Our Team
Made up of trusted subcontractors, volunteer mentors, and committed partners ContactGet InvolvedWhile Alumni Connect is not just Gary and Joani, as far as financial support goes, it is just Gary and Joani. We have several trusted subcontractors, but ultimately we work with volunteers.
Volunteer Mentors: All Entry-Point Mentors and Local Mentors serve on a volunteer basis.
Committed Partners: Our connections with other Christian organizations like the Navigators, Cru, and CMBC allow us to grow and replicate without expanding our current staffing.
Trusted Subcontractors: Our team implements operations, produces resources, and keeps our network up-to-date. See the faces behind our emails and processes!
You’re not just supporting a single couple reaching a single city —
you’re supporting an entire international network of alumni and mentors
seeking to grow deep roots into their workplaces and neighborhoods.
Maria Yarley
Maria has had a vision for what is now Alumni Connect since her own graduation from Penn State in 2006. In that unique and difficult season of transition, she began a career as an IT Business Analyst. Since becoming established in her marriage, church and community, she focuses problem solving skills in smaller business contexts that emphasize hard work and creativity. She has also started two businesses in the knitting industry and teaches classes at her local yarn store. She, her husband, and three children live outside Raleigh, NC.
Danielle Wilson
Communications
Danielle graduated with a degree in English and worked in the fashion industry for several years before becoming a freelance copywriter for small businesses and non-profits. With Alumni Connect, she maintains the website content, promotional materials, and mentor resources. Danielle lives with her husband, baby boy, and standard poodle in northern New Jersey, 45 minutes outside of NYC. In addition to her writing career, she keeps busy playing violin, blogging, running half marathons, and reading.
Heidi Crisp
Data and Technology Support
With a background in the legal field and a degree in Humanities, Heidi enjoys problem solving and organizing data. When she’s not working on Alumni Connect projects, you can find her blogging and trying to keep track of her active little girl. On weekends, she loves exploring new coffee shops with her husband and daughters in her now hometown of Indianapolis, IN.