The Senior Federation welcomes three new Americorps*VISTA (Volunteers in Service to America) members: Kelly Pearson, Naomi Campbell and Elisa Nonini. All will serve full time for one year with the health programs education and outreach department; Kelly will serve in the St. Cloud area, while Naomi and Elisa will serve in the Twin Cities area.   

Kelly received her BS in Biochemistry this past May from Arizona State University where she was also a student of the Barrett Honors College. While there, she was part of a research team investigating metabolic disorders. She is interested in the medical field and has worked for St. Cloud Hospital Home Care for the past four summers. She enjoys volunteering at hospitals, which have included the St. Cloud Hospital and the Phoenix Children's Hospital.

Kelly grew up in St. Cloud and moved to Tempe, Ariz., for college. She recently moved back to St. Cloud to serve for AmeriCorps. She hopes to one day pursue a medical degree. Kelly enjoys reading and music as well as being active through running, wakeboarding, snowboarding and playing tennis. 

Naomi has already completed two Americorps terms tutoring second and third graders with English as a second language. She also has experience working with disabled adults as well as in the medical field with the elderly for 20 years. Her passion of working with elders is what brought her to the Federation's VISTA program and she is already learning a lot about seniors issues.

Naomi is a very spiritual person. A self-described people person, she loves to swim, cook and play UNO. Naomi has four children and four grandchildren, whom she loves to spend time with on the weekend.

Elisa graduated from Pennsylvania State University in 2006, majoring in public relations and sociology. After working last summer at a healthcare PR firm in Washington, D.C., Elisa spent this year working in London and Dublin and traveling through out Europe. She hopes to continue to travel to Australia and volunteer in South America after her VISTA commitment has been completed.

When she's not poking around the MnSF office, Elisa spends her time reading, working out, visiting with friends, lying around her pool and seeing live music. She currently lives in Apple Valley with her family.

For more information on the VISTA program, call Angie Ritter at 651/783-5019 or 877-645-0261 ext. 5019.