This past January 7, Spartanburg welcomed three bright and eager individuals into the world of Healthy Eating | Active Living. I had the pleasure of sitting down with Alissa Duncan, Jordan Wolfe and Siobhan Saul for a conversation on their background and first impressions, why they chose their new roles, and what they envision.
Alissa joined Partners for Active Living (PAL) as the Healthy Communities Coordinator. Alissa has actually been in Spartanburg most of her life, having moved here when she was eight years old. She obtained her Master’s Degree in City and Regional Planning at Clemson University and loves being back in Spartanburg. She was attracted to the position because “PAL gets stuff done” and is eager to build on top of the work done by many others in our community. She will be leading the Eat Smart Move More Spartanburg Coalition and looks forward to facilitating systemic change for better health outcomes.
Hub City Farmers’ Market (HCFM) welcomed Jordan as their new Executive Director last month. Jordan graduated from Furman University with a degree in Sustainability Science. Jordan was impressed with the growth of the Hub City Farmers’ Market over the last couple of years and she sees the organization’s potential. She is excited to lead HCFM in becoming even more sustainable – environmentally and financially. Jordan has traveled extensively and climbed several of the world’s tallest mountains. One of her goals in life is to climb the tallest mountain in each continent (I suggested she also climb the Cotopaxi Volcano in Ecuador!). Jordan is making Spartanburg her new home and she has felt our welcome, “people are really nice, helpful and willing to give advice.”
Siobhan is PAL’s new Healthy Kids Coordinator. In this role, she provides extensive technical assistance to nine schools that are participating in the Foundation’s four year Spartanburg Healthy Schools Initiative. Siobhan taught Spanish for eight years and was looking for an opportunity to continue to be involved in schools while also helping them think about the big picture and policy change. Siobhan graduated from USC Upstate in 2005 and moved back to Greenville, where her family resides, after her graduation. Spartanburg is “very different” than it was back in 2005, and she likes that downtown is so walkable. Alissa has enjoyed being her tour guide over the last couple of weeks. You may see the two of them walking around downtown.
We welcome Alissa, Jordan and Siobhan to their new roles in making Spartanburg a healthier community for all.
