Kelly and Heather, our two new AmeriCorps members, joined HIP at the beginning of October just as our new school year programming was picking up steam! We are excited to have them join our team. Please welcome them and stop by to say ‘hi’!

Kelly Bounxayavong

Guess who’s back?!

I’m Kelly Bounxayavong and I’m super excited to be joining the HIP crew and volunteers. You may remember me from Summer Meals when I did a short summer VISTA program sponsored by HIP, where we helped feed over 8,000 kids this summer! I loved HIP and the atmosphere so much that I decided to stay for another Americorps term, this time being for 10.5 months, so you’ll be seeing a lot of me 🙂

I grew up in Everett so I have a bit of a commute everyday. I recently graduated from the University of Washington with a Bachelor’s degree in Environmental Studies and Political Science, with an emphasis on environmental education. During my undergrad I had the opportunity to teach natural history to people of all ages, and without fail, everyone’s favorite part was learning about the food they can find and snack on in their backyards, like morrels, salmonberries, stinging nettle, and licorice fern. Following that path of natural food foraging led me to HIP, where I hope to learn more about the foods we eat in our everyday lives. I’m excited to share my knowledge about natural foods with others, as well as learn more about the nutrition and food systems in the U.S. I am sure I will be learning alot from this experience!

Heather Fucini

Aloha Lake City!

I am extremely excited for my first full week with HIP! My name is Heather and I just arrived from Hawaii last week, so if I seem lost it is because I most definitely am. I recently graduated from the University of Hawaii with a degree in Food Science and Human Nutrition. I am passionate about preventing food waste and providing nutritious meals to the community! I am also interested in furthering my knowledge of food policy and food waste reform. I love all food and the thought of wasting any of it breaks my heart! I have two beautiful kiddos who will be helping me out from time to time this year. In fact, they accompanied me to my first HIP packing party this week and we had a blast!!! I am looking forward to the months ahead as I get to know the Lake City community.