Tacoma Habitat AmeriCorps Members: Where are they now? Part 2

Over the past year, we’ve connected with former Tacoma/Pierce County Habitat for Humanity AmeriCorps members to learn where life has taken them since completing their service. Many responded enthusiastically, sharing how their AmeriCorps experience became a defining chapter in their lives, helping shape both their personal growth and professional journeys.

Tacoma Habitat’s longstanding partnership with AmeriCorps creates meaningful opportunities for individuals to develop valuable skills, gain hands-on experience, and serve their community. At the same time, AmeriCorps members help expand Tacoma Habitat’s capacity to make a lasting impact throughout Pierce County. We deeply value this partnership and the positive difference it continues to make in the lives of participants and in the work we do every day.

Meet Alexander Clark, Kaeli Todd, and Callie Ochsner, three former AmeriCorps members with Tacoma Habitat, who shared their stories and where they are now!

1. Alexander Clark

Alexander says that he can draw a straight line from his time serving in AmeriCorps to where he is today. His term with Habitat reshaped his career trajectory and provided him with direction coming out of undergrad. His work as a construction site coordinator was an introduction to new ideas, experiences, and opportunities. It was through his time in AmeriCorps that he realized he wanted to continue doing work that directly impacted his local community. He enjoyed watching the Habitat Homes come to life throughout the construction phases, and knowing it was a community effort that made the work fulfilling.  

After finishing AmeriCorps, he returned home to Ohio and earned his Master’s Degree in City and Regional Planning where he began working with National Church Residences, another nonprofit focused on affordable housing. After seven years there, he transitioned out of housing and began a new chapter in his current role as Parks Project Coordinator with the Parks and Recreation Department at the City of Upper Arlington in Ohio. He manages a range of projects from minor repairs to major redesigns across the city’s park system working to improve access and enjoyment.

Right photo by Jess Madsen.

2.Kaeli Todd

AmeriCorps was Kaeli’s introduction to the nonprofit world, and she is endlessly grateful for the way the program allowed her to dive into her role and learn through hands-on experience. She served one term as Volunteer Communications Coordinator in the Volunteer Services department, and one term as Marketing + Communications Coordinator in the Development department. She spent her time learning what it means to be a compassionate and effective nonprofit communicator. With the confidence she gained through the program, she continued a career in nonprofit fundraising communications (working with former Tacoma Habitat Development Director Elliot Stockstad at Lutheran Community Services Northwest). 

She eventually pioneered her own path, launching her own freelance writing and editing business. She is currently freelancing full-time, but she recently found her way back to the nonprofit world as managing editor for The Voice magazine, a publication created and distributed by Washington, DC-based choral advocacy nonprofit Chorus America. She is fulfilled in her current career, and every day she finds herself drawing on the skills she got to sharpen during her time at Tacoma Habitat through AmeriCorps. 

3.Callie Ochsner

Callie served an AmeriCorps service term with Tacoma Habitat in 2016-2017. She attributes her term with AmeriCorps to be a foundational setting stone in her career path by providing her with an accessible environment to learn how to use tools and build houses. 

After gaining new skills around construction and volunteer management during her term, she spent the next seven years working in nonprofit construction and home repair for different organizations in Utah and Arizona. Two years ago she started her own business as a handywoman. Now she is the owner and operator of Sage Home Solutions in Tucson, Arizona doing carpentry, tile, drywall, painting, plumbing, and anything else her clients throw my way. She is grateful for the transformative opportunity that AmeriCorps gave her to try something new.