LISC AmeriCorps Leadership Conference convenes in Jackson

One hundred members of LISC’s AmeriCorps national service program gathered for the LISC AmeriCorps Leadership Conference in Jackson, Miss., during AmeriCorps Week 2019 (March 10-16, 2019).  They came from points as distant as Los Angeles, Detroit and Boston, and as close by as Greenville, Miss.  Attendee Angelica Richards, a Greenville resident and Rural LISC AmeriCorps member, participated on a panel with the Foundation for the Mid South and Together for Hope, exploring ways to achieve economic and social justice in Mississippi through rural community development.

Angelica Richards, Rural LISC AmeriCorps member and Greenville, Miss., resident.

Angelica expressed her pleasure at being able to represent Mississippi and Greenville in such a positive way.  “It means a lot to serve my hometown,” she said.  “I always heard, when I was in college, ‘When you graduate, will you move away?’ And my response was always, ‘No – I love Greenville.’”  She would always say that, after graduation, she wanted to move home to “give back” to her community and help make it a better place; which is what she did.  Angelica currently serves as a Workforce Training Coordinator with the Washington County Economic Alliance, helping to connect youth to educational and career pathways guiding them toward higher education and livable wage employment. 

C. Richard “Rick” Allen, one of the creators of the national AmeriCorps program while serving as Deputy Assistant to President Clinton, gave a keynote speech at the conference opening reception; and LISC President and CEO Maurice Jones and LISC Vice President and Rural LISC Director Suzanne Anarde each delivered an address to the gathering.  Justin Archer Burch, Rural LISC Mid South Delta Program Officer, was a primary conference coordinator, and Rural LISC Senior Program Officer Andy Saavedra also attended.

Justin Archer Burch, Rural LISC Mid South Delta Program Officer (wearing green tie), with Rural LISC AmeriCorps members at the Leadership Conference.

LISC’s AmeriCorps program places dedicated volunteers with service organizations around the country, in locations where LISC works. These volunteer members serve the organizations where they are placed; engage local residents in the revitalization of their communities; and develop skills, experience and insight into community development and the profound value of service.  Many members serve the very communities where they live – which is one way to grow the pool of leaders who reflect the demographics of the communities served, and equip those emerging leaders with the skills to effect long-term community change.

During the conference, the AmeriCorps members came together for a special service project at the Salvation Army.

To date, LISC has placed 3,043 AmeriCorps members in communities across the country.

In the brief video below, a recap of the 2019 AmeriCorps Leadership Conference features Maurice Jones, LISC President and CEO; Suzanne Anarde, LISC Vice President and Rural LISC Director; and Angelica Richards, Rural LISC’s AmeriCorps member from Greenville, Miss.