Lorie Graham has joined the Literacy Coalition of Palm Beach County as the new Literacy AmeriCorps director. The Literacy Coalition coordinates the Literacy AmeriCorps program and recruits, trains and supervises up to 40 members annually.
Literacy AmeriCorps members receive a stipend of $24,000 for contributing 1,700 hours of service in tutoring, mentoring and participating in meaningful community service projects.
Prior to joining the coalition, Graham spent eight years teaching secondary level English for the School District of Palm Beach County. She also has experience in the nonprofit sector. After graduating from the University of Mississippi with a bachelor’s degree in journalism and public relations, Graham worked for Catholic Life Insurance as a senior communications specialist and then joined the Society of the Four Arts in Palm Beach as a marketing and public relations senior associate.
In addition to her diverse professional background, Graham holds professional certifications in the areas of change management, project management essentials and corporate training.
“We’re excited that Lorie has joined our team,” said Kristin Calder, CEO of the Literacy Coalition. “Her wealth of varied experience in education, nonprofit management and communications makes her the perfect fit for this job.”
In her new role, Graham’s immediate focus is on recruiting more Literacy AmeriCorps members. These recruits work 35 to 42 hours a week providing vital services to help ensure students and adults in Palm Beach County succeed in school and life. Literacy AmeriCorps opportunities include serving as high school graduation coaches for students at risk of dropping out; tutoring elementary school students who are behind grade-level reading; teaching adults at family literacy centers; instructing English education programs; and tutoring at library programs serving adults and children.
Literacy AmeriCorps members participate in ongoing training and professional development throughout the service year. These opportunities include service leadership, team building, tutor training, career assessment and planning, diversity training, disaster preparedness, community service project planning and more.
Members are also eligible for health insurance, forbearance of qualified student loans, four weeks of personal time off, and an education award of up to $6,495 after successfully completing the AmeriCorps program.
To learn more about the Literacy AmeriCorps program, visit www.literacypbc.org/literacy-impact/literacy-americorps.
