Category: Alumni Stories

Alumni Link up in the Latest Assembly Room     July’s Alumni Assembly Room kicked off by checking in with Public Allies CEO and 1994 PA Milwaukee Alum, Jenise Terrell. From her experience as an Alum to her passion for community development,  Jenise shared how she has experienced her return to the organization  since the Read More

by Andreu Rydbom. Recently, Andreu Rydbom (Public Allies Central Florida ’23), surprised us with a one-of-a-kind painting to celebrate the bond within our movement. This beautiful piece is a timely reminder to reflect on on our past while maintaining hope for the future. It was only a year ago, in a painful and misguided restructuring, Read More

Time flies when you’re having fun! We count ourselves profoundly fortunate that we can count engaging and supporting our remarkable alumni community, our day jobs! Since we relaunched this newsletter one year ago, every moment small to significant (hello, restructure!) has been filled with awe and inspiration from these vibrant interactions. So in celebration of Read More

by Caylie Guinn.   As a kid, I never directly addressed my sexuality. Coming from a small town in rural Indiana, it wasn’t even a question: I was a girl, so I liked boys. Simple. Straightforward. But this didn’t quite complete the puzzle— the hours spent in a literal closet marrying Barbie and Barbie told Read More

    By Prita Chhabra. Seva, or selfless service, is a practice that asks us to serve without any expectation of outcome. Learn more about this South Asian practice from Prita Chhabra by watching the video above.       Prita Chhabra (she/her) is the Site Director and an alum of Public Allies Central Florida. Read More

  image description/ alt text: gradient text reads as, “calcipher” & “@n”. illustration of pilipinx version of Calcipher from Studio Ghibli’s animated film, ” Howl’s Moving Castle”. A gradient red-orange-yellow calcipher cooks 3 spams, 2 longanisa, & 2 eggs with a black cast iron on top of their head while eating 6 cinnamon sticks. By Read More

A conversation with Ann Terrell, PhD, author of “Graceful Leadership in Early Childhood Education” and Jenise Terrell, CEO of Public Allies.   JT: Everything about my leadership style has been informed by watching my mom lead. And the first leadership lesson I learned from her was to master your craft and always be prepared. Mom, Read More

It all started with a flyer. In 2001, Ramona Ramos (she/her) (Public Allies Wisconsin ‘02), a mother of two with a love for community building and leadership, was introduced to Public Allies through a friend that recognized her passion, and that’s where this legacy begins. 15 years later, Ramona’s first son, Elio Garcia (he/him) (Public Read More

Melissa Dunmore (she/her) (Public Allies Arizona ‘12) has always been a writer. As a Brooklyn-born Boricua living in the Valley of the Sun, she has developed her keen artistic style to illustrate the lived experiences of marginalized communities and to shed light on social issues that are often overlooked. Her term of service with Public Read More

Listen here for Renee’s interview with Yexandra Diaz, New Haven Program Manager at Public Allies CT, an AmeriCorps program with Serve Connecticut! Public Allies is a national movement committed to advancing social justice and equity by engaging and activating the leadership capacities of all people. Public Allies Connecticut is a social justice organization committed to Read More