The IRC in Seattle is pleased to welcome three new AmeriCorps VISTAs to our team! For the next year, Traci Wilson will serve as the Community Relations & Development VISTA, Denis Rajic will take on the Educational Services VISTA position and Yvette Sumner will be the VISTA Leader for the Refugee Support Network (RSN). The RSN is a coalition of King County refugee service providers led by the IRC in Seattle which has nine VISTA members serving at six different organizations.
Traci has volunteered for the IRC in Seattle for the past six months as an administrative volunteer in our Seattle office. She was quickly recognized among staff and other volunteers as being a quick learner and very dependable. We’re happy to bring her onto the team full-time as a VISTA. Traci has a bachelor’s degree in psychology and has taken courses in teaching English to speakers of other languages. In her new role, Traci will facilitate community outreach for the IRC, as well as assist in resource development and volunteer management activities.
As a refugee from Bosnia, Denis views his VISTA position as an opportunity to give back to an organization that once supported him and his family: “I want to be a VISTA because I care about the work the IRC is doing. I came to the United States through the IRC and I’m excited to be able to give back to the community.” Denis is a graduate of the University of Washington where he majored in international studies. As a VISTA, Denis will lead the IRC’s Pre-Employment Class, oversee school registration for recently arrived refugee youth, and help out with various volunteer programs.
Yvette will be coming from North Carolina to lead the RSN VISTA team. She has a bachelor’s degree from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill and an M.A. from The University of York in the U.K. Yvette comes to us following a year as an AmeriCorps VISTA with the Feeding America Food Bank in Abingdon, VA. She will spend her year providing support and training to VISTA members at Asian Counseling and Referral Service, East African Community Services, JFS Refugee & Immigrant Service Center, School’s Out Washington, Somali Community Services Coalition and the IRC.
We’d like to warmly welcome Traci, Denis and Yvette to the IRC in Seattle team!
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