Huzzah! We’re excited to welcome new staff members to the Youth Programs team. Kristin Simmons joins Elizabeth Croce as MSF Co-Facilitator, and Alix Vallery joins as the MSF Program Assistant. Both bring new gifts and skills to the MSF team and will contribute to the wider Youth Programs mission and vision.
Elizabeth Croce says it best, and speaks for the whole Youth Programs team: “I’m thrilled to welcome Kristin and Alix to the MSF staff team! Together, the three of us bring diverse experiences, passions, and ideas that will enrich the MSF program. I am so excited to continue growing the MSF program with this multi-talented team.”
Kristin Simmons
Kristin comes to the MSF program with a background in education and social work, and has worked with a variety of schools and non-profits in various capacities. She is a member of Old Haverford Monthly Meeting, along with her spouse, Tim, and two daughters. She is her meeting’s recording clerk, serves as Clerk of the Worship and Ministry Committee, and assists with the First Day School. Kristin shares that she is, “grateful for the supportive spiritual community that my family has found in Old Haverford.” She earned a B.A. in Psychology from Johns Hopkins University and her MSW from the University of Pennsylvania. Kristin currently works as a group therapist facilitating social skills groups for children on the autism spectrum. Her favorite activities are reading, hiking, camping, and theater, and she loves to spend time with family and friends.
Kristin shares: “I am excited to be a part of the Middle School Friends team! I especially appreciate the opportunity to work with young people and to be present with them as they develop their own understandings about spirituality and community.”
Alix Vallery
“After more than two years volunteering as a Friendly Presence for the Middle School Friends program, I am ecstatic to be an official member of the team. I look forward to collaborating with Elizabeth and Kristin to support Middle School Friends in finding their voice, being confident in who they are, and embracing themselves in a diverse community.”
We agree! Alix brings to PYM Youth Programs her experience volunteering with MSF and more than ten years in mentoring and teamwork positions. Alix earned a B.A. in Culinary Arts from The Restaurant School at Walnut Hill College, and in addition to her background as a chef, is a certified SafeServ Food Handler. She has a passion for photography, crafts, and nature walks and a love of physical and athletic activity — which has enabled her to create spontaneous outdoor activities and keep MSF moving! Alix is known by current Middle School Friends as an energetic and humorous presence, who is good at making them feel comfortable in being authentically themselves. Alix cares deeply about not only the growth of the MSF community as a whole, but also the individual growing minds in this community, “that will shape our future.”
