In January, we welcomed back Ruby Wilson (our 2020 Summer Communications Intern) as a paid member of the staff!  Ruby is taking a break from school until she can return in person. She had completed the first semester of her sophomore year at Howard University last fall where she is working on a B.B.A. in Marketing and is a participant of the Executive Leadership Honors Program. Ruby is a 2019 graduate of Wheaton High School (MD) where she was part of the Biomedical Magnet Program, Ruby lives with friends in Washington, DC and is a member of Grace Episcopal Church, a longstanding SMGW Partner Parish.  Since joining the staff in January, Ruby has ramped up our social media presence on Facebook and Twitter, helped us re-launch our Partner Newsletter, Needs & Opportunities, and brought a real splash of color and graphic intensity to our recent Next Step Breakfast event. We’re delighted to have Ruby on the team in this larger capacity. . .you can reach her at rwilson@samaritanministry.org   

This February, we were fortunate to become acquainted with Sally Ethleston, a Diaconal Candidate from St. Stephen & the Incarnation, one of our founding Partners, located in the Columbia Heights neighborhood of DC. As part of her Diaconal training, Sally approached us about doing an internship, and it has been a wonderful partnership. Sally’s professional background is in communications, and she provided a tremendous amount of support for our Next Step Breakfast. Over the next few months, we look forward to having Sally assist us with the Empower Our Neighbors in Need Campaign, and to having her work with our Partner Council as we begin looking to a day when we can gather in person! 

We were also fortunate to welcome back Lead Caseworker Benja Reilly. Many will remember that Benja was an intern at Samaritan who then ably filled in at our Northwest office last Spring/Summer when Annette Carver had to retire. At the time, we were saddened by the fact that we could not find a permanent position for Benja, but with the recent departure of Naima Harrison, see below, we jumped at the opportunity to bring Benja back on to the staff.       

Lead Caseworker Naima Harrison resigned her position in February in order to pursue other interests and opportunities. During her time with Samaritan, Naima was a reassuring presence for our participants over in our Southeast/Anacostia office, and her commitment to the well-being of our participants was critical at the height of the pandemic. We wish her the best of luck!