LSA Staff

"Poor people are the hardest working people in America." This is what Representative Dan Kildee (D-Mich.) told the crowd at the poverty simulation for members of Congress and their senior staff on Tuesday at the Capitol Visitor Center. Catholic Charities USA and Entergy (an energy company that works in AR, LA, MS, and TX) hosted this event that received bipartisan support and was attended by nearly one dozen members of the House.

Nine weeks sure can go by quickly. It seems like just yesterday Caleb (Rollins) and I were settling into our positions as CAPS Fellows here in D.C., and with the turn of the calendar, our final day at LSA has passed.

Three Class A Board members for the LSA Board of Directors were elected by the membership at the 2014 Annual Meeting:

Lutheran Services in America is pleased to welcome Alesia Frerichs to our national headquarters team as Vice President of Member Engagement. Alesia brings more than 20 years of strategic management consulting experience to LSA, including having served in lead roles in program management, organizational strategy, and change management across several sectors, including healthcare and technology. Most recently, she served as Senior Consultant with Sapere Consulting, Inc., where she worked with LSA's Strategic Planning Task Force and staff to develop LSA's multi-year strategic plan.

Congratulations to our LSA-DN's Director of Public Policy and Advocacy, Sarah Meek, for her election as co-chair of the Long-Term Services and Supports Task Force of the Consortium for Citizens with Disabilities. Sarah has been at LSA since December 2012, directing the Disability Network's federal advocacy activities on issues affecting persons with intellectual and developmental disabilities, including long-term services and supports, housing, employment and transportation.

Charlotte Haberaecker, President and CEO of Lutheran Services in America, spent four days traveling across the state of North Dakota visiting LSA members. Read on to see photos and details from her visits.

Lindsey Copeland joined the LSA team on September 22, 2014 as Director of Advocacy and Public Policy. Lindsey comes to us from the National Association of States United for Aging and Disabilities (NASUAD), where she was their Director of Policy and Legislative Affairs since 2011.

Lutheran Services in America is pleased to announce that Deborah Hoesly has joined our national headquarters team as the new Vice President of Development. This is a new position for the organization; she joins LSA as of October 6, 2014. In this role, Deborah is responsible for individual, corporate and foundation giving, as well as donor relations and development strategy.

Samuel M. Sipes, LCSW, BCD, has been elected as Chairperson of the Board for Lutheran Services in America, effective October 15, 2014. Sipes is the President and Chief Executive Officer of Lutheran Services Florida. His term as Board chair runs through June 30, 2015. Sipes joined the LSA Board in 2009, and fills the Chair position left vacant in September 2014 due to the retirement of John Bauer, formerly of Bethesda Lutheran Communities.

Julie E. Swanson is the President and Chief Executive Officer of Lutheran Family Services of Virginia (LFSVA), a member of LSA. Swanson joined LFSVA in July 2005. As President and CEO, she manages 400 employees in 15 locations across the state with a total annual budget of $29 million.

On January 1, 2015, Lutheran Services in America (LSA) welcomes a new Theologian in Residence, Dr. Phyllis Anderson. Dr. Anderson served as president of Pacific Lutheran Theological Seminary from 2005 through 2013, the first woman to serve as president of a Lutheran seminary in the United States, and now has the role of President Emerita.