Tina Collier
Nicole D’Aureli
Agent Code Name: Purple Songstress
How are you currently involved? VEST Member
What got you started with 826CHI? I started volunteering when I moved to Chicago in January of 2016. I wanted to volunteer while I was looking for a new job and had the pleasure of coming across 826. I was able to be involved in almost every activity and I’m so grateful for the experience.
What do you do outside the 826 Universe? I am an HR Business Partner with TransUnion.
Ashley Kolpak
Winshen Liu
Sam Mock
Agent Code Name: Captain Southpaw
How are you currently involved? Currently, I’m most active on the Associate Board, but I also volunteer in the Secret Agent Supply Store where I get to sing the praises of the students and their work to all the unsuspecting patrons.
What got you started with 826CHI? I heard about 826 for the first time when I was getting my MFA in Michigan, but I never got a chance to help out there. After landing in Chicago, I found 826CHI and started helping with student workshops, where I learned about pet sandwiches that go on walks, floating blimp dinosaurs, and ancient robot rituals.
What do you do outside the 826 Universe? I spend my weekdays tucked away in a tall office building, guiding an intricate rope-and-pulley system under the banner of marketing operations, which, actually, is the perfect cover for the creative work I do at 826CHI. No one suspects a thing. I also like to write stories, explore the city, and watch any kind of race, whether it’s between cars, horses, or even turtles.
Jill Quarles
Agent Code Name: Dr. Q.
How are you currently involved? After-school tutoring and translating
What got you started with 826CHI? A Cosmopolitan article. I had been looking for volunteer work since moving to Chicago but hadn’t found anything that really spoke to me. After reading a blurb about another 826 location, I knew I had to find out if Chicago had one.
What do you do outside the 826 Universe? I am finishing my dissertation for a PhD. in Hispanic literature and Cultural Studies at the University of Illinois at Chicago. I also teach Spanish at UIC and am a part-time academic editor. I love reading, running, and travel.
DECLASSIFIED:
- Kat Bolton
- Elizabeth Cordes
- Jeni Crone
- Chelsea Fiddyment
- Theodore Hahn
- Rajiv Haque
- Michael Hernandez
- Richard Homuth
- Nell Klugman
- Amy Krzyzek
- Josh Lesser
- Hayley Miller
- Shannon Monson
- Lauren Nelson
- Erin Paulini
- Aparna Puppala
- Danny Resner
- Drew Rodriguez
- Joshua Ruddy
- Mando Salazar
- Naomi Taub
- Kara Thorstenson
- Rosanna Turner
- Tom Urwin
- Alissa Walkner
- David Welch
- Warren Yates
- Samuel Zelitch