Stories
August 12, 2025Where Are They Now: NDC VISTAs
At the Neighborhood Design Center (NDC), AmeriCorps VISTA members have played a vital role in strengthening our capacity to partner with communities and create spaces that reflect local needs and aspirations. This year, we’re excited to open applications for a full-time TMA AmeriCorps VISTA member — and we want to introduce you to some of the inspiring people who’ve been in your shoes.
Mikah Zaslow
AmeriCorps VISTA, 2012–2013
Mikah’s service at NDC led her to become a City Planner for the Baltimore City Department of Transportation, where she works on citywide safety and design initiatives. She encourages young professionals to “focus on what you can achieve in your corner of your work, but think holistically.”
Annette Massari
AmeriCorps VISTA, 2016–2018
From coordinating volunteers at NDC to becoming a Project Manager at Tacoma Housing Authority, Annette has carried her NDC experience into her work overseeing land use plans and engaging communities in meaningful ways. She shared, “Every element of our community engagement process was made more effective and more just due to what I learned at NDC.”
Maura Dwyer
AmeriCorps VISTA, 2019 — Now Full-Time at NDC!
Maura worked with community partners on fundraising, partnerships, neighborhood organizing, and space design. She’s now part of the NDC staff while pursuing a graduate degree in urban planning at the University of Maryland. Her advice to young professionals: “Actively seek out mentors… you will be a mentor one day, too.”
Evelyn DiSalvo
AmeriCorps VISTA, 2022-2023
Evelyn’s experience engaging Baltimore residents in urban design and placemaking ultimately led her to become a middle school math tutor — she will soon be joining Teach for America in Baltimore.
While at NDC, Evy developed The Equitable Engagement Toolkit Prioritizing Equity in the Community Design Process in collaboration with our VISTA Community Engagement Coordinator, Maddy Silberger-Franek. This toolkit guides NDC staff in prioritizing community voices and addressing historic inequities in design and planning.
Evy shared, “This what NDC does, they support community self determination by making urban design equitable and accessible.”
You could be the next story we tell.
If you’re passionate about community design, equity, and hands-on work with local neighborhoods, this is your chance to join a team that believes in building lasting change — together.
We’re hiring!
We are hiring a full-time TMA AmeriCorps VISTA to support NDC in building, sharing, and equalizing power through community design. It’s a year-long, full-time volunteer role in Baltimore, MD that offers a living stipend, health insurance, and the chance to make a tangible impact on communities across Maryland.
Applications are open now through September 15, 2025.