We have three new staff members for North Star this fall: Emily Provost, Teresa Jones, and Saleem Mizrachi. We received more than 30 applications for our openings, and we conducted 9 interviews. The process was inspiring: we could clearly staff three full centers with the visionary, talented, and interesting people whom we met. I felt a bit of affirmation that the applicants included a few alumni, former North Star Americorps staff members, and even former North Star Board members. The hardest part of this open process is having to tell some of these fantastic people that we are hiring other people, and I expect to follow up in-person with several of these folks who may have further interest in North Star. The best part of the process, of course, is sharing these three new people with you.
Emily Provost will be our Building Manager and will handle some of the day-to-day needs of our community and supervise the cleaning teams. Those of you interested in offering in-kind donations and other practical support may be directed to Emily. She will also lead some art classes and be involved with a number of spontaneously fun activities.
Teresa Jones has recently concluded more than 20 years as a professor at Greenfield Community College in botany and other science topics. At GCC, Teresa met North Star alums among many other homeschoolers in her classes, and has a deep appreciation for our approach. She has been focusing in expertise in the direction of life coaching, and she sees North Star as a place to combine all of her interests in a flexible organization. We are fortunate to have our timing and paths cross this summer!
Saleem Mizrachi is a musician, artist, and creative spirit. He is interested in sharing his talents in audio and video recording in addition to music performance. He has a range of experience working with youth, and we are thrilled to have him join us!
I’m now completely eager to get things started and see how our new staff, new members, and returning community create North Star 2023-2024! See you soon.
