AmeriCorps Cape Cod Celebrates Year 27 Graduates and a Year of Service

Published on: August 14, 2026

BARNSTABLE, MA — AmeriCorps Cape Cod celebrated 18 members of its Year 27 class on Thursday, August 13, marking the completion of 11 months of service to communities across Cape Cod.

The graduation ceremony brought together members, families, AmeriCorps Cape Cod staff, service partners, and local and state leaders to recognize a year of environmental restoration and education, natural resource management, disaster preparedness and response, and community service across the region.

Each graduating member completed more than 1,700 hours of service.

AmeriCorps Cape Cod Program Manager Misty Niemeyer opened the ceremony by recognizing not only what members accomplished during the year, but the professionalism, compassion, and resilience they demonstrated along the way.

“You supported each other, working long hours until you were exhausted mentally and physically,” Niemeyer told the graduates. “And through all of it, you led with professionalism, kindness, compassion, and represented everything that this program, AmeriCorps, and national service stand for.”

Niemeyer also reflected on the Corps’ response to Winter Storm Hernando, one of the defining moments of Year 27. Members provided more than 100 hours of emergency response, staffing four regional shelters around the clock and supporting more than 600 people. AmeriCorps Cape Cod members also staffed Barnstable County’s Multi-Agency Coordination Center, helping coordinate communications, resources, and transportation throughout the storm response.
While the numbers from the year — service hours, projects completed, miles and acres improved, students educated, and shellfish propagated — were impressive, Niemeyer said they represented only part of the story.

“It is about the impact that you have made on this community,” Niemeyer said.

A Lifelong Commitment to Service

Barnstable County Board of Regional Commissioners Chair Mark Forest, who served as a VISTA volunteer in Boston as a young man, reflected on the connection between the Year 27 members’ experiences and his own introduction to national service.

Forest served during Boston’s school desegregation crisis, advocating for children who were being denied access to public education. He told the graduates the experience fundamentally shaped the way he viewed public service and leadership.

“Proximity breeds empathy, and empathy is the bedrock of real leadership,” Forest said.

He encouraged the graduates to view their AmeriCorps experience not simply as a completed term of service, but as something they could carry into whatever comes next.

“Don’t leave your service spirit behind in this room,” Forest said. “National service is not merely a line on your resume or a single gap year. It is a lifelong lens.”

Forest also recognized the practical lessons members gained during their service — learning to improvise, solve problems, respond when plans fall apart, and step forward when their community needs help.

“You leave this program today with proven leadership experience, deeper roots in our community, in civic life, and the absolute knowledge that your efforts matter and can matter,” he said.

Senator Dylan Fernandes Recognizes Year 27

Massachusetts State Senator Dylan Fernandes joined the celebration, thanking the graduates for strengthening Cape Cod communities, protecting natural resources, educating young people, supporting conservation work, and responding during emergencies.

Fernandes also reflected on the funding uncertainty AmeriCorps programs faced over the past year. Federal funding for AmeriCorps Cape Cod was abruptly terminated in April 2025 as part of nationwide reductions. Barnstable County responded by committing County funds to preserve the program while legal challenges moved forward. Federal funding was subsequently restored, and more than $184 million in previously withheld AmeriCorps funding nationwide was later released.

Fernandes recognized Barnstable County leaders for their support of the program during that period and emphasized the importance of national service programs to communities like Cape Cod.

He focused particularly on the members’ response during Winter Storm Hernando.

“Your 24-7 blizzard response helped keep people fed, helped keep people warm, and really underscored what it means to serve our community,” Fernandes said.

He told the graduates that their contribution to Cape Cod extends beyond their official service term.

“You guys are what makes our community and our country so great and so vibrant — that dedication to public service, that dedication to our community,” Fernandes said.

The graduation also comes as AmeriCorps Cape Cod enters a more stable chapter. In July, the program was awarded approximately $1.5 million through a three-year federal AmeriCorps State and National grant, supporting its continued service on Cape Cod through August 2029.

Recognizing Outstanding Service

The ceremony also recognized a member and two community partners for exceptional service during Year 27.

Ciara Chagnon received the Darlene Johnson Morris Award, presented annually to a member selected by AmeriCorps Cape Cod staff for a strong commitment to community service and for going above and beyond in demonstrating a service ethic. Chagnon served her individual placement with the Cape Cod Commission and was recognized for her leadership, enthusiasm, and commitment to “getting things done” for Cape Cod.

The Upper Cape Service Partner of the Year was awarded to Caroline Lawrence of Barnstable Land Trust, while Sarah Comstock of the Wellfleet Shellfish Department was named Outer Cape Service Partner of the Year. The awards are selected by AmeriCorps Cape Cod members and recognize service partners who go above and beyond in providing training, guidance, support, and meaningful opportunities throughout the service year.

A Year of Impact Across Cape Cod

Year 27 members completed more than 170 group service projects across Cape Cod, with work ranging from shellfish propagation and trail maintenance to habitat restoration, environmental education, community cleanups, and disaster preparedness.

Among the year’s measurable impacts:

• 123 natural resource management projects
• 56 environmental education events reaching 3,038 individuals
• Response to marine mammal stranding events involving 83 marine mammals
• Support for 600+ individuals at regional shelters during Winter Storm Hernando
• Organization and inventory of five comprehensive emergency shelter supply units

Their service stretched across the region. Group projects included oyster overwintering in Falmouth, herring run cleanups in Sandwich and Brewster, grassland restoration in Orleans, bluebird box construction in Harwich, hazard tree mitigation in Chatham, conservation work in Barnstable, and numerous other projects from Bourne to the Outer Cape.
The broader impact of AmeriCorps Cape Cod extends well beyond a single service year. Since 1999, members have completed 4,981 natural resource management projects and more than 2,615 environmental education activities reaching 67,561 people.

Over the program’s history, AmeriCorps Cape Cod members have contributed 1,068,800 hours of service, valued at approximately $29.6 million to Cape Cod.

The program has also helped build a lasting pipeline of public service on the Cape. An estimated 139 AmeriCorps Cape Cod members have stayed or returned to the region after graduation, with 59 alumni currently living and working on Cape Cod. Of those, 24 work for Barnstable County or a municipal department.

Congratulations to the Year 27 Graduates

The 18 members completing Year 27 are:

Pocasset Residence — Bourne: Ciara Chagnon, Alayna Krempa, Jordan Chan, Sarah Kraunelis, Rachel Omlor, Sara Broskie, Carter Henry, and Alexander Knight.

The Ranch — Barnstable: Miranda Johnston, Nina Costanza, and Jane Walsdorf.

LeHac — Wellfleet: Sasha Koulakova, Evie LeDuc, Lillian Pogany, Ella Wegfehrt, Emma Carey, Sadie Bromberg, and Sophie Wigington.

As the ceremony concluded, the Year 27 members crossed the stage to receive certificates recognizing the completion of their service.

Their graduation marked the end of 11 months with AmeriCorps Cape Cod — but, as speakers throughout the ceremony reminded them, not the end of their commitment to service.

Congratulations to the AmeriCorps Cape Cod Year 27 graduates, and thank you for your service to Cape Cod.

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