In this session, we will learn about opportunities to serve communities through the Peace Corps and AmeriCorps. We will be joined by Ellie Galer (MPP ’26, AmeriCorps), Calvin Rausch (MPP ’26, AmeriCorps) and Maddie Sachtler (MPP ’26, Peace Corps). In addition to serving communities in the US and abroad, our panelists have experience in governmental policies and public service. We will learn more from our speakers about these service programs and how starting their careers in service has influenced their career paths.
Ellie Galer
Ellie was born and raised in the Boston area before moving to Saint Paul, MN, to attend Macalester College. There, she double-majored in political science and sociology and interned for then-Boston City Councilor Michelle Wu, which solidified her interest in public service. After graduating from Macalester, Ellie served as an AmeriCorps Legal Advocate at the Children’s Law Center of MA, where she worked in immigration law and then served as a Paralegal for their Civil Legal Aid for Victims of Crime program. She then became a Senior Program Associate at The Philanthropic Initiative at The Boston Foundation, where she assisted a variety of clients in increasing the impact of their philanthropy. At Duke, Ellie is concentrating in social policy, focusing on how public policy can better serve the vulnerable populations she’s worked with throughout her career.
Calvin Rausch
Calvin Rausch is a Master of Public Policy candidate at Duke University’s Sanford School of Public Policy. She began her career at Duke as an AmeriCorps VISTA and now dedicates her studies and professional commitments to food security, international development, and cross-cultural collaboration. She works in the Office of the Dean of Students as a policy assistant and serves as the Executive Director of the GPSG Community Pantry. With a background in political science from the University of Georgia and experience in nonprofit leadership, Calvin is passionate about building inclusive systems that uplift marginalized communities. Her work bridges domestic and international contexts, centering reflection, service, and sustainability in all aspects of leadership and policy engagement.
Maddie Sachtler
Madeline Sachtler is a Master of Public Policy candidate at Duke University with a strong interest in post-conflict state-building and humanitarian action. As an undergraduate at Cal Poly, she conducted field research in Nepal on community awareness of rheumatic fever and heart disease, sparking her commitment to global engagement. She has since served as a Peace Corps Volunteer in Cameroon, contributed to research on migration and civil documentation with the United Nations Institute for Disarmament Research, and supported large-scale clinical trial research at the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs. Madeline brings skills in data analysis, policy research, and cross-cultural collaboration to her work, with a focus on advancing reintegration and development initiatives.
The CCFP Career Series aims to expose students to the wide range of career paths available beyond traditional research and academia with a Child Policy Research Certificate. By highlighting professionals working in diverse roles across government, nonprofit, private, and community sectors, this series empowers students to envision and pursue meaningful careers that apply their knowledge and skills in child and family policy in impactful, real-world settings.