Rural LISC welcomes 3 new staff
7.26.2019
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LISC Stories
Rural LISC is thrilled to welcome three new staff to the Rural LISC family! In the last several weeks, Emily Avery, Sarah Adams, and Kayleen Sullivan have joined us, bringing a palette of strong skills to Rural LISC as well as to our valued partners across rural America.
Left to right: Emily Avery, Senior Program Officer, Financial Opportunity Centers; Sarah Adams, Program Officer, Communications; Kayleen Sullivan, Communications Intern
Emily Avery joins us as a Senior Program Officer in the areas of workforce development and financial capability. She will lead Rural LISC’s Financial Opportunity Center and Bridges to Career Opportunities efforts, as well as provide organizational capacity building and technical assistance to a portfolio of rural community-based organizations having a specific rural workforce development focus, as well as those working in the larger rural community development field.
Emily has an extensive background in community engagement and team building, spearheading collaborative efforts with corporate, nonprofit and community partners to create community impact and transformation. She comes to us from more than a decade of service with United Way of Greater Toledo in Toledo, Ohio, most recently as Vice President, Strategic Partnerships and Investments, where she managed volunteer efforts and critical investments, conducted research, designed strategies, and developed and coordinated strategic partnership teams responding to a variety of community needs.
Emily earned a Bachelor of Arts degree in Psychology with a minor in Sociology from Bowling Green State University in Bowling Green, Ohio, where she is currently working toward a master’s degree in Organization Development. She is based in the Toledo area.
Sarah Adams joins Rural LISC as a Communications Program Officer, initially working closely with Anna Hurt on Rural LISC’s disaster recovery and resiliency work. Sarah is skilled in team building, project management, strategy development, organizational processes, copywriting, marketing and design, and will give a welcome boost to Rural LISC’s communications efforts, helping to tell the story of the remarkable impact of our work in rural America.
Sarah was previously Director of Communications with Habitat for Humanity of Wake County in Raleigh, North Carolina, where she oversaw content creation and scheduling for digital and print communications, managed fundraising events, and created organizational materials. Among other previous positions, she served both as a Marketing Director and Operations Manager, and as Production Manager and Creative Director for Autoshop Solutions, a digital marketing agency in North Carolina.
Sarah studied English at the University of North Carolina in Charlotte and Graphic Design at Meredith College in Raleigh, North Carolina.
In her personal life, Sarah is an avid runner, having completed dozens of ultramarathons, marathons, and half marathons. She recently moved with her partner, Dustin, from the city to a rural area to live on a small six acre homestead-farm with an ever-changing menagerie of animals. Sarah will be based at her homestead in Siler City, North Carolina.
Kayleen Sullivan is joining us for the summer as a Communications Intern helping with a variety of communications-related projects following up on the recent Rural LISC Seminar in Monticello, New York.. A 2017 graduate of La Quinta High School in La Quinta, Calif., Kayleen is developing her skills through the highly regarded and selective Communication Studies program at the University of California, Los Angeles. Her particular interests include strategic communications with a focus in public relations and human resources, developing business-related skills, and applying her leadership and team-oriented background within a creative work environment. During her time with Rural LISC she looks forward to building on her knowledge and skills in written and verbal communication, marketing strategies, networking and publicity.
Kayleen is currently serving as development and layout editor for Aleph, UCLA’s Undergraduate Research Journal for the Humanities and Social Sciences; and Director of Membership for the UCLA Undergraduate Communication Association. Additionally, she serves with Women and Youth Supporting Each Other (WYSE), an organization devoted to the upliftment of young women, where she mentors middle school girls in underserved communities, and creates content for WYSE’s website, social media and newsletter.
At La Quinta High, Kayleen was co-editor-in-chief of the school newspaper, and in 2017 was awarded Female Student Athlete of the Year, as well as Journalism, Biology, French and History Student of the Year!
Please join us in giving these three new staff members a warm LISC welcome!