Washington D.C. — David Eisner, CEO of the Corporation for National and Community Service, announced today that he has tapped Merlene Mazyck to serve as director of AmeriCorps*National Civilian Community Corps (AmeriCorps*NCCC).

Mazyck, who has been with AmeriCorps*NCCC since its inception in 1994, takes the helm as the program marks a decade of engaging young adults in service to meet community needs in education, the environment, public safety, and homeland security. After starting as program manager working with member training and education, Mazyck was named special assistant to the director in 1996. Most recently, she served as acting director.

“Leading this exceptional national service organization in its 10th year is a wonderful opportunity to enhance our partnerships with a diverse range of community groups and build increased awareness about this service experience among even more young Americans,” Mazyck said.

AmeriCorps*NCCC is a residential, team-based program that offers young people between 18 and 24 the opportunity to serve their country in short-term projects such as building homes for low-income families, tutoring and mentoring students at inner-city schools, undertaking environmental improvement projects, and assisting in responding to disasters and homeland security challenges. About 1,000 AmeriCorps*NCCC members serve each year at the programs five regional campuses in Charleston, S.C.; Denver, Colo.; Perry Point, Md.; Sacramento, Calif.; and Washington, D.C.

“The strong powerful work that NCCC does in communities across the country and the impressive accomplishments of its 10,000 corps members should make all supporters of national and community service proud,” said Eisner. “I am proud to bring a star of NCCC to the helm of the organization at such an important time. Merlene is the right person to lead NCCC as it enters a second decade of outstanding service to our nation.”

A graduate of Temple University, where she earned a degree in criminal justice, Mazyck holds a masters degree in public administration from Kean University in New Jersey. She has worked in the youth service field most of her professional career, previously serving as director of the New Jersey Youth Corps in Newark, NJ; as youth development coordinator for the Philadelphia Youth Service Corps; and as executive director of the Martin Luther King, Jr. Youth Center in Bridgewater, NJ. She is the proud mother of a future AmeriCorps*NCCC member, daughter Kayin, 5.

Since 1994, 10,000 AmeriCorps*NCCC members have been among the more than 300,000 people who have served with AmeriCorps, which engages Americans in intensive service to meet community needs in education, the environment, public safety, homeland security, and other areas. In return for a year of service, each AmeriCorps member receives a $4,725 education award that can be used to pay back student loans or to cover future tuition for post-secondary education.

AmeriCorps is administered by the Corporation for National and Community Service, which also oversees Senior Corps and Learn and Serve America. Together with the USA Freedom Corps, the Corporation is working to build a culture of citizenship, service, and responsibility in America. For further information, visit www.nationalservice.org.

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