DIRECTORS
Nancy Nelson, Program Director:
My name is Nancy Nelson. I have lived in Madison, WI, for many years. I taught at Edgewood College, a small private Liberal Arts College in Madison WI, for 27 years and am currently semi-retired. My fields of teaching were Education and Psychology. I enjoy working with students of all ages. I am currently taking a leave of absence from the Marriage and Family Therapy Graduate Program. When teaching a course on Adolescent Psychology I co-created a mentoring program for middle school students. During this time I became very interested in Middle School girls and launched the program, Girls’ Stories, Girls’ Voices in 1999. I hope to work with young women for many years as the program has been so successful and has changed many young lives. My hobbies are reading, golf, photography and being in nature.
Liza Verhelst, Assistant Program Director:
My name is Liza Verhelst. I am currently the At-Risk Counselor at DeForest Area High School, DeForest, WI. In the mornings, I teach and coordinate the alternative program. In the afternoon, I work with at-risk students at the regular high school. I have been at DeForest for 10 years. I recently attained my masters in Counseling from UW-Madison. I hope to some day be a school counselor. For my bachelor’s degree I attendend Edgewood College, Madison, WI. I majored in Broad Fields Social Studies and minored in Secondary Education. It was while I was at Edgewood that I met Nancy Nelson. Nancy was the professor for some of my classes and I felt a great connection with her. From Nancy, I learned about a summer program called Girls’ Stories, Girls’ Voices and decided to be a volunteer facilitator. 7 years later, I am still working with Girls’ Stories, Girls’ Voices and loving it! My personal interests include spending time with family and friends, playing with my dog, reading, and traveling
COLLEGE STUDENT/FACILITATORS
Lindsay Aschliman:
Hi, my name is Lindsay Aschliman. I am a junior at Edgewood College, majoring in Nursing and minoring in Spanish. I live in Mt. Horeb with my fiancé and my dog, Mia. I currently work at St. Mary’s hospital here in Madison. In my free time I enjoy playing volleyball, going on vacations, and spending time with friends, family, my fiancé and my dog. During my middle school years I switched schools several different times and found it hard to adjust at first. I hope to bring my experience and insight to this camp to help the young girls and give them guidance. I am eager to being the camp and look forward to meeting everyone!
Kristen Schmidt:
Hello girls! My name is Kristen Schmidt and I am currently a junior in the nursing program here at Edgewood College. I also work at American Family Children’s Hospital on a Pediatric Oncology unit and aspire to become a neonatal or pediatric nurse when I complete my degree. I was born and raised in Lexington, Kentucky and moved up to Wisconsin
during my junior year of high school and currently reside in Sun Prairie. On October 25th, 2008 after 7 years of dating, I married the love of my life. Although nursing school keeps me very busy, I am a Mommy to a 1-year-old and enjoy spending time with my little boy and my husband every chance I can. I am so excited about the camp and look forward to meeting each one of you this summer at GSGV!!!
Missy Goff:
Hi, my name is Missy Goff and I am a junior at Edgewood College. I am originally from Kaukauna, WI but have lived in the Madison area for the last 6 years with my boyfriend. I am studying nursing with a minor in psychology. I currently work as a CMA at Dean Urgent Care. In my spare time, I enjoy playing volleyball, golf, being outside, reading, and spending time with my friends and family. I look forward to teaching and learning with the girls and hope my life experiences relating to body image will help them in their lives.
Jess Gobel :
HI Girls, My name is Jess Gobel , and I am a senior at Edgewood College. I am majoring in Education and currently working with Wisconsin Early Autism Project working with children with autism. I am from Belleville, Wisconsin (a small town just south of Madison). I live on a farm with my husband and two children. In my free time I love being outside, swimming, and dancing. I cannot wait for camp to start and hope all of you are as excited as I am!
HIGH SCHOOL STUDENT/FACILITATORS
Mary Kate :
Hi my name is Mary Kate, and I am a freshman at Madison West High School.I play sports all year such as swimming, basketball, dance, and softball. I love coming to Girls’ Stories Girls’ Voices because I can express my true self in a friendly environment. This is my first year as a facilitator, and I am sure it will be a fun one!
Hannah :
Hi my name is Hannah, and I’m a freshman at Madison West High School. It is such a great honor to be back to Girls Stories, Girls Voices. This will be my first year as a facilitator, after having participated in Middle School. During the year I partake in Rowing, through the Camp Randall Crew Team. I enjoy singing, dancing, and acting, also. I’m excited to be here, and ready to have fun this summer.
