programming with our partners. This consists of really seeing what this year's programming will look like and building around that. Right now PASA is pushing for in-person programming at 4 recreational centers throughout Providence with a 13:1 student to faculty ratio in accordance with all health guidelines. We've established Coaches Orientation for Sept 29 and Oct 1 to onboard our entire crew of middle school coaches this year. It is anywhere from 12-15 coaches in total. Silas and I have been working diligently to make sure this season is successful from weekend events, to a post-PASA virtual practice season. There is a ton going on and I'm really grasping the industry as a whole!

    Challenge: A challenge posed is just all the moving parts. Making sure I'm staying organized in every facet of my professional life. I need to be more fastidious about organization. My investment and aptitude is there I just need to be more fine-tuned about keeping my file cabinet organized per se. That is all.

    Aspiration: A goal of mine is to make sure the Coach's orientation goes smoothly and to make sure I am covering all of the bases. There is a lot of onboarding requirements from BCI's to PPSD DCYF forms and SafeSport certifications through USA Wrestling. There is a lot! There are roughly a dozen or so coach's; so making sure I am on top of all their submissions of the various requirements. I've created a Coach's Paperwork spreadsheet to capture this data!

    Gave 39.00 hours between 09/19/2020 and 09/25/2020 with BrownEngage, Beat the Streets
    Brown University AmeriCorps VISTA Fellowship

    Success: Many successes have included increased levels of collaboration between Boston Youth Wrestling and Beat the Streets Providence into Beat the Streets New England. I'm also feeling very at home in this organization. It doesn't even feel like 'work'. Really good vibes and a genuine group of people. We've onboarded a group of Bryant University interns for a management class and they are turning out to be very motivated and helpful!

    Challenge: Though the merger is great, it also has its downsides. With already so much uncertainty it adds another layer of confusion at times. It's a very complicated process that requires restructuring on so many levels. So working through that and just skimming the surface has proved difficult at times. It will be a good thing though. Another challenge of mine has been staying on top of the VISTA related roles associated to my job, like this! Am I too invested in BTS?

    Aspiration: A goal of mine is to effectively develop the backend structure of how this year will look. I'm working on a Coaches' Corner that will have everything from BCI's to attendance and physical fitness data. I am creating a presentation on how to navigate this drive for coaches where everything will be located for them. Essentially building out a 'one stop shop' for all the coach-related responsibilities is my goal!

    Gave 45.00 hours between 09/12/2020 and 09/18/2020 with BrownEngage, Beat the Streets
    Brown University AmeriCorps VISTA Fellowship

    Success: Arguably one of the coolest weeks I've had yet! Major success included our Boston Youth Wrestling/Beat the Streets Providence weekend retreat to Maine. The purpose of this retreat was to facilitate the merger between the two organizations and build rapport. The weekend was packed full with activities, exercises, delicious food, and great accommodations at the venue, Huttopia. It was beautiful and great opportunity to meet the team at a deeper level. This is the reason for my hours being so high this week!

    Challenge: A challenge included brainstorming what programming will look like this this year. With so much uncertainties Silas and I are trying to account for the various different permutations, but the situation remains undecided. We are moving more toward the entire virtual space, but this remains undecided and many specifics have yet to be figured out including payment structure, content delivery, competitions, etc. The scholastic league have been cancelled this year so we must find engagement opportunities elsewhere!

    Goal: One goal I have is to complete my public health application in the weeks to come. I also want to successfully develop programming for this year so that when I do leave there will be a good infrastructure as to what virtual programming might look like moving forward. I want to provide the framework for BTS in the virtual realm and also the backend systems realm to successfully operate and engage kids despite the pandemic.

    Gave 60.00 hours between 09/05/2020 and 09/11/2020 with BrownEngage, Beat the Streets
    Brown University AmeriCorps VISTA Fellowship

    Success: This week's successes included finding a spot for our annual BTS weekend retreat. Respecting all CDC guidelines and local health guidelines and coordinating around people's comfort level we were able to secure an outdoor camping spot in Maine! It is going to be a group of about 10 of us next weekend. Really looking forward to that. Aside from that we secured another volunteer group through Bryant University!

    Challenge: A challenge posed this week was probably transportation. There have been a few in-person workouts offered to our kids through third parties such as CrossFit and it's important for us to get there to understand the dynamic of the workout and make sure everything is safe and in order! I wasn't able to do so last week based on my situation and am looking for solutions in the weeks to come.

    Aspiration: A goal of mine is to enter the second half of my VISTA service term motivated to continue to implement sustainable practices and systems. It's crazy to think that I've actually been able to come in and synergize well with the already existing team. Through this, we've defined refined a ton of the ways we do things. Where I feel like I've had a lot of impact is volunteer management. Our numbers and outside support are definitely increasing and I want to continue this upward trajectory in numbers. Keep the relationships strong with partners and offer a unique experience to potential volunteers/interns!

    Gave 40.00 hours between 08/29/2020 and 09/04/2020 with BrownEngage, Beat the Streets
    Brown University AmeriCorps VISTA Fellowship

    Success: Silas and I worked together on a grant which was a pretty hefty chunk of work. We inquired on $3500 through a local foundation. One among many grants submitted over the summer! Fingers crossed. We are also pretty successfully unifying Boston Youth Wrestling and BTSPVD into one single, Beat the Streets New England. This process in ongoing but making significant headway, especially at the lower levels where we increasing collaborative processes.

    Challenge: A challenge was navigating a new platform BYW uses, Asana. It seems pretty intuitive, but its just novel so I need some time to really master it. Also staying on the same page with others when crafting a grant narrative and making sure its cohesive and logically sequential. Grant proposal construction is a lot like research and academic writing and I've never really written a joint paper in the academic setting per se.

    Aspiration: A goal of mine is to set up fall programming. We have to organize and construct meaningful programming irrespective of the public health situation. This meanings adapting virtually, hybrid, or in-person if permitted. Also to find more independence in my personal life!

    Gave 40.00 hours between 08/22/2020 and 08/28/2020 with BrownEngage, Beat the Streets
    Brown University AmeriCorps VISTA Fellowship

    Success: A major stride in the right direction is increased levels of collaboration with Boston Youth Wrestling. We are starting to get on weekly calls to further unify the two orgs. The ED of BYW is really on top of things and I'm super excited for this new chapter. We are working on a spreadsheet that involves unifying platform utilization between the two orgs for optimal efficiency. We also have an upcoming day meet and greet between the two orgs which could be cool!

    Challenge: A challenge has been balancing personal and work life. The two sometimes blend together. Also finding it within myself to make headway on this grant that is due the 31t of August. One other thing is understanding where I stand when this merger does take place. There are a lot of questions where the website, mission, framework of the orgs, and personnel will stand. I just am peace with BTSPVD and am hoping I don't get pulled elsewhere!

    Aspiration: A goal of mine for the weeks to come is further immersing myself in the merger between BYW and BTSPVD. There a lot of steps that lie ahead and I just want to be involved in and a resource as much as possible. There will be some new faces I'll be working with also, which is exciting! Introducing myself and being a communicative team member! Also finding the time to balance my home and work life and doing that well.

    Gave 38.00 hours between 08/15/2020 and 08/21/2020 with BrownEngage, Beat the Streets
    Brown University AmeriCorps VISTA Fellowship

    Success: One major success during this reporting report was offboarding our longest ever intern. This Bryant University student stayed with us for over three months for minimally compensated work funded by his school. Before those three months he was with us through a class at his school for another three months. So he's been with us for a while. He did a ton of excellent work throughout his stay and we couldn't have asked for a better intern. His assistance will definitely be missed, but his work will definitely impact us in years to come. He pretty much dissected the finances of BTS and did an internal accounting analysis. It is enormously helpful and will be included in this year's annual report!

    Challenge: This is definitely just a lull before everything picks back up. We are waiting on so many transpirations in different arenas of our programming so generally speaking, things are tentative. That has proved to be the most mentally challenging I'd say-the uncertainty and constant flux. Usually, our future for the most part, has been guarantee up unto this point, but Covid has really threw us all for a loop and nothing is really for certain. We are also in the middle of a massive merger that is further shaking everything up. Between these two things and public school restart dates being pushed further back to Sept 14, we are just trying to take it day by day.

    Aspiration: A goal of mine would to be to submit another personal grant. Just kind of make that a weekly or bi-weekly goal or something. A repeating, regular occurrence. Aside from this, staying connected with my BTS community. I don't have social media so I think it's important to make my name salient and show face when I can- We've had a subcontracted program come and offer socially distant, outside programming once a week. That ends next week. But I've attended one to remind people I'm still very much involved, just more so behind the scenes.

    Gave 37.50 hours between 08/08/2020 and 08/14/2020 with BrownEngage, Beat the Streets
    Brown University AmeriCorps VISTA Fellowship

    Welcome Carissa!

    Success: This week pretty much entirely consisted of backtracking on our interns stay with us. Reviewing and assessing the chronology, efficacy, inefficiencies, and other operational metrics of our internship program at BTS. We found that internship/volunteer levels have expanded nearly threefold from this time last year. Outside support levels really skyrocketed in a variety of areas including website design, financial analytics, direct service capacity building, and impact reporting. I pleased to have played a role in not only securing the nearly 20 interns/volunteers that have been involved with the program on a systems development level. Their average stay with us was over 1.5 months which is significant if you think about it! Silas also gave us all a day off which was awesome for our consistent hard work!

    Challenge: One challenge experienced is the restructuring of the board/higher ups. There is somewhat of a disconnect between 'corporate' and the community. We want them to be more a part of the process, but there is so much volatility at that level right now in terms of shuffling that its best to wait for things to be sorted out. Still a bit of an obstacle at this current moment nonetheless. Aside from that things are good regarding programmatic opportunities for kids and thats what really matters!

    Goal: One look ahead would probably be situating what programming is going to look like this upcoming 2020-2021 academic school year. We want to iron out the kinks there and develop the framework of what exactly it is we will be doing (in-person, hybrid, virtual). PPSD is still evaluating the current health state and extrapolating where things will be in the months to come. Safety is our utmost concern with the kids, but we also want them to be able to have a positive outlet to expend their energy August will probably be dedicated to this. We have an intern with us whose fired up about this topic and looks to help us create a programmatic structure for 2020-21.

    Gave 33.00 hours between 08/01/2020 and 08/07/2020 with BrownEngage, Beat the Streets
    Brown University AmeriCorps VISTA Fellowship

    Success: Successfully submitted and satisfied requisites for grant application proposals! There were 4 in total, and one more pending on behalf of myself that I intend to submit after a virtual conference. We successfully off-boarded and were able to get some quality feedback from the SPRINT interns. I believe all around, July was an excellent months for the real core 6 of us who comprised the BTS team the past several weeks. It's cool we have such diversity, from different academic schools of thought, and geographic regions, and cultural backgrounds that make and made up our team throughout July. We cannot say enough good things of the SPRINT interns that generously donated their time with us. BTS has become administratively, a better organization with us. We actually just helped secure over 30K with the Providence Public School District in contracts with each individual middle school. That is the highest known to date. We stayed in their ear and I think it paid off. Amazing stuff.

    Also Silas, generously gave me some time off after a lot of good, consistent production of work these past few months. It's been a great summer.

    Challenge: Probably transitioning to a new team framework moving forward. It'll soon be just Silas and I in a few weeks. Though to further add to the mixup, we will be BTSNE soon (not entirely sure when) and that structure will look entirely different. Even the girls program has left us! Crazy how quickly things change.

    Aspiration: Adjust to the shakeup of everything in a positive way. Definitely a little intimidating sometimes, the future and all. Just bending like a branch and adjusting is all one can do. Craft change into a positive light! Also hope to secure one of those grants, that'll be a cool positive light to my stay with BTS. Hopefully August will be a nice closing off month to a crazy last chapter here of BTS existence and we can transition into a new direction as BTSNE. Not that it hasn't been anything but great, just a lot with all things considered this year.

    Gave 30.00 hours between 07/25/2020 and 07/31/2020 with BrownEngage, Beat the Streets
    Brown University AmeriCorps VISTA Fellowship

    Success: We had the privilege of meeting our Founder and Brown Alumni/Wrestler, Billy Watterson, which was really great. We created a list of questions which we provided to him beforehand and were able to generate some valuable discussion around the nonprofit sector in general! It was awesome. I did not know the organization was effectively birthed out of Brown University. The grants are also in their finalization stages which is encouraging. Everyone is really producing some creative and novel content that will outlast even my stay I'm sure!

    Challenge: No challenges off the top of my head. Truly a great week all around as our interns' stay comes to a close.

    Aspiration: Work alongside the interns in the very same tasks and obligations I ask of them. Be part of the team yet also act as a leader in helping guide attention to new potential realms of opportunity. Basically refine my intern management and teamwork skills altogether! Want to make sure I am a steadfast resource to our volunteers and interns throughout their stay with us.

    Gave 37.50 hours between 07/18/2020 and 07/24/2020 with BrownEngage, Beat the Streets