Alumni Feature: Allison Moller Clausen
Summer, 2010
GWA Alumna Allison Moller Clausen to be Area Director in Greater Washginton
When we were sixteen, Allison Moller (pictured below with husband Bill Clausen) looked through her driver’s side window and started making faces at passers by. After my horrified and embarrassed protest from the front seat, she said, “if you can’t be goofy when you’re sixteen, when can you be?” She had a point, but when we were in high school together in Alexandria, Virginia, we used to joke that she was a bit of a “mom” since she always drove us around and generally organized our entire group of FOCUS friends. Now she’s grown up, and finds herself at an exciting crossroads- married to Bill Clausen, expecting her first child in July, and starting as part-time Area Director with FOCUS in Greater Washington this September- and it’s those two sides of her, both the silly and the utterly organized, that endear her to those she meets and make her perfect for her new role working with students and leading a staff.
Allison’s choice to join the FOCUS staff has been, arguably, fifteen years in the making. She became involved as a middle school student and has served as a frequent volunteer since college. About a year ago Spencer Smith and Dan Walker approached her about the Area Director position, though the timing wasn’t right. But when she and Bill became pregnant this past fall and she started thinking seriously about where her career was heading, she had a continual sense that FOCUS was in her future. So, when she was approached a second time as a point person for two new staff members entirely new to her native Washington, she accepted with enthusiasm. “At the end of the day it just felt right,” she says, “I am lucky to be a part of something meaningful and to be able to give back to the ministry that has transformed my life and my relationships.”
She also notes that the position is a logistical gift to her young family, with flexible hours and the opportunity to stay in Washington where they’ve lived and worked for the last several years. Moreover, Allison’s skill set is a gift to FOCUS. She has a strong background working with non-profits and with volunteers, and has a vision for what the volunteer community in GWA could be. She says, “I hope to invest in our volunteer base and build up a team to serve students in GWA for years to come.” FOCUS is lucky to have her energy and enthusiasm, and we look forward to what she’ll do alongside Kendra Johanson and Rebecca Allen in Washington this year.
Ann Lefeve
Communications and Alumni Relations
alumni@infocus.org