While involved with NNPCW, Laura served on the Coordinating Committee for a year. She was also involved with the 2001 Leadership Event Planning Team and the design team for Lifting Up Our Voices. Her work with the larger church has continued since leaving NNPCW, though. In 2004, she co-led a seminar on peacemaking at Ghost Ranch Conference and Retreat Center in New Mexico. She has worked with AADVENT, a program funded by the Lilly Endowment at McCormick Seminary to promote leadership development among Asian American young adults and has been on the Churches Uniting in Christ Racial Justice Task Force.

Ann Crews Melton, who has worked with Laura in a variety of church settings, commented, "I first met Laura when she was co-moderating the Youth Advisory Delegates at General Assembly in 2000. Her professionalism always impressed me and I have since come to appreciate the humor and astute presence she brings into every group. Laura is rad."

NNPCW played an important role in Laura's current vocational path. "I came back to the church because I realized that my faith and my feminism weren't opposing forces. Also, I realize most of my significant mentors around that time came from NNPCW and Women's Ministries, and they invested a lot in me. I'm really grateful for them, because I'm not sure I would be going into ministry without their encouragement! I also found all these cool women my own age who are really different but share many similar concerns and it has been so neat to be growing and learning with them."

Laura is a 2003 graduate of the College of Wooster in Wooster, Ohio. She played an important role in NNPCW's development at Wooster, co-leading the women's group Sisters in Spirit. Laura also helped organize an NNPCW regional retreat in 2002 for young women in Louisville, Kentucky.

Since college, Laura has served at Rivera Presbyterian Church in South Miami as their peace and justice intern/advocate through the Young Adult Volunteer Program with the PC(USA) DOOR Miami site, 2003-2004. At Rivera she helped with the church youth group and mission committee. She was also involved in community outreach projects like Coexistence, an international art exhibit sponsored by the Museum on the Seam in Jerusalem. About forty billboard size pieces, which had traveled extensively in Europe, Africa and the Middle East, were featured at the Miami-Dade College's Annual Bookfair in 2003. The exhibit is based on each individual artists interpretation of coexistence, encouraging dialogue between groups that are at odds.

She currently works as the special events coordinator for Riverside Christian Ministries, Inc. Riverside Christian Ministries operates a halfway house for ex- offenders and a substance abuse program for homeless men in Miami. Through a gradual release program they offer a Christian setting for people to adjust from institutionalization to life on the outside so they can become positive contributors to their communities.

Michael Fry, a classmate of Laura's at Wooster who also served with her in Miami, said, "Laura is very active in the community of Miami where she was a Young Adult Volunteer in Mission last year. She chose to stay on because she felt that God had more for her to do in Miami. This is evident in how she has remained plugged in there and has taken on new challenges."

For Laura, NNPCW was a safe space to explore her own emerging spirituality. "I may not have come to faith without a safe and encouraging environment like the one I was in on my campus. After attending NNPCW retreats I was 'initiated' into a loving and spiritually strong female group. This helped pave the way for my personal spiritual walk."

Kelsey Rice, who met Heather at the Leadership Event, says, "Heather is the perfect example of what I love about NNPCW. She is an intelligent, wonderful person who has committed herself to this church and to her role in it as a woman. Her enthusiasm for NNPCW and the ways in which it has transformed her inspire me to do my work."

In addition to recruiting her sister, former CoCo Member Anna Hrachovec, for involvement, Leah served on the Coordinating Committee from 1997 to 2000 and spent two of those years as a co-moderator. She continued to shape the direction of the Network later in her work as an intern for NNPCW in 2000-2001.

Her involvement with NNPCW changed the ways in which Leah formed an understanding of feminism in college. The Network "introduced me to a wider concept of 'feminism,' one that is not only about equality between women and men but also addresses other divides—race, class, age—and how Christian faith is really the basis for seeing our unity and addressing the injustices that continue to keep us from that unity."

Leah also credits NNPCW with influencing her call to ministry. "It was through the Network that I first had a conversation with a female Presbyterian minister—obviously, that has had a huge impact in how I have answered God's call on my life."

Amy Robinson, who met Sarah at the Leadership Event, said that Sarah's attendance with her mother at that event changed how she saw the work of NNPCW. "Sarah and her mother, participating together in the shadow of Seneca Falls, showed us that our NNPCW movement is not just for college women; in fact, it is for our mothers, our grandmothers who brought us where we are. Together, the Jones women wrestled with the same issues we each wrestle with each day, and showed us that the need for a holistic approach to the women's experience transcends generations."

Sarah comments that NNPCW changed her perspective on feminism. "Through NNPCW, I met feminism as a positive word. No longer was it limited to hairy-legged bra burners. But, rather it is a complex and empowering idea. One to which I'd say I subscribe."

Melva cites NNPCW as one of the groups that helped her through her college years. "Being in a group that talked about the things that came up on a daily basis on campus helped to mold my thinking about feminism in terms of my faith and the things I was learning and seeing on campus. It eased questions and concerns I might have had when there was not an outlet like the Network for me to turn to when campus discussion of social justice issues were discussed. I learned feminism is not about burning a bra or being "anti-male," but about loving yourself as a woman, as an individual period. The Network helped me to mold myself in a safe place."

Ann graduated from Austin College in Sherman, Texas in 2003. She then spent a year as a young adult intern for Women's Advocacy at the Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.)'s national office in Louisville, Ky. She felt a strong call to stay as the Interim Women's Advocacy associate until leaving this July.

While Ann was with Women's Advocacy, Kelsey Rice also served as an intern. Kelsey had this to say about Ann and their times across the hall from each other: "I have Ann to thank for a large part of my growth into feminism. My conversations with her challenged me to expand my understanding of women's issues past my own experience and onto the global stage. I was also very grateful for her support as a colleague at the Presbyterian Center through some crazy times."

While with NNPCW, Ann served as co-moderator for the Coordinating Committee, and as NNPCW's liaison to the General Assembly Council. Ann wrote many articles for Sisters Together, NNPCW's bi-annual newsletter. She also served on the Leadership Event Planning Team for the 2003 Leadership Event, "Women Called to Act: Will You Keep Silent at Such a Time as This?" in New York, N.Y. On Austin College's campus, Ann founded the NNPCW-affiliated Selah women's spirituality group.

Ann names Kristy Graf as a large reason that she got involved with NNPCW. "Kristy is my soul sista. Kristy's passion with NNPCW, PSST (Presbyterian Student Strategy Team) and the YAYA movements has inspired us all." Kristy brought a math/science aspect to learning about women's issues for Ann and also taught her embodied prayer.

For Ann, NNPCW helped keep her in the church. She states that "it helped me become comfortable with identifying myself as a Christian." The community epitomized the "family of God" for her.

The Women's Ministries Program Area asked Rebecca to attend a conference in Ghana in October 2003 about religion, culture and HIV/AIDS. About the experience, she says, "I learned a great deal about the cultural and religious factors contributing to the spread of the virus in Africa. It was awesome to be in partnership with our African sisters, even though it was only for a week."

Rebecca still continues to be involved with NNPCW, serving as moderator for many of the focus group conference calls that took place this January. Intern Kelsey Rice, who organized the calls, comments, "Her dedication to this denomination never ceases to amaze me. Rebecca gives so much time and energy to NNPCW and the larger church and our programs are blessed as a result. I've been so thankful to get to know her."

NNPCW helped Rebecca discover and articulate her experience as a woman with her faith. "Once I got involved in NNPCW, the Coordinating Committee became my community of faith, despite the physical distance that separated us. NNPCW provided words to the feelings and thoughts I had been experiencing, and allowed me to explore things I hadn't verbalized before."