Christina Corodimas (’07) recently joined Essex CHIPS (Community Health Initiatives and Programs for Students) as the organization’s Executive Director.
Founded in 1986 in Essex Junction, Vt., Essex CHIPS offers a variety of programming aimed at local teens and youth. The organization’s programs and services include a Teen Center that provides a safe space for 4th through 8th grade students; a Youth Mentoring program that pairs students with adults on activities and conversation; an LGBTQ+ Youth Group that provides a safe space for support and dicussion; and a Food Shelf that offers food and essential supplies to all youth in the Essex Westford School District and their families.
As Executive Director, Corodimas said her priorities include continuing to strengthen the organization’s programming, expanding training and opportunities to staff, and increasing the nonprofit’s fundraising.
“I inherited a wonderful legacy at Essex CHIPS and am proud of the no-cost afterschool and summer programming we offer youth and their families,” said Corodimas, who relocated to Vermont from Northern California’s Bay Area in early 2020. “My husband and I chose Vermont as our new home for its beauty, open-spaces, commitment to inclusion, and proximity to my family in Upstate New York.”
One reason Corodimas is excited to work with ESSEX Chips is that the position and its responsibilities combine so many different aspects of her various career experiences.
“From outreach, recruitment, financial management, event planning, and afterschool programming – everything I’ve worked on before has now rolled into one position,” Corodimas said. “I was also very excited to learn that Essex CHIPS has a longstanding partnership with AmeriCorps when I was applying for the position.”
Corodimas is very familiar with AmeriCorps – she was a VISTA with the Washington Reading Corps in Vancouver, Wash., and spent four years as a national recruiter in AmeriCorp’s office in Oakland, Calif.
Corodimas’ resume also includes spending four years as the operations manager, financial liaison, and community outreach coordinator for Not In Our Town, a nonprofit media organization. She specialized in communications, events, and fundraising for Sequoia Living, the nation’s oldest nonprofit senior center. And dating back to her time as a high school student in West Chazy, N.Y., she served as youth representative to the Clinton County Youth Bureau, promoting positive youth development, strong families, and supportive communities.
As a Clinton School student, Corodimas completed field service projects with local organizations in Heifer International and East Arkansas Enterprise Community, Inc. She traveled to Tanzania as part of her International Public Service Project to work with Terrawatu, an indigenous grassroots organization, helping it to establish computer centers with internet access for students and teachers.
“My time at the Clinton School both in and out of the classroom prepared me well for my current role,” Corodimas said. “I reflect on lessons, field study, advisors, and friendships during those years in Little Rock regularly. I treasure the opportunity I was given in being part of Class 2.”
Across all of her experiences, Corodimas is well-prepared to lead Essex CHIPS as the organization looks to continue its community outreach and build on its strong foundation of programming.
“On the eve of his 10th birthday, one of the youth we serve told me his birthday wish was that the Teen Center is around for five decades,” Corodimas said. “I will do all I can to make his wish come true!”
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