Meet Your Staff
Brian is a lifelong Washingtonian who has lived in various parts of the state, including the Skagit Valley and Ferry County. There, with his bride Sandi, they raised their four children. They have three grandchildren living in Manson and are happy to be nearer to them and back in the country again. Brian moved to Leavenworth from Spokane, where he had lived for 10 years. He is excited about the snow-capped peaks, bright stars, and the possibility of having horses once again.
Sandi recently finished up a degree at Evergreen College in Olympia. Her work has been focused on empowering and advocating for women who are survivors of domestic violence and sexual abuse. She has been working both nationally, through faith organizations, and internationally in Guatemala and Central America.
Brian and Sandi love being outdoors, hiking, backpacking, horseback riding, and back country skiing. They have been touched by the warmth, the friendliness, and the open heartedness of the people here. They are particularly impressed with the depth of community involvement in Leavenworth, and how Upper Valley MEND is part of that tapestry. They hope to be part of the community for years to come, building on the foundation that is here and expanding the outreach of the Community Cupboard, the Upper Valley Free Clinic, Cornerstone, and affordable housing through SHARE CLT.
Kelly has worked for Upper Valley MEND since 2005. She first came to the organization searching for a checkbook to balance, and walked into a million dollar project called Aldea Village, SHARE CLT’s second Affordable Housing neighborhood. She received on-the-job training from Carl Florea, the original director of Upper Valley MEND, and her 5 hours-a-week job turned into 15-20 hours per week as the company grew and stretched itself with staff transitions, and additions of new programs under the Upper Valley MEND umbrella. The content of her job has evolved from invoicing and writing Christmas cards to processing payroll, tax reporting, account reconciliations and many other office duties. Working for Upper Valley MEND has been a humbling experience for Kelly, as the level of community support that keeps the non-profit organization going constantly surprises her. Aside from the fun at work, Kelly helps her three daughters in their many endeavors. For her own enjoyment, she likes to garden, hike, bike-ride, ski and volunteer at the schools her daughters (and teacher husband) attend. Kelly also enjoys summer traveling with her husband and family, as they discover this vast country of ours.
Bob is another Northwest transplant who now calls Washington home. Originally from Bellows Falls, Vermont, Bob moved to Bellingham, Washington in 2000 as an Americorps*VISTA volunteer with the American Red Cross, and has lived in the Northwest off and on ever since. Prior to joining Upper Valley MEND in 2009, Bob was able to fulfill a lifelong dream of completing a long-term, international volunteer placement; he spent two years as a Community Development Advisor in Zambia (Africa) with Voluntary Services Overseas (VSO). He has also volunteered and studied in parts of South and Central America, and hopes to one day combine his passion for service and appreciation for travel & cross-cultural opportunities into the ultimate “career job”. He has a BS in Community Development and Applied Economics from the University of Vermont, with a focus on International Development and Agricultural Economics.
Bob first joined Upper Valley MEND as an Administrative Assistant, though his current responsibilities include management of the Community Cupboard and Emergency Assistance, as well as a variety of other public relations activities. He enjoys all sorts of outdoor recreation, music, good food, and the company of friends.
Born and raised in Leavenworth, Laura is very glad to be back home in Leavenworth. After completing her Bachelor’s Degree in Business Administration at Eastern Washington University she spent 8 years working in Spokane and gained some invaluable experience in Administration and Human Resources.
When Laura started her family, she had a strong desire to move back to Leavenworth and raise her daughter, Macy, locally. Having graduated from Cascade High School in 1995, Laura is a Kodiak at heart and is very proud of her local upbringing. She feels that this town helped to mold her into the person that she is today and wants to give back to the community that gave so much to her as a child.
When not in the office, Laura enjoys spending time with her family. Laura and her mother Lynn, aunt Annie, grandmother Pat and of course little Macy like to explore and adventure in our valley and you will often see the four generations spending time together. Laura loves to bake, sew, and craft and hopes to pass her love of repurposing items down to Macy as she gets older!
Laurie moved to Leavenworth in 1974 to teach French, English and P.E. at Peshastin-Dryden High School. Luckily for her, after one year of teaching, the school needed a Spanish instructor and asked Laurie if she would be willing to take on that responsibility. Laurie learned as much as she could over the course of a summer, and in the process, developed a new focus for her work and life. Now, much of her energy is dedicated to the issues of Latino people here in our valley, and in Guatemala. She has taught in several area schools, working her way "up" to the youngest learners, and spent 11 years teaaching at Upper Valley Coop Preschool. Currently, most of her teaching centers around English Language Learners. She is also the Migrant Home Visitor for the Cascade School District. Laurie also has a deep history with the Community Cupboard. Carl Florea hired Laurie to help at the Cupboard in the late 1980's, and she remained as a staff member until the turn of the century. At that point, she left for Guatemala for six months to do some volunteer work in Xela. She returned to the Cupboard as a volunteer for 10 years, and is now back on as a staff member, splitting her time between the Cupboard and Jubilee Global Gifts. Her hobbies over the past 7 years revolve mostly around her grandchildren, as well as gardening, walking and reading.
Stuart has been a friendly fixture at the Community Cupboard since 1992, and has families ties to the Cupboard that go back even farther. Stuart's mother, Marie Emig, helped start the Community Cupboard out of the basement of the United Methodist Church back in 1983. The opportunity to help meet some important needs in the local community brings a lot of joy to Stuart's life, and is just one way in which he is able to continue his commitment of providing service to others. In addition to his role at the Cupboard, Stuart is also a mental health counselor for New Beginnings at Catholic Family & Child Services, an active member of the American Red Cross Disaster Action Team, and a volunteer with the Upper Valley Free Clinic, providing social service referrals to Free Clinic patients. He is a certified Information and Referral Specialist through the Alliance of Information and Referral Systems, and spent 10 years doing mental health counseling and referrals over the telephone. He has a BA in Psychology and a M.Ed from Whitworth University in Spokane, WA. When he is not working or volunteering, Stuart enjoys cross country skiing and participating in spiritual counseling and other activities with Leavenworth Christian Fellowship.
Mary moved to Leavenworth in 1994 and has been involved with the Community Cupboard ever since, as a volunteer, a Board member, and currently as an employee. Prior to this she had a 23-year career in accounting, mainly with Alaska Airlines. Over the years, she has coached girls soccer, led a Ponderosa 4-H horse club, and taught & administered Sunday School. She and her husband, Tim, have two adult children and two grandsons. Her greatest joy is her family, but she also enjoys the outdoors, camping, golf, horses, snowmobiles and a good read.
Originally from a small town in the state of Oaxaca, Mexico, Catalina has been in Washington since1995. Many of her siblings had moved here prior to that time, and Catalina's parents decided they wanted the entire family to live in the same place. Although the transition was difficult for her (she especially missed tending to all of the animals on her family's ranch in Mexico), Catalina eventually adapted to her new life here in the Upper Valley.
Catalina is excited to be working at Community Cupboard. She enjoys helping people and feels that Upper Valley MEND and the Community Cupboard do a lot of good work to help our community. Catalina and her husband, Carlos, have been married for 12 years and have three children: Samantha, Nicole and Alexander.
Alexandra has lived in the Upper Valley since 1987 when she and her husband moved here from Mexico in order to work the fruit harvests. The instability of the work and lack of affordable housing forced them to move around quite a bit, almost forcing them out of the Northwest entirely. But Alexandra had grown to appreciate the Upper Valley, and in particular the friendly, small-town environment of Leavenworth, and was committed to providing an opportunity for her kids to grow up here. Finally, in 2001 on a visit to the Community Cupboard, Alexandra began talking with Carl Florea, the former Director, and learned about homes that were being built through SHARE Community Land trust. She immediately signed up, and by 2002 Alexandra, her husband, and four children were some of the first residents of Alpine Heights, SHARE's first housing development. Since 2005 Alexandra has worked part-time for SHARE as a translator. She is happy to help other SHARE residents and prospective home buyers because she feels that SHARE is the type of program that can help make dreams come true, as it did for her and her family.
Traveling from her home on the East Coast, Liz has travelled a long way to Leavenworth to become Upper Valley MEND’s first Jesuit Volunteer. As a Jesuit Volunteer based out of the Jesuit Volunteer Corps Northwest office, Liz will live in community with three other JV’s in Wenatchee and is excited to explore simple living, spirituality, and social justice within that community. In her four years at Boston College Liz had the chance to teach 3rd graders in Jamaica, tutor schoolchildren in South Africa and volunteer in Boston--in nursing homes, soup kitchens and schools--while working towards a Bachelor of Arts in history.
After graduating from Boston College, Liz wanted to apply coursework in community development to the real world. The multifaceted approach of MEND spoke to Liz’s experiences studying just housing in Boston, volunteering with developmentally-disabled students, and serving both low income and homeless clients at LIFT in Cambridge, MA. She is excited to get to know the people of both Leavenworth and Wenatchee, especially through working at the Community Cupboard and aiding the SHARE housing developments. She looks forward to a year full of hiking, biking and learning in Leavenworth, with the support of her JV community and others she meets along the way.
Mary comes to us from Cashmere, and works with the Meadowlark Development and other SHARE CLT issues. She has been involved in some form of ministry/service in the Wenatchee Valley since 1990 when she and her husband Michael chose to return to the area to raise their family as they continued building their portrait studio business. Now, as their children have moved into adulthood, Mary’s desire to reach out into the community more has led her to Upper Valley MEND, where she brings 25 plus years of office and small business administration experience and enthusiasm to our organization.
She has lead women’s ministries, summer craft camps for kids, and worked in their family business in all areas from client contact, bookkeeping, marketing and production. When Mary is not involved with the adventure of land development she enjoys working with her hands using yarn, fabric, plants, drawing materials and more. She and her husband, Michael, enjoy camping locally and near the ocean, as well as spending time with their two active young adult children and other family and friends.
Shelly is a graduate from Griffin Business College in Bellevue Washington, and has been a bookkeeper for more than 30 years. She began bookkeeping for her family’s business in Kirkland when she was still in high school. In 2005 Shelly started her own business and established a diverse clientele throughout the Upper Valley. MEND first hired Shelly as an independent contractor in May 2011. She loved the staff, atmosphere and purpose of MEND and joined our staff as Finance Manager in August 2011.
Shelly moved to Leavenworth in 1987 when she met her husband Karl, who she lost to cancer in 1996. Karl was a local boy from the Lake Wenatchee area and graduate from Cascade High School. Shelly is the mother of two busy daughters, one still in school. Leavenworth is home to Shelly and her girls; she can’t imagine living anywhere else.
Shelly likes to spend time snowmobiling, skiing, and jet skiing. She is an avid traveler, having been all over Europe and all points in-between. Her future plans include more time with her beautiful girls and more travel.
Sandi followed her husband Brian to Leavenworth in the summer of 2010 and has never looked back. The beauty of Leavenworth and the heart of this community have captured her! She recently received a bachelor’s degree at The Evergreen State College focusing on Fair Trade, Community Organizing and Women’s Studies. Little did she know that this education would be the catalyst for her new passion as the Manager of Jubilee Global Gifts, MEND’s newest program.
For over 25 years, she has worked in the domestic violence/sexual assault field, beginning as a safe home where she and Brian received women directly after fleeing abuse. Her work has varied from directing a rural county program, to working with Indigenous people in Washington, the National Presbyterian Church on a Violence Against Women project, and leading workshops all over the U.S. as well as Central America. Sandi is the founder of Women Walking Together, where women from North America visit women in Central America, sharing personal stories and planning ways to work in our communities to address violence. She believes that if women around the globe work together on a grassroots level, change will happen. In 2009, she worked with a small women’s cooperative in Guatemala to create Corazon Scarves, a small fairly traded business selling hand woven scarves made by Mayan women. Fair Trade provides hope to women and communities. That is why she loves her work at Jubilee and sharing these stories to shoppers.
Sandi has 4 adult children and 3 grandchildren. She loves to travel, walk, knit, read, write, bake bread and share hospitality with friends and family.
Erin moved to North Central Washington after graduating from Luther College in Decorah, Iowa in 2010. There, she studied English and was influenced by abroad experiences in Tanzania and Norway, as well as volunteer opportunities teaching English to immigrants and refugees. Those interests led her to a year of service with Intermountain AmeriCorps in Wenatchee, where she coordinated volunteers at the Literacy Council, a program of Community Action Council that offers free, volunteer-led English as a Second Language classes to local adults.
When Erin saw the opportunity to serve another year of Intermountain AmeriCorps, this time with Upper Valley MEND, she jumped on it, excited to learn from a nonprofit addressing so many community needs and also alleviating global poverty through the work of Jubilee Global Gifts. Erin is now working to expand the outreach of Jubilee as well as recruit volunteers for MEND.
Although she grew up embracing the wide open spaces of North Dakota, Erin loves living in the mountains and spends much of her free time rock climbing, hiking, and skiing. She also enjoys reading, traveling, and spending time with good friends.
