Baltimore/Wilmington Office:
Amy Sens, Baltimore and Wilmington Coordinator. Originally from Minnesota, Amy graduated from the University of Delaware in 1999 with a degree in International Relations with minors in Spanish Studies and Philosophy. The following year as an LVC Volunteer in Washington, DC, she worked with immigrant survivors of domestic violence. She then went to Harvard Divinity School and graduated with her Master’s of Divinity in 2003. Amy is ordained in the United Church of Christ to her call as City Coordinator for LVC. She and her partner, Heather, live in southwest Baltimore with their cat Tuesday. Amy is an avid reader; her favorite writers include Brian McClaren, Walter Brueggemann, and Anne Lamott.
Bay Area Office:
Rae Huang, Bay Area Coordinator. Most recently Rae has worked at St. Paul’s Anglican Church, Athens Greece, leading a study on Wholeness and Healing, as well as contributing to research regarding human trafficking in Europe. Previously she served as director of youth ministries at 4th Presbyterian Church in Boston. She incorporated community organizing, retreats, a civil rights pilgrimage, and social justice education into the young adult and youth ministries. Rae graduated from Boston University with a master of divinity degree in 2007 and received her bachelor’s from Boston College in 2004. Rae has experience in social justice work, multi-ethnic ministry and young adult servant-leadership, as well as volunteer program administration and recruiting. She enjoys playing piano, running, ice cream, and hiking.
Chicago/Milwaukee Office:
Joanne Otte, Program Director. Joanne grew up in a small town in Southern Illinois. She graduated from Wartburg College with a social work/religion double major. After college she was a LVC Volunteer in St. Paul, MN doing case management and overnight shifts at the LSS Safehouse, a homeless shelter for youth. After LVC, she spent two years at Luther Seminary and received an MA in Religion. She then moved to Chicago and worked at Chicago Uptown Ministry. In June of 2002, she joined the LVC staff and was consecrated as a Diaconal Minister with the ELCA. She served as the Chicago-Milwaukee Coordinator for five years before becoming the Program Director.
Lauren Sanders, Chicago/Milwaukee City Coordinator. Lauren Sanders grew up in New Orleans and Northeastern Kansas. After graduating from William Jewell College and then Louisville Presbyterian Theological Seminary, Lauren completed an AmeriCorps VISTA position with Housing Action Illinois. In her “spare time” (on the “El”), she enjoys reading children’s science fiction and fantasy. Lauren provides volunteer support and will be involved in church fundraising and local recruiting in Chicago and Milwaukee.
Omaha Office:
Janelle Domeyer, Omaha City Coordinator/Lutheran Service Corps Executive Director. As Executive Director of Lutheran Service Corps (LSC) in Omaha, Nebraska, Janelle is leading Lutheran Service Corps in a transition to become a subsidiary of Lutheran Volunteer Corps. August of 2009 will be the first year that LSC welcomes LVC volunteers to Omaha! Janelle is a mom to two rambunctious twin boys named Max and Will. Originally from Dyersville, Iowa, she is a 2004 graduate of Loras College in Dubuque, IA, with a degree in Political Science. In 2008, Janelle completed a Master in Organizational Leadership degree from the College of Saint Mary in Omaha, Nebraska.
Puget Sound Office:
Darla DeFrance, Puget Sound City Coordinator. Darla grew up in a small town in Montana and graduated from Duke University with a degree in mathematics. Before coming to LVC in 2007, Darla was a parish pastor in Kalispell, Montana. A graduate of Princeton Theological Seminary and Pacific Lutheran Theological Seminary, she was ordained in 2004. She lives in Seattle with her husband Marinko Kordich and enjoys gardening, running, and writing.
Twin Cities Office:
Susanne Waldorf, Twin Cities Coordinator. Susanne is a two-year alumna of LVC. Her first year in Wilmington, Delaware at Ministry of Caring and her second in Washington, DC at Partners for Peace. Susanne is a graduate of Simpson College, Indianola, Iowa. She also has a Master’s degree in Peace and Conflict Studies from the European University Center for Peace Studies in Stadtschlaining, Austria, with a special interest in transformational and popular education. Susanne was the program director for Partners for Peace where she organized the Jerusalem Women Speak national U.S. tour and facilitated conversations among Jews, Christians, Muslims and others. She has also been a teacher at the Bethlehem Stars Summer Academy, a Lutheran affiliated ministry in Palestine, and a high school German teacher in Calmar, Iowa.
Washington, D.C. Office:
Ellie Grantson, Development Associate. With over 20 years of administrative and fund development experience, Ellie most recently for nine years was the Office Manager/Director of Operations for the Luther Institute in Washington, DC. She has also held positions at Lutheran Theological Seminary in Philadelphia, American Theological Library Association in Chicago, and Christ Seminary-Seminex in St. Louis. Her deep experience is reflected in her wide proficiency of constituent relations, non-profit accounting and development software, team leadership and office management.
Born in Ghana, Ellie graduated with an economics degree from the University of Ghana in 1979. She also attended St. Louis University in the United States. She is married to the Rev. Emmanuel Grantson, pastor of St. Michael’s Truth Lutheran Church in Mitchellville, MD. They are the parents of two adult sons.
Melanie Mullen, Development Director. Melanie will brings a decade of fundraising experience, and her commitment to peace and social justice to LVC. She has served in fund development positions with the National Law Center on Homelessness and Poverty, the Minority Corporate Counsel Association, and eight electoral campaigns. Most recently she was the Deputy Director of the Real Estate Associate Program that encouraged people of color to enter the real estate profession. Melanie is a graduate of the University of North Carolina, Chapel Hill, and has done graduate work in Africana Women’s Studies, and Non-Profit Administration & Leadership Development. She is a member of St. Margaret’s Episcopal Church in DC, where she volunteers with Charlie’s Place, the congregation’s ministry with homeless.
Kelly Shinn, Recruiting & Placement Director. Kelly grew up in Arvada, CO, and graduated from Luther College in Decorah, Iowa. Following college, she headed back to Colorado to join Urban Servant Corps. After her USC year came to a close, she was hired on as the Program Manager at her placement, Rainbow Alley. In 2004, Kelly moved to Holden Village where she served for over two years as Staff Coordinator. Now with LVC, Kelly works to recruit and place individuals who are passionate about working for peace with justice.
Charles Spring, Washington DC City Coordinator. Before joining the LVC staff in August 2005, Charles participated in faith-based community organizing, affordable housing advocacy, and peacemaking work in Colombia. With LVC, he enjoys helping people make connections between local issues and global trends. He and his wife Carol are excited about raising their first child, Rebecca Joy, born in December 2005.
Michael Wilker, Executive Director. Mike grew up on a hog farm in Southern Minnesota. Since then he's been a Lutheran Volunteer in Chicago, an LVC staffer in Washington, DC, a seminarian in Berkeley and Oakland, an intern in the South Bronx, and a Lutheran pastor in Watsonville, California and Freeport, New York. Leading the staff team, supporting volunteers, gathering with donors and alumni and playing with his family give Mike hope and courage.
Ruth Worman, Administrative Coordinator. Born in Minnesota, Ruth felt the March chill and quickly moved to Mexico. Although her family returned north after about a year, she’s had the travel bug ever since. In Ruth’s adult life, she has lived in Mexico and Suriname, serving in congregational and administrative positions. More recently, Ruth was the office manager of First Trinity Lutheran Church, an LVC support congregation in Washington, DC, where she is also a member. Ruth is a 1991 graduate of Carleton College and attended Luther Seminary in Minnesota. She is a former board member of the Twin Cities chapter of Lutherans Concerned North America and coordinated the chapter’s Reconciling in Christ program. Ruth is most proud of her wonderful trilingual daughter Magdalena.