FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE: Jul 15, 2015


WASHINGTON, D.C.  - The U.S. Senate last night confirmed leaders from the nonprofit, civic, and corporate sectors to serve on the board of directors of the Corporation for National and Community Service (CNCS), the federal agency that administers AmeriCorps, Senior Corps, the Social Innovation Fund (SIF), and other national service programs.

The new board members are:  Rick Christman of Lexington, Ky.; Mona Dixon of Tempe, Ariz.; Victoria Hughes of Millwood, Va.; Eric Liu of Seattle, Wash.; Dean A. Reuter of Washington, D.C.; and Shamina Singh of New York City, N.Y. 

“I thank President Obama for nominating these outstanding individuals, and Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell and Minority Leader Harry Reid for working together to confirm them,” said Wendy Spencer, CEO of the Corporation for National and Community Service. “These nominees are all leaders in their respective fields, and I am grateful they have now agreed to help lead us in creating more opportunities for Americans to make an impact in their community through service. This bipartisan board is a shining example of what can happen when people work together to get things done.”

The board sets overall policy and direction for CNCS and its programs. CNCS engages five million Americans of all ages and backgrounds, including 75,000 AmeriCorps members and 260,000 Senior Corps volunteers, in results-driven service each year. CNCS also includes a shared federal-state partnership, providing a central role for governors in designing and implementing national service through governor-supported State Service Commissions. In addition, the agency leads the effort to encourage Americans to volunteer in their communities during the Martin Luther King Jr. Day of Service and the September 11th National Day of Service and Remembrance.

The new board members will assume their positions as the agency builds on considerable momentum. This year, a bipartisan group of 2,786 mayors and county leaders that collectively represents 150 million Americans participated in the third-annual Mayors Day of Recognition for National Service. The public-private partnerships created as part of the President’s Task Force on Expanding National Service generated $35 million in outside resources that helped create approximately 4,500 new opportunities for individuals to serve in AmeriCorps, a program in which more than 900,000 Americans have participated in since it was created 20 years ago.

In just a few years, the SIF and its private-sector partners have invested $177.6 federal million in federal grants plus $500 million in non-federal match commitments to 217 nonprofits in 37 states and Washington, D.C. This funding is tied to programs that are producing clear results for taxpayers and beneficiaries. 

The biographies of the new board members follow:

Rick Christman – Lexington, Ky.
Nominated March 19, 2015; term expires Oct. 6, 2017
Mr. Rick Christman serves as Chief Executive Officer of Employment Solutions in Lexington, KY. Mr. Christman has been with Employment Solutions for 25 years. During that time, the company has grown to include a food processing business, a box manufacturing business, and a document destruction business all of which employ people with developmental disabilities. Mr. Christman has been a member of the CNCS Board of Directors since March 29, 2012. He has a Bachelor's degree in Special Education from the University of Wisconsin, Eau Claire, and a Masters in Vocational Rehabilitation from the University Of Wisconsin, Stout.

Mona Dixon – Tempe, Ariz.
Nominated Jan. 8, 2015; term expiring Oct. 6, 2018
Mona Dixon is a graduate student at Arizona State University where she is pursuing a master’s degree in Communication Studies with an emphasis in Advocacy. She serves on the board for the Boys and Girls Clubs of the East Valley – Tempe Ladmo Branch. Previously, she served on the board for UMOM New Day Centers, the largest homeless shelter in Arizona. Ms. Dixon received a Bachelor of Science and Business Management from Arizona State University.

Victoria Hughes – Millwood, Va.
Nominated Jan. 8, 2015; term expires Oct. 6, 2016
Victoria Hughes currently serves as Director of Development at the Ashbrook Center at Ashland University, a position she has held since 2013.  Ms. Hughes was Vice President for Development at the Reason Foundation and Executive Vice President of A.C. Fitzgerald & Associates from 2010 to 2012.  She was Founding President and Senior Advisor at the Bill of Rights Institute from 1999 to 2010.  From 1994 to 1999, she was Vice President for Grants at the Charles G. Koch, Claude R. Lambe, Fred and Mary Koch Foundations and Director of Corporate Philanthropy at Koch Industries, Inc.   She began her career as a classroom teacher in Cincinnati, Boston, and Washington, D.C. and currently serves on the Board of Trustees at the Thomas More College of Liberal Arts.  Ms. Hughes received a B.S. from the University of Dayton.

Eric Liu – Seattle, Wash.
Nominated Jan. 8, 2015; expiring Dec. 27, 2017
Eric Liu is the founder and CEO of Citizen University, and Director of the Aspen Institute Citizenship and American Identity Program.  He previously was Vice President of Corporate Communications at RealNetworks from 2000 to 2002.  From 1999 to 2000, he served as Deputy Assistant to the President for Domestic Policy at the White House.  Mr. Liu served as Speechwriter and Director of Legislative Affairs for the National Security Council at the White House from 1993 to 1994.  Mr. Liu received a B.A. from Yale University and a J.D. from Harvard Law School.

Dean Reuter – Washington, DC
Nominated April 13, 2015; term expires Sept. 14, 2016
Dean A. Reuter is the Vice President and Director of Practice Groups of the Federalist Society for Law and Public Policy Studies, a position he has held since 2001.  Previously, he served as the Counsel to the Inspector General of the Corporation for National and Community Service from 1998 to 2000.  Before that, Mr. Reuter was the Student Division Director of the Federalist Society from 1997 to 1998.  Earlier in his career, Mr. Reuter served in several roles at the Legal Services Corporation.  He received a B.A. from Hood College and a J.D. from the University of Maryland School of Law.

Shamina Singh – New York City, N.Y.
Nominated April 13, 2015; term expires Oct. 6, 2019
Shamina Singh is Executive Director of the MasterCard Center for Inclusive Growth, where she is responsible for the Center’s consistent achievement of its mission to advance sustainable and equitable economic growth and financial inclusion around the world. Previously, she served as Global Director of MasterCard’s Government Social Programs. Prior to joining MasterCard, Ms. Singh headed Government and Public Affairs for Nike and spent five years with Citigroup's Global Community Development Group. Over the course of 15 years in the public sector, she held senior positions within the Clinton Administration, the US House of Representatives, electoral campaigns and national non-profit organizations. Ms. Singh is a Young Global Leader with the World Economic Forum and a Henry Crown Fellow with the Aspen Institute.  Ms. Singh received a B.S. from Old Dominion University and an M.P.A. from The Lyndon B. Johnson School of Public Affairs at the University of Texas at Austin.

AmeriCorps, a federal agency, brings people together to tackle the country's most pressing challenges through national service and volunteering. AmeriCorps members and AmeriCorps Seniors volunteers serve with organizations dedicated to the improvement of communities. AmeriCorps helps make service to others a cornerstone of our national culture. Learn more at AmeriCorps.gov.