Meet the Alumni Council!

Photo from left to right starting with the back row: Jackie Lamars, Woody (Rachel Logan-Wood), Miche McCall, MaryGrace Menner 

Front row: Jillian Eller, Madison Rose, KellyAnn Cameron, Krista Snyder 

The Alumni Council is a group of QVS alumni who meet with the purpose of fostering more connection between alumni and creating space for the needs and wants of alumni. 

The Alumni Council meets once a month to plan alumni gatherings (such as the upcoming Alumni Reunion! Alumni register here), workshops or community co-learning spaces, offer spiritual support, consider ways to support Fellows transitioning out of the program, and think about paths towards strengthening our alumni community. If you’re interested in learning more about the work we do together as the Alumni Council, stay tuned for another post with meeting notes from our recent Alumni Council retreat this past December, coming soon! In the meantime, get to know us more by checking out our short bios below!

Name: Jackie Lamars

Pronouns: she/her

QVS Year & City: Portland 2021-22

What spiritual community are you a part of now? Unaffiliated, but visitor of Pittsburgh Friends Meeting

Why did you join the Alumni Council? I joined because I love sharing a spiritual space with young people, and it always leaves me feeling inspired and motivated. I would love to see an Alumni Council thrive where people can meet and connect deeply with alums outside of their years and houses, as I believe there is a larger shared experience to tap into among all who have participated in QVS.  

What did you value most from your QVS year and how are you continuing those themes in your post-QVS life? I feel more resilient and able to handle challenges at work, at home, and spiritually after spending a year challenging myself daily. My current abilities to slow down, consume less, and appreciate more are directly tied to rituals that began in my QVS house with the support of my wonderful housemates, who I still laugh with on the regular.

Name: Woody

Pronouns: she/her

QVS Year & City: Portland 2017-18

What spiritual community are you a part of now? Quaker then, Quaker now, Quaker forever! I’m a member of Community Friends Monthly Meeting in Cincinnati, Ohio, which is my home Meeting I grew up in!

Why did you join the Alumni Council? Rather, as the Alumni Coordinator, I put the Alumni Council together because I don’t think we can foster a strong alumni community without input from alumni themselves. I hope we can vision and create an alumni community that feels wholesome and serves the needs and wants of QVS alumni.

What did you value most from your QVS year and how are you continuing those themes in your post-QVS life? I valued the intentional community we created together; there is no other community like it I’ve experienced. I appreciated the way we centered each other and our community, which is an intention I’ve carried into my personal relationships and my work as the QVS Portland City Coordinator.

Name: Miche McCall

Pronouns: They/Them

QVS Year & City: Boston, 2019-20

What spiritual community are you a part of now? Quaker, baby!

Why did you join the Alumni Council? I joined the Alumni Council because of how huge a difference QVS made in my life. I wouldn’t be a Quaker, an artist, or a person who knows the running trails on the Neponset River without QVS. I wanted to find ways to (re)connect the alumni of this unique service year to support each other and strengthen the leadings we have had post-QVS. 

What’re you doing now? After QVS, I went to Earlham School of Religion to get my Masters in Theopoetics and Writing where I got to explore silence, performance art, and queer theory and take some classes about Quakerism too. Then I joined Quaker Earthcare Witness as the Communications and Outreach Coordinator. QEW developed from the strong leading among Friends that our future depends on a spiritual transformation in our relationships with each other and the natural world. I am deeply involved in my meeting in Brooklyn, New York where I co-work on Tuesdays and have spotted Jeremy Allen White on occasion.

Name: MaryGrace Menner

Pronouns: she/her

QVS Year & City Boston: 2017-18

What spiritual community are you a part of now? Friends Meeting at Cambridge

Why did you join the Alumni Council? The people I’ve met through QVS are passionate, dedicated, loving, talented, and committed to building a better world – I want to continue building and deepening this special community beyond just one house or one year. 

What’re you doing now?  I still live in a beloved community in Boston, but now with my sister and dog. I’m a legal aid lawyer focused on immigrant workers’ rights — working in partnership with my QVS site placement, Metrowest Worker Center! 

Name: Jillian Eller

Pronouns: They/Them/Theirs

QVS Year & City: Atlanta, 2019-20

Spiritual community: Youth Group leader at the Unitarian Universalist Congregation of Greenville, NC.

Why did you join the Alumni Council?: I joined the Alumni Council to reconnect with Quaker practices while cultivating a community around the shared experience of QVS. Being involved in the spirit-led space of the Alumni Council brings me so much joy and has rekindled my desire for intentional practices.

What did you value most from your QVS year and how are you continuing those themes in your post-QVS life? My QVS year taught me what it means to be an active participant in community. The value of connecting with people you live with is an experience that guides me in building meaningful connections to this day. Even though they look vastly different from QVS House Meetings, regular check-ins with my roommates remain crucial for fostering trust amidst joys, sorrows, and conflicts.

Name: Maddie Rose

Pronouns: she/her

QVS Year & City: Portland 2018-19

What spiritual community are you a part of now? Attender of Adelphi Friends Meeting in Adelphi, Maryland 

Why did you join the Alumni Council? QVS was a great fit for me and set me on a course that I’m incredibly grateful to be on, and I wanted to do what I could to connect with others who share elements of my experience and support a thriving QVS alumni community. 

What’re you doing now? – I am an Outreach Coordinator at the Union of Concerned Scientists working to abolish nuclear weapons.

Name: KellyAnn or KA

Pronouns: she/they/any 

QVS Year & City: Portland 2017-18 

What spiritual community are you a part of now? Literally/socially – member of havurah shalom reconstructionist synagogue; Spiritually – mostly unaffiliated 🙂 

Why did you join the Alumni Council? I have a lot of feelings and opinions about many things, including QVS, and Woody is one of the long suffering souls who hears about them every so often and encouraged me to join 

What did you value most from your QVS year and how are you continuing those themes in your post-QVS life? One discrete thing I value from my QVS year are Quaker processes, especially around discernment and navigating disagreement and conflict. These are useful life tools and skills I still use in my personal and organizing time especially!  

Name: Krista Snyder

Pronouns: she/her

QVS Year & City: Philly 2016-17

What spiritual community are you a part of now?: Unaffiliated

Why did you join the Alumni Council?: I joined the Alumni Council with the aim of fostering deeper connections among fellow alumni. I am excited about cultivating a robust network and nurturing a sense of community among QVS alums, ensuring that our shared experiences continue to enrich and support one another’s paths.

What’re you doing now? I live in the coastal town of Bellingham, WA. I work in cancer research. My days are a delicate balance of work, movement, and creative expression.

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