Loryn Fouse
27 | Program Coordinator, Easterseals VT
Residence: Chittenden
Career highlight: The biggest career highlight for me so far is becoming Program Coordinator, a position where I witness big and small moments of growth and success every single day. I get to watch and help people surprise themselves, whether it is parents and their children or the staff I work with. It is amazing to see people accomplish things they were not sure to be possible.
Community involvement: Growing up in a small tight knit town taught me to value community invovlement. My community interested me from a young age. This lead to annual volunteer opportunities with North Country Special Olympics and Relay For Life.
Working for a nonprofit has propelled my connection to community involvement in my adulthood. With Easterseals, I am a part of various fundraising events that support foster care and kinship placements. Independent of work, I have had opportunities to contribute my paintings as part of fundraising for Lake Titus Protective Association and Hidden Acres Therapeutic Riding Center. I remain involved locally through weekly dance and yoga classes, and I made my first attempt this year at a community garden plot. Although I mostly grew weeds and sunflowers, meeting new people lead to me marking this garden season as a success!
Motivation for living and working in Vermont: Vermont is close to where I grew up in upstate New York, and living and working here allows me to stay close to family. What keeps me in Vermont is a combination of people, acceptance, embracing of different ways of living, accessibility to nature, creativity, and so much potential everywhere.
Best career advice: The best career advice I have received is from my biology teacher and mentor, Denise Rogers: Say yes to opportunties as they are presented, despite whether they are part of your initial plan. Denise Rogers’ friend lived this advice by intending to study one thing in college, then ending up as a traveling polar bear photographer, all because he said yes to opportunities as they arose.
Tell us something fun about yourself that few people know: Few people know that I can solve a Rubix cube.
What would most people be surprised to learn about you? Most people would be surprised to learn that my Dad spoke to my sisters and me in Arabic growing up, which he learned during his time in the military.
What three words best describe you: Curious, creative, and passionate.
Favorite Vermont escape: My favorite Vermont escape is a sunny yoga class by the waterfront in Burlington.
What career goal(s) would you like to accomplish in the next 5-10 years: Maintaining a fully staffed office, and expanding the reach of our teams and programs.