Loretto at the UN: Staff
Loretto’s NGO Representative to the UN: Beth Blissman CoL
Photo courtesy of Beth Blissman
A western Pennsylvania native, Beth currently lives in both northeast Ohio and New York City and serves as a representative to the United Nations for the Loretto Community. She brings more than 20 years of experience as a practitioner-scholar in community-engaged teaching and learning in higher education to this work, as well as a deep interest in permaculture, spirituality and shifting worldviews. Beth is a former director of both the Bonner Center for Service and Learning at Oberlin College and the University of Denver’s Service Learning Program. She has developed models for student leadership, created community service work-study programs, and supported a variety of faculty and curriculum development processes related to community-campus engagement.
Beth has served as one of the Loretto Earth Network coordinators since 2000. As a systems thinker, she’s curious about how to build connections, increase resilience and design better solutions that empower learning and creative thinking.
Current Loretto Volunteer and Loretto at the UN Intern
Assistant NGO Representative to the UN: Jax Viteznik, Loretto Volunteer
Jax Viteznik comes from the green and rainy city of Portland, Ore., where her family and beloved dog Monty still lives. Jax attended the St. Mary’s Academy of the Holy Name Sisters in Portland, where her passion for social justice for gender equity and climate change ignited. Jax graduated from Gonzaga University in May 2021…
UN Intern: Meta Stephens, Student at Fordham University
Meta Stephens is a sophomore at Fordham University double majoring in political science and communications and culture, with a minor in French. She is also a 2020 graduate of Nerinx Hall High School, a Loretto-connected school in St. Louis. This Loretto education drew her to Loretto at the UN, as well as a planned trip…