Meet Our Team
When you Volunteer or Partner with Tucson MVS, you are not on your own…
You have an entire team supporting you!
Tucson MVS Program Coordinator
Lisa Showalter
“I am so excited to be the Local Program Coordinator for Tucson MVS! I hail from Indiana and graduated from Goshen College with a degree in music. I worked as a private piano instructor for many years and also served for a time in a ministry position at a Mennonite church in Indiana. After moving to Tucson in 2015 I found myself particularly drawn to nonprofit work. This position encompasses several of my passions; ministry, working with and teaching young people, and pursuing social justice.
I find living in Tucson exhilarating! The gorgeous natural surroundings, artistic and cultural spaces and events, the delicious and diverse food offerings, and the kind and caring community make this an amazing place to be! I love reading, writing, cooking adventurously, knitting recklessly, traveling extensively, and laughing with everyone I can. I live with my husband Brian, two spirited sons, one unruly pup, and a sassy cat.”
Local Support Committee
Tucson MVS has a support committee of dedicated, passionate people working hard to ensure our program is a great place for volunteers and partners to serve the community.
Nelson Lehman | Support Committee Member
“I am serving on the support committee to help create opportunities for service and cultural exposure knowing how important that is in shaping one’s life goals and future. Tucson is an outdoor living enthusiast’s dream location. There are very few days in a year that outside activities cannot be enjoyed. I worked as a family practice medical doctor in Lancaster County PA for about 38 years. Moving to Tucson four years ago upon my retirement was one of the best decisions my wife, Cheryl and I have ever made.”
Josh Schlabach | Support Committee Member
“I served in Tucson’s MVS unit in the years 2014-2016. I joined the support committee 4 years ago to help make Tucson a great place for MVS participants and to help [them] enjoy Tucson and feel connected with their service. Tucson has a lot of unique opportunities for outdoor activities and I love all the hiking and biking that can be done year round. Also I love having sunshine almost every day!”
Mandy Schlabach | Support Committee Member
“I am so excited to be on the Tucson MVS Support Committee this year! I think for both the Support Committee and for our volunteers, one of the most rewarding things about working with MVS is building connections and community, and watching a strong and wonderful web of relationships grow and grow over the years, connected not just by place but by the shared experience of meaningful work with all its joys, challenges and change. It’s rewarding to be involved with a program where volunteers can actively and meaningfully support the work of nonprofits and organizations on a daily basis that are working to make our community that we love, a better place for all people.”
Edie Lantz Leppert | Support Committee Member
“I served with MVS in Tucson from 1993-1995. Tucson and Shalom became my home! I am forever grateful to MVS for providing a safe and supportive environment, a new community, and for introducing me to my career. I started in adult basic education in 1993, and I've been in this field ever since. Now, as a program director at a local non-profit that focuses on literacy education and creative expression, I've had the opportunity to select and support an MVSer to work in our organization. I wanted to join the MVS committee to represent the perspective of MVS alumni as well as employers or hosting organizations.”
Audrey Lowen | Support Committee Member
I spent the first 65 years of my life living in Oregon. I worked for 32 years as an office manager in a law firm and frankly always thought I would live in Oregon. My journey to Tucson goes through the Tucson MVS unit. My son met his future wife in 2002 while she worked as an MVS volunteer with CHRPA in Tucson. After they married they decided that Tucson was home, so when we retired it seemed natural for us to move here. Having spent so much time in the very green Pacific Northwest I wondered how I would do living in the desert, but I have come to love it and Tucson definitely is home now.
My volunteer work over 30+ years has always included working with youth and young adults. I believe strongly that we have much to learn from our young people and conversations with them always stretch and challenge me. I also find community to be a cornerstone to healthy people and so my goal on the MVS support committee is to help provide opportunities for community to be developed within the MVS house, together with the MVS support committee and the Shalom church family.
