Member Spotlight: Mandy Chan

Name: Mandy Chan

Position: Care Coordinator/Health Educator

Undergraduate Degree: BS Public Health at the University of South Florida in Tampa, FL

Hometown: Sarasota, FL

How did you hear about AmeriCorps?: Through my twin sister, Sandy Chan, who served in the same program last year :D

With less than three months left of the program term, I am happy to say that I certainly making an impact in my community and at my host site. I serve at River Region Human Services, Inc. doing mostly case management and health education at their methadone clinic. My duties is helping clients connect to community resources, like housing, shelters and employment, as well as government assistance while table monthly health education topics. I also set up appointments for clients to see the physician assistant at River Region for primary care. Many of the clients at the clinic are in recovery from substance abuse and having someone to help them get back on their feet is always an awarding experience.


Last month has been a busy month at my host site. Twice a year (March and September), we hold a Serenity Café event for our clients. We make fruit smoothies and give healthy snacks to clients as a way to say “thank you” for using our services here. Also March was nutrition month and I was able to bring a North Florida Health Corps member to my host site. She taught my clients on about healthy eating and physical activities as she does at her host site. The topic was a big hit among the clients; they learned about the new myplate and took home healthy recipes to try!

My experience in the program has been exciting. I’ve never thought I would serve in a substance abuse population, but I’m glad I did as I learned a lot from them and was part of their recovery. As the end of the service term fast approaching, I know my clients will miss me for all I’ve done, but my next chapter after AmeriCorps is continuing my education and getting my Master’s in Public Health.