our tEAM
LIZ Pitofsky, founder & director
Liz started the Service Learning Project (SLP) after working at The After-School Corporation (TASC) (www.tascorp.org) for more than 10 years, where she created a service learning after-school initiative for students in grades 5-12. Liz developed the program content, trained and provided technical assistance to staff, and worked directly with students at more than 20 public elementary, middle, and high schools throughout New York City.
Liz launched SLP in 2010 with the creation of a Residency Program which she co-taught with elementary and middle public school teachers in Brooklyn, New York. Since then, SLP has grown exponentially to serve more than 750 students per year through school-day, after-school, and summer programs in NYC and Vermont, as well as across the country through a virtual SLP Lab.
Liz has trained many SLP Faculty as well as Department of Education and other school staff on how to facilitate SLP’s proven effective model of action civics. She is passionate about kids and service, and dedicated to helping ensure that all youth have opportunities to make their voices heard.
Liz has a B.A. from the University of Wisconsin- Madison and a J.D. from Columbia Law School, and is the mother of two NYC kids who love to help solve problems in their community.
Allie Cashel, Associate director
Allie (she/her) is the author of Suffering the Silence: Chronic Lyme disease in an Age of Denial (North Atlantic Books) and the co-founder and president The Suffering the Silence Community, a nonprofit dedicated to leveraging the power of art, media, and storytelling to raise awareness and break the stigma surrounding the experience of chronic illness and disability. Allie leads the effort to bring SLP to schools and communities throughout Vermont and coaches SLP facilitators, empowering youth to become active citizens in their schools and communities.
SLP Faculty
Jack Dryden
Jack Dryden (he/him) is an artist and educator originally from Saint Louis, Missouri. Jack has taught acting, speech, dialect, improvisation, singing and directing to students all over the country, and has also worked as a mentor to elementary and middle school students in both theater and public speaking. More recently, Jack has become interested in student advocacy and uses his tools as a performer and artist to help his students in whatever capacity he can. He is proud to join the team at Service Learning Project (SLP).
Arufa Hossain
Arufa Hossain (she/they) is a first-generation, Bangladeshi-American native New Yorker, with a focus on creative approaches to K-12 education. With years of teaching experience for a multitude of age-ranges and diverse abilities, Arufa highlights sociology, gender, and sexuality through artistic approaches in academic spaces.
Sarah Lazar
Sarah Lazar (she/her) is a teaching artist and performer based in New York City. She holds a BFA in Music Theatre from the University at Buffalo, and an MA in Applied Theatre from the CUNY School of Professional Studies. The work Sarah enjoys most takes place at the intersection of theatre and social justice. She is very excited to explore advocacy, inclusion, and community through her work at SLP
Natalie Pacht
Natalie Pacht (she/her) is pursuing a Masters of Public Administration at NYU. While an undergraduate student at the University of Michigan, Natalie founded an organization for students to provide re-entry services for formerly incarcerated individuals. After graduating, she worked with the Prisoners’ Rights Project at the Legal Aid Society. Natalie is so excited to continue her passion for civic engagement as a member of the SLP Faculty!
Siân Roberts
Siân Roberts (she/her) relocated from the UK in 2018 to pursue a PhD exploring the rise of economic inequality in the U.S. since 1970. Since completing her degree, Siân has coordinated and facilitated programs aiding underserved youth.
Bo Scarim
Bo Scarim (they/them) is a New Yorker, born with a passion for cities, always looking to improve the urban experience for all residents through community development, affordable housing, usable public spaces, and resource sharing. They bring a strong background in facilitation to SLP, with a focus on gender and sexuality.
Casey Wortmann
Casey (she/her) is a community organizer, writer and performer based in Brooklyn, where she lives with her husband and two cats (Mac & Cheese and Pirate Jenny). She holds a BA in Theater from Northwestern University and an MSW from Silberman School of Social Work at Hunter College.
Zoe Wright
Zoe Wright (she/her) is a writer and educator. Zoe holds an MFA in Creative Writing from Hollins University and a BA from Sarah Lawrence College. She has taught students of all ages from pre-K to college, and currently serves as a substitute teacher in NYC public schools.