We are glad to introduce you to our dedicated and growing staff team. Click on the photos to learn more about each staff member and for their contact info.
Liz Anderson (they/them) OPERATIONS & ADMINISTRATIVE MANAGER
Liz (they/them) grew up attending the Downers Grove Friends Meeting in Illinois as well as attending ILYM. After attending Earlham College Liz was seeking further spiritual community and served in the Philadelphia QVS house 2016-2017 (with fellow staff member Haley). That year of service really inspired them to work with cooperatives both housing and worker cooperatives to build spaces where people can rely on each other. Liz has worked in a variety of nonprofits focusing on operations, events, and educational programming. Liz currently resides in Cincinnati, OH, and enjoys trying every coffee shop available, board games, and cooking. Liz is looking forward to supporting QVS in providing these opportunities.
Liz Anderson (they/them) OPERATIONS AND ADMINISTRATIVE MANAGER
Hilary Burgin (she/her) EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR
Hilary (she/her) joined Quaker Voluntary Service in January 2015 as the Boston Coordinator. In that role, she supported three cohorts of Fellows through the QVS program. In November 2018, she stepped into the Executive Director role. Hilary sees QVS as an integral component of the Quaker movement the world needs now.
Hilary grew up in Acton Friends Meeting (MA), participating in the New England Yearly Meeting youth programs from elementary through high school. After graduating from Oberlin College in 2010 she moved to Boston. In the years since she has worked on farms (mostly veggie CSAs), for environmental nonprofits, and with young adult Quakers in other settings. Hilary moved to Northampton, MA in 2022, and attends Northampton Friends Meeting.
Rachael Carter (they/them) PHILADELPHIA COORDINATOR
Rachael (they/them) grew up in Philadelphia. They came into interfaith work in their years in undergrad. Since then, Rachael has spent time researching ecotheology in the Black community and learning to understand its connections to other faith and spiritual practices. They have also spent time working in Racial Equity and systems change work over the past several years.
Rachael is passionate about plants and the natural world, cooking as a healing practice and understanding various community and social systems. They are interested in further exploring the intersection of religion, food, and employment and are hoping to continue this exploration with further study. They also enjoy biking, taking care of their many plants and their cat and listening to podcasts in their time off.
In 2018-2019, Rachael moved to Atlanta to participate in QVS. QVS was their first introduction to Quaker practice. Rachael joined staff as the QVS Atlanta Coordinator and is now the Philadelphia Coordinator.
Rachael Carter (they/them) PHILADELPHIA COORDINATOR
Haley Castle-Miller (she/her) DEVELOPMENT AND OUTREACH COORDINATOR
Haley (she/her) grew up in the Quaker community in southeastern PA, attending Philadelphiam Yearly Meeting (PYM) and Friends General Conference Gatherings. She served in the Philadelphia QVS house 2016-2017, where she made life-long friends and reconnected with PYM through the Young Adult Friends program.
After many years in Philadelphia, Haley moved to Portland, Maine, a community she has grown to love and call home. Since moving to Portland, she has worked in roles to support immigrant inclusion efforts and plans to stay connected to the local community as a volunteer. Some of Haley’s favorite things to do include cooking, spending time with friends around a bonfire, and taking her boyfriend’s dog, Minnie, for walks.
Haley is excited for the opportunity to serve QVS again, this time in the role of Development and Community Outreach Coordinator. She looks forward to supporting the QVS program and the unique opportunities it provides for young people.
Haley Castle-Miller (she/her) DEVELOPMENT AND OUTREACH COORDINATOR
Kate Cowie-Haskell (they/she) MINNEAPOILIS - SAINT PAUL COORDINATOR
Kate was raised between the Florida Keys and Marshfield, MA. Their formative experiences playing among mangroves and tropical fish laid a foundation for an earth-based spirituality that they continue to put into words and practice. Kate attended Unitarian Universalist services growing up, but had not attended formal worship in many years by the time she befriended a group of QVS Fellows in 2017. These Fellows opened her eyes to the power of communal spiritual practice. After eight years spent between public radio and agriculture in the Boston area, Kate moved to Minneapolis in 2023 to pursue an M.Div in Social Transformation at United Theological Seminary of the Twin Cities. Kate considers dancing, knitting, and gardening to be foundational to her spiritual practice. She is thrilled to be putting love into action with QVS as the Minneapolis- Saint Paul Coordinator.
Ruth (she/her) joined QVS as the Recruiting and Marketing Coordinator in October, 2022. She is excited to work with young adults as they discern their path from college into the work of transforming the world. Ruth is excited about the impact that QVS has to revitalize Quaker meetings and give young activists the support and training to be effective change agents.
Ruth is a convinced Friend and a member of Durango Friends Meeting in Durango, CO. She holds a Master of Divinity from Earlham School of Religion. It was while she was working on her M/Div that she had the wonderful fortune to befriend several QVS alums who changed the course of her life (Thank you Liz, Walid, Maria and CarolAnne!!).
When she is not at work, Ruth can be found in her garden, at the local gym picking up heavy things or cooking yummy food to share with her friends.
If Mike ever gains access to a time machine, he will set course for the 17th Century and follow Mary Fisher through the Ottoman Empire. Mike found his spiritual home with the Quakers at the age of 18. This came as a surprise to everyone (himself included). After earning a philosophy degree from Portland State University and a Master of Divinity from Princeton Seminary, Mike helped start West Hills Friends in Portland, OR. After 30 years of pastoral ministry, he’s excited to begin a new chapter of life with QVS. He has a magical daughter and a highly capable wife. His brilliant son died in 2014, which simply broke his heart in two. He believes in fresh donuts, a sense of wonder and the fearless pursuit of love; but the greatest of these is love.
Rachel Logan-Wood (or Woody as she likes to go by) grew up attending Community Friends Meeting in Cincinnati, OH. In her most formative, awkward teen years, she always felt like she fit in on the Quaker youth service trips through Ohio Valley Yearly Meeting. These volunteer trips were the first she was exposed to the intersection of Quaker spirituality and service. Woody then attended Earlham College, a Quaker College in Richmond, IN, and majored in Environmental Policy with a minor in Women, Gender, and Sexuality Studies. Through these experiences, she began identifying as a non-theist Friend, rooting her Quakerism in the SPICES testimonies, and deepening her understanding of spirit-led service work. She loves her job as the Portland Program Coordinator guiding young adults through QVS and continuing the work of building community with QVS alumni in her role as the Alumni Coordinator!
Zenaida Peterson (they/them) DIRECTOR OF EQUITY AND EMPOWERMENT & BOSTON COORDINATOR
Zenaida Peterson is an alum of the Quaker Voluntary Service program in the Boston house (2016-2017). They have stayed connected with QVS since their service year in various roles and are now the Director of Equity and Empowerment and the Boston Coordinator. A few things that are important to Zenaida are the Wildwood nature connection school, writing poems, uplifting queer and trans youth, transformative justice and making doughnuts with herbs from their garden.