Who Are the Current Fellows?

I’m Moriah Griffin (she/her) and I graduated magna cum laude from Elon in 2023 with a bachelor’s degree in political science and policy studies and a minor in African and African-American studies. While at Elon I was an Odyssey Scholar and a memer of Pi Sigma Alpha the Political Science Honor Society. I also worked as an office assistant in the Office of Admissions and a front desk attendant at the Moseley Front Desk. When I am not working, I like to spend my time reading, watching tv and going to concerts.

As the Alamance Achieves fellow I have been granted so many opportunities to work with the Alamance County community. I help support our parent programs Empowered Families and our Parent Engagement program. I also provide support to an up and coming teacher advocacy group AmplifiED Alamance. These groups are all about taking action and being directly involved in their students’ education and helping to improve the school system. As a fellow I have also had the opportunity to launch two successful grant cycles, which helped teachers in the ABSS school system, and I was able to lead community conversations with youth at the Dream Center about changes they want to see in their school system.

This fellowship has been such a great post graduate opportunity. It has taught me how to be a working professional and navigate the transition between student and full-time employee. The mentorship provided by the supervisors has been invaluable for support in developing ideas and looking at post fellowship opportunities.

I am always happy to answer any questions you many have and can be reached by email at Moriah.griffin@conehealth.com or you can call/text my phone at 980-422-5551!

Hi, my name is Ashley Pehan and I graduated from Elon University with a B.S. in chemistry and a B.A. in Spanish on the pre-med track. As a student I had the opportunity to do chemistry research on MOx Chemistry Pertaining to the Global Nitrogen Cycle, and Exercise Science research on students’ perceptions of teaching relating to disordered eating. Aside from research I was the president of MMA club, and worked as a chemistry and Spanish learning assistant. Off campus I volunteered teaching children at a local MMA gym, and as a translator/clerical volunteer at the Open-Door Clinic in Alamance. In my free time I enjoy going on outdoor trips, learning new languages, reading, and practicing martial arts.

As the Health Department fellow, I have gained a vast knowledge about the realm of Public Health in Alamance County. A large amount of my time has been spent helping with spreadable disease tracking, organizing/coordinating community events, the social media, analyzing community data, and helping with overdose prevention in Alamance County. I have had the opportunity to attend Board of Health meetings, county commissioner meetings, and various community events!

I have gained many skills from this fellowship and have been able to put my skills from undergraduate to use. I have learned more about the community I have been a part of for the last four years while interacting with different populations in Alamance County.  It has also been enlightening to learn about health from the public health side and to gain a new point of view on healthcare. So far in this role, I have vastly deepened my knowledge of public health and the roles of local and state health departments. Aside from building upon previous skills I acquired new skills such as project management, grant requests, community outreach and in general how teamwork allows the health department to run.

Graduating from Elon with degrees in journalism and public health studies, as well as a minor in human service studies, I am now the Year of Service Fellow at Cone Health! For much of my time as a student, I was an Elon 1010 peer educator, a tour guide, and a Harvest Table student board member. During my senior year, I also served as the President of LEAF and as Vice President of Finance for SGA. Additionally, being a Lumen Scholar allowed me to travel to Thailand to report on a village’s experience with environmental degradation and restoration. Grateful for the opportunities Elon continues to provide, I am also one of two Youth Trustees on the University’s Board, which I will sit on through 2025.

In my first month at Cone, I shadowed two dozen leaders across the health system to create a strong foundation before beginning my first rotation in Ambulatory & Consumer Services. On this team, I support expansion planning in Randolph County and improvement efforts in Alamance, Guilford, and Rockingham. This looks a bit different everyday but includes strategy meetings, data organization, and lots of research. I have also enjoyed supporting our first venture into executive health with visiting Toyota executives. In all my work, I take pride in combining my passions for communications and health access by ensuring that all our communications are written at an accessible reading level for patients.

In November, I will rotate to spend time at Alamance Regional Medical Center (ARMC) and then in March, begin my final rotation with the Center for Health Equity. Throughout each of these rotations, I attend the weekly Senior Leadership Council (SLC) meeting with executives to deepen my high-level understanding of healthcare administration. Additionally, I spend time each week supporting the Open Door Clinic of Alamance County both in-person triaging patients and remotely through grant work.

Thus far, my experience at Cone has challenged me to learn new things every day, while also considering my existing skillset and interests. This work has added focus to my current international fellowship applications and helped to open my eyes to even more future graduate program topics of interest. (It has also allowed me to stay in the area and thus see more concerts at my favorite venue, Cat’s Cradle.)

While this specific placement varies greatly year-to-year, I would love to chat about my experience and listen to all the ponderings you have about how Year of Service could fit into your plans. Feel free to email me at megan.curling@conehealth.com or message me on LinkedIn.

Hi folks! My name is Lily Kays, and I am a fellow with the City of Burlington’s Economic Development Department. I graduated with a bachelor’s in political science and minors in Theatre arts and WGSS.

During my time at Elon, I was involved in a variety of different activities. As a member of the Student Government Association, I served as a senator for two terms, ending as Senior Class President for my final year. I also co-chaired the Senior Class giving committee, helping to raise directed donor gifts for different clubs, scholarships, and programs on campus. From my sophomore to junior year, I was a Spirit and Pride intern, a role where I created the podcast Queer and Divine, centered on queer people’s stories about their own religious backgrounds. My home base on campus was the Truitt Center for Religious and Spiritual Life, where I worked for three years as an office assistant.

I worked in two additional internship-based programs connected to Elon, first as a Campus Alamance Intern with Blessed Sacrament and then as an Executive Intern in President Book’s office during the J-term of my junior year.

For fun, I directed and choreographed shows through Elon’s on-campus student-run theatre organizations, Renegade Productions, APO, and NewsWorks. On any given day, you could find me hanging out with the Lake Marynell ducks or rollerblading along campus.

As I write this, we are four months into our year, and, for the most part, we have clear goals and routines for our work. Being with the Economic Development Department has been a real eye-opening experience. It has shown me how vital local government is to the growth and change of a town. I am working on a few projects. One is looking at collecting data around the business connections to the Elon community, and another is working on developing a program for middle schoolers focusing on entrepreneurship alongside community partners and organizations.

My day-to-day or month-to-month tasks include our monthly newsletter, which pulls business resources, events, and opportunities together for an audience of 3000 people. Within the newsletter, there are also two blog posts that highlight a local entrepreneur and then a current topic relating to the local area or to NC. For folks who are interested in this placement, this role does have an 8–5 p.m. Monday–Friday schedule, with occasional after-hours networking and training opportunities. This position would be best suited for someone who thrives in a close-knit mentorship (with Peter Bishop) and likes structure and routine in their work.

I’m Madi Gilgo (she/her) and I graduated magna cum laude with degrees in journalism and strategic communications with minors in psychology and leadership studies. As a student I served as the LINCS Coordinator of Alamance Community College and the the Executive Director of Leadership & Development, both roles within the Kernodle Center for Civic Life. I was also tour guide for the Office of Admissions. When I’m not working, I enjoy spending time outside, volunteering, paddle boarding, and reading.

As the Impact Alamance-Harwood Institute fellow, I’ve deepened my connection to the Alamance County community. I spend a lot of time working alongside community members as we work towards the common goal of building a better Alamance. I have also learned a lot about how foundations and nonprofits work. As a fellow, I’ve started a Harwood Initiative newsletter, helped community members apply for and receive grants, conducted follow-up grant site visits, facilitated numerous meetings and Harwood Initiative education sessions, helped create content for Impact Alamance and Alamance Achieves social media sites, and much more!

I have grown immensely as a young professional in this role. This fellowship has helped me transition into a post-graduate career and prepared me once my fellowship concludes. I am currently applying to law school and hope to continue working towards making southern communities equitable for all!

I would love to connect if you have any questions or would like to learn more about my experience.  You can email me at madison.gilgo@conehealth.com, message me on LinkedIn, or call/text at (252) 639-0234.

Hi, I’m Shauna Galvin, and I graduated magna cum laude in May of 2023 from Elon University with a Bachelor of Arts degree in Public Health, with a minor in Policy Studies. While at Elon, I served on the Community Service Subcommittee for the Student Athlete Advisory Committee (SAAC) and competed on the women’s tennis team for all four years. I also served as a volunteer with It Takes a Village, Rise Against Hunger, and the Burlington Boys and Girls Club. When not working, I enjoy assistant coaching the girls’ tennis team at Western Alamance High School, working out, and finding new air fryer recipes. I am originally from Texas and have a twin brother.

In my role at Impact Alamance, I have gotten to work directly with Marcy Green daily, learning how a community health operating foundation is run. I coordinate grantee site visits, many of which include playgrounds, greenways, walking trails, and other equipment needs of local organizations. I support the work of Alamance Wellness Collaborative, which was formed by Impact Alamance in partnership with Healthy Places by Design and Burlington Parks and Recreation. The collaborative focuses on policy, systems, and environmental changes that support active living and healthy food access in Alamance County. Members include the leaders from many of the municipalities in the county working in parks and recreation, city and regional planning, housing, health care, higher education, others in local government, and nonprofits, among others. Additionally, I write grant proposals for the Impact Alamance Board that aim to improve the health of Alamance County, including the ESI Employee Assistance Program for Alamance County nonprofits. Finally, I have assisted in the planning and development of several events, including the Consultant/Nonprofit Fair and the Alamance Wellness Collaborative Annual Wellness Summit.

I have gained so much from this fellowship, both personally and professionally. The close mentorship I have from staff at Impact Alamance has provided me with invaluable experiences and has given me the confidence to apply to graduate school.

I would love to connect with you, please email me (shauna.falvin@conehealth.com) or connect with me on LinkedIn.