We are delighted to announce PYM’s very own Ashanta Washington has accepted the role of Director of HR and Inclusion. Ashanta has worked with PYM for the past five years. Please join PYM in congratulating Ashanta on her new role!
[Read more…] about Ashanta Washington Accepts Role as PYM’s New Director of HR and Inclusion
We are thrilled to announce Merri Brown as Director of Development (pictured left) and Cecilia Filauro (pictured right) as Executive Assistant to our General Secretary. With the addition of both staff positions, we are looking forward to increased relationship-building with PYM members as well as organizational support for leadership.
[Read more…] about PYM Welcomes New Director of Development & Executive Assistant
The Communications department at PYM is growing! Please join us in welcoming Samantha Slade, Director of Communications (pictured left), and Tiffanie McKinnon, Senior Content Manager (pictured right), to our team. With the addition of these seasoned professionals, we will increase outreach and visibility for PYMs community of meetings and annual sessions. Compelling storytelling strengthens our appeals, outreach and events, which grows all aspects of the health of our organization. [Read more…] about PYM Welcomes Samantha Slade & Tiffanie McKinnon to the Communications Team
The months leading to Annual Session 2022 will have a different feel for our Yearly Meeting’s Youth Programs. Staff are eager to seek ways to rebuild the program communities that have been impacted by the pandemic. Decreasing attendance in youth programming is a trend that’s existed in US yearly meetings, however the pandemic has put into sharp relief the concerns. While PYM staff and volunteers have been consistently (and valiantly) creative and resourceful with online programming, outreach to youth and families, and gathering in person when possible, we need to rebuild community and connection. Let’s do this together, Friends! [Read more…] about Programs for Youth and Families: New Directions
On November 2nd, PYM hosted a second public meeting to provide a forum where Friends could hear and give feedback on the ongoing development of plans to shift PYM staffing structure.
[Read more…] about Report on Upcoming Staffing Shifts
We are elated to welcome Afroza Hossain to PYM Staff as Interim Young Adult Friends Facilitator! Afroza will work closely with other members of our staff Community Engagement Team to support young adult programming through the fall while we search for someone to fill a permanent position.
It is with sadness that we announce that Tricia Coscia is leaving PYM staff in early January 2018. She will be working next with Witness to Innocence, a nonprofit devoted to ending the death penalty. Tricia has served in various roles since 2009, and in each has far exceeded our wildest expectations. Much of what we have been able to achieve is due to her devoted service (along with others). From Aging Coordinator, to Sessions & Volunteer Coordinator to Community Engagement Coordinator, Tricia has been the ballast of the Program and Religious Life Department. She has kept us centered and grounded as we move forward. She has been the glue that builds relationships, and she has been a beloved member of our wider community of Friends. While we are gladdened she will embark soon on a new adventure, we know we will miss her deeply.
Announcements about the permanent staffing to cover the tremendous size of Tricia’s portfolio are forthcoming. In the meantime, Eric Berdis, formerly Sessions Assistant, has stepped into the Interim Sessions Coordinator role to take on all of Tricia’s responsibilities related to Continuing and Annual Sessions.
Read more about Eric Berdis.
Read a more detailed letter about the transition than went to PYM groups.
We are excited that Eric Anthony Berdis has stepped into the role of Interim Sessions Coordinator! Eric is no stranger to Philadelphia Yearly Meeting; they** have worked as our Sessions Assistant since 2015. Eric also served our community as the Event Coordinator for Arch Street Meeting House’s William Penn Fundraiser. Excited to bring his** energy and creativity to working with the Sessions Coordinating Committee, Eric has found joy in this work. He hopes to usher new connections and to support our ongoing efforts in making spaces safer and accessible to all friends.
Eric is originally from Erie, Pa, and received a BFA from Slippery Rock University. Outside of Continuing and Annual Sessions, Eric is an artist, interested in the intersections of DIY culture, craft-oriented practices, histories of grassroots social-justice activism, and theories of gender and sexuality.
**Please note that Eric uses they/them/their and he/him/his pronouns. Learn more about this on our website.
Contact info:
Eric Anthony Berdis
Interim Sessions Coordinator
Sessions@pym.org
Eberdis@pym.org
215-241-7041 office
Read a more detailed letter about the transition that went to PYM groups.
Scroll down for a personal message from Melinda.
We announce with great joy that Melinda Wenner Bradley of West Chester Monthly Meeting will soon join the staff of Philadelphia Yearly Meeting (PYM) as our first Youth Engagement Coordinator. Melinda will work with other community members to steward the ministry and religious life of our children, families and youth. She will begin in December of 2017, focusing first on the continued success of our current youth programs and then on the health and vitality of religious education and youth work within all the different communities that make up our yearly meeting.
Since 1995, Melinda Wenner Bradley’s journey has woven together callings in children’s spiritual lives, program development, education, and family and teacher support. She brings a wealth of wisdom and a vision that spans across yearly meetings. Melinda presently serves New York Yearly Meeting (NYYM) as their Children and Youth Field Secretary. She will transition out of this role to join PYM staff, and we will collaborate with her NYYM colleagues to ensure a smooth transition that honors the important and valuable work she has done there. We are excited and deeply grateful to Melinda for the opportunity to forward a vision for religious education and youth work that brings us closer together, strengthens the spiritual lives of our many families, and builds vital youth programs locally and regionally throughout our yearly meeting.
Below, we include a message from Melinda regarding this announcement.
Dear Friends,
Warm greetings!
I’m delighted to accept this position and begin serving Philadelphia Yearly Meeting as the Youth Engagement Coordinator. Its creation presents an exciting opportunity to collaborate with colleagues in youth ministry, and to serve young people, families, and local meetings across the yearly meeting. Since 2013, I’ve focused on religious education work in yearly meeting, local meeting, and Friends school communities, in service to growing sustainable models for children and youth programs. My work has been shaped by listening and nurturing connections in the communities I have served. Developing and sharing resources is only one part of this work. I am equally excited about how we build networks and lift up the many gifts among Friends, and how we gather vital spiritual communities for young people in yearly meeting programs for Children and Families, Middle School, and Young Friends. I view life-long spiritual formation as a ministry that our Religious Society can be more intentional in supporting. Partnership with other ministries in a meeting community, and between meetings and families, is vital for our young people to grow to be the Quakers the world needs. In the coming weeks and months, I look forward to visiting among Friends, re-connecting and introducing ourselves as we work and play together.
In faith and friendship,
Melinda Wenner Bradley
Incoming Youth Engagement Coordinator
Dear Friends!
I want to make sure you are aware that we are nearing completion of the process to hire our first Youth Engagement Coordinator. We aim to complete the process by the middle of November, 2017. Another announcement will follow at that time. [Read more…] about Apply to Work with and for Our Youth
Update your contact & Meeting information at pym.org/updates
