Hawley Carlson is the Executive Director of Volunteer West Virginia, and is currently pursuing a Ph.D. in community engagement. She has a master's degree in public administration and over 15 years in the nonprofit and government administration field. Hawley believes in the important work of empowering people to build strong communities. She lives in Charleston, West Virginia with her husband, plants, and sourdough starter. You can find her on weekends in the beautiful West Virginia outdoors hiking and looking for mushrooms.
As Director of Communications, Nick is responsible for Service Year Alliance’s communications strategy, including driving thought leadership communications, creating engagement plans, and developing content and messaging for all bodies of their work.
Prior to joining Service Year Alliance, Nick worked at FleishmanHillard, providing employee and change communications counsel to clients in healthcare, tech and agriculture. Before joining FleishmanHillard, Nick led brand, marketing and communications strategy in roles at the Gephardt Institute for Civic and Community Engagement at Washington University in St. Louis and at The Mission Continues, an organization that engages military veterans in continued service to their country by serving in their own communities.
Nick’s passion for national service began as an AmeriCorps VISTA. He lives in St. Louis, Missouri with his wife and their three rambunctious boys.
Tony Lucero serves as the Director of Bridging Divides, where he works with key partners to ensure all individuals who complete a year of service walk away with the skills needed to work across lines of difference.
Tony is an AmeriCorps alum of City Year Greater Philadelphia and EducationWorks. He has also served as an AmeriCorps staff member with City Year Denver. Tony is proud that his AmeriCorps experiences have shaped his values and skills, and led to opportunities to serve his hometown community as a high school educator and Mayoral appointee.
Tony currently resides in Denver, CO.
As Operations Associate for Service Year Alliance, Alyssa serves directly with our COO to ensure all administrative tasks for our organization are completed. She assists our finance team with bookkeeping, reporting, and maintaining records. She assists our team as a whole by managing calendars, travel, and operational logistics.
Alyssa also serves as Executive Assistant to our CEO, to provide complete administrative support. Alyssa manages all scheduling, emails, travel, expenses, and prioritization of tasks for our CEO.
Prior to joining our staff, Alyssa worked as a bookkeeper for over ten years. She earned her Bachelor of Science in Psychology from Liberty University. She is a true Georgia peach, where she lives with her husband and baby girl.
Alyssa has a heart for serving others and managing the day-to-day tasks, allowing our team the space to focus on our mission. When she is not working her calendar magic, you can find her caring for her daughter or at a coffee shop.
As Chief Executive Officer of Service Year Alliance, Kristen leads a core team of national service experts working to make a service year a common expectation and opportunity. A leader at Service Year Alliance since its founding — most recently as Chief Strategy Officer and interim co-CEO — Kristen brings over 15 years of national service experience, an in-depth understanding of the sector, and first-hand knowledge of what it is like to serve– to her role as the service year movement launches into a new era.
Her vision for a new era of national service prioritizes the experience and outcomes of those who serve and focuses on how to make national service more equitable and accessible for youth of all backgrounds.
Kristen previously led the development of ServiceYear.org at Service Year Alliance and worked as a Program Officer at California Volunteers, California’s state service commission. Her nonprofit, government, and strategy development experience positioned her well to lead Service Year Alliance and the service year movement, with a clear understanding of what the national service field needs to be successful, where the barriers lie, and how we can bring the next generation into national service.
Kristen is also a proud AmeriCorps VISTA alum. As a VISTA, Bennett served on California First Lady Maria Shriver’s WE Connect campaign.
Kristen earned a Bachelor of Science in Planning, Public Policy, and Management from the University of Oregon and a Master of Public Policy and Administration from California State University, Sacramento.
As the Chief Impact Officer, Maureen works across Service Year Alliance bodies of work to connect strategies, increase collaboration, and deepen impact. Maureen coordinates efforts across programs, partnerships, recruitment, and alums; and provides support to the CEO in implementing the organization’s strategic plan.
Maureen is an AmeriCorps alum with over two decades of experience in national service. Prior to joining Service Year Alliance, Maureen served as the Executive Director of PennSERVE, Pennsylvania’s state service commission, and was the Board Chair for America’s Service Commissions. Maureen has worked across most streams of service, including AmeriCorps State and National, VISTA, National Civilian Community Corps, and Learn & Serve.
Maureen holds a Master of Arts in Nonprofit Management and a Bachelor of Arts in English. Still interested in learning new things, Maureen took up running in 2020 and biking in 2022. Born in Philadelphia, PA, Maureen has also lived in New York, Louisiana, Florida, and Maryland. She currently resides in Lancaster, PA, with her husband and two children.
As Director of Climate & Workforce, Brent is responsible for growing Service Year Alliance's efforts to build and strengthen relationships with partners and programs inside the national service field.
Brent is an AmeriCorps alumni and has more than fourteen years of experience in national service and nonprofit programming. His experience has included serving as the former Director of the South Carolina Service Commission, National AmeriCorps Director for SBP Inc, and Founder for Aligned Impact Consulting Services. Brent is passionate about environmental conservation and helping to bring-out the best in others. He currently resides in Columbia, South Carolina with his wonderful wife Rachel, two year-old Carter, baby girl Zoey, and fur-baby Marley.
Jennifer Bagaglio serves as the Chief Operating Officer at Service Year Alliance where she oversees finance, human resources, and operations for the organization. She works closely with the entire team to handle budget development and reporting, strategic planning, and board relations. Jen has been a leader at Service Year Alliance since its founding and was previously the Operations Director at the National Conference on Citizenship (NCoC).
Prior to joining the NCoC team, Jen spent four years working at DC Vote to end taxation without representation in our nation’s capital. She worked there as the Public Affairs Manager, focused on community engagement, coalition building, and volunteer management.
Jen grew up in Massachusetts and attended the University of Vermont where she graduated with a B.A. in Sociology with a concentration on social movement theory and political activism and civic engagement in the nonprofit sector. She lives in DC with her husband and two young daughters.
In 2006, Sandy graduated from the University of Maryland College Park and began working in the nonprofit sector. He completed a service year as an AmeriCorps VISTA member at Jumpstart for Young Children, working to build their regional fundraising efforts. After serving his term, he spent 6 more years at Jumpstart in various fundraising roles out of their Washington, DC office. Most recently, Sandy served as the Director of Development at Council for a Strong America, a public policy organization working to improve America's public safety, national security, and economic growth through research-based investments in children.
Today, Sandy serves as Chief Advancement Officer, building funding partnerships that help fuel Service Year Alliance's ambitious strategic plan. In his spare time, Sandy enjoys Brazilian jiu-jitsu, hiking, and brunch. Especially brunch.