Back row: Abbey Schumacher, Kelly Stewart, Emily Cohen.
Front row: Andrea Solazzo, Leah Taraskiwicz, Ellen Nieman.  Not pictured: Lauren Talley.

Abbey is serving at Interfaith Legal Services for Immigrants in St. Louis.  She is living in Claver House, an intentional community in North St. Louis.  She is a St. Louis native who recently graduated from DePaul University with a degree in International Studies and Spanish.  She has an interest and commitment to the Catholic Worker movement and radical Catholic community.

Kelly is serving at New Ways Ministry in Mt. Rainier, MD, with Loretto sister, Jeannine Gramick.  She grew up in Birmingham, AL, and has a degree in psychology from Middlebury College.  She is also a music fan who plays guitar, and brought her record player to the volunteer house.

Emily is our feminist theology volunteer, serving at Women's Alliance for Theology, Ethics and Ritual and Women's Ordination Conference - both in the Washington, DC area.  As a student at Seattle University, she studied and practiced feminist theology and creative arts.  She is also a potter. 

Andrea is this year's assistant to the Loretto representative at the United Nations in New York.  Before her service with Loretto, she worked at her alma mater, Eckerd College, building environmental service-learning programs.  She is an avid cook and food experimenter.

Leah is working at the DC Rape Crisis Center, serving as a community educator for teens.  Her experience educating and organizing on sexual assault awareness at Michigan State University prepares her well for this job.  She is a native of Jackson, MI, and is also a runner and a poet.

Ellen is serving at Bethany Women's Center, a day shelter for homeless women affiliated with N Street Village, in Washington, DC.  She has a bachelor's in social work from St. Louis University, where she will return to get a master's degree in social work following her service.  She is a quilter and a gardener who has managed the volunteer house's backyard garden.

Lauren (not pictured) is serving as assistant producer at Interfaith Voices public radio show, serving alongside Loretto sister Maureen Fiedler.  She comes with plenty of public radio experience and a degree in communications from Michigan State University.  She's an Ann Arbor native.