Our team is made up of not only the folks who currently live and work at Big Laurel year round, but also of all those who have joined us throughout the past 44 years. Many individuals have dedicated years to the vision of Big Laurel. Our current community is just a small snapshot into one season of Big Laurel.
Grace Williams
Grace Williams
Grace serves as the director at Big Laurel. She lives in the main guest house with her dog, Rosie, and the resident mouser, Tashi. Grace first visited Big Laurel in 2010 on the wood chopping trip as a Wheeling Jesuit University student. After earning a degree in communications, she joined the Jesuit Volunteer Corps and moved to New Orleans, where she honed her passions for food justice and youth outreach. Grace moved from Louisiana back to West Virginia in 2016 to serve as a Notre Dame AmeriCorps member at Big Laurel. She began her role as director in 2018. In her free time, you can find Grace cooking, biking, hiking with Rosie, learning guitar, or skating with the Chemical Valley Roller Girls.
Sister Kathy O'Hagan
Sister Kathy O'Hagan
Sister Kathy, a Sister of Notre Dame de Namur, moved to the ridge in 1976. She was instrumental in starting the Big Laurel School and has remained a vibrant member of the community for 43 years. A primary teacher and animal lover at heart, Kathy currently serves as the Notre Dame AmeriCorps site director and coordinates Big Laurel’s community outreach. You can often find her rounding up the ponies on her 4-wheeler, preparing her signature baked spaghetti, or performing at special events disguised as Dolly Parton. She makes her home at the St. Joe’s house along with Sister Gretchen, their three dogs, and three cats.
Sister Gretchen Shaffer
Sister Gretchen Shaffer
Sister Gretchen is a Sister of Saint Joseph, a native West Virginian, and a founding teacher of Big Laurel School. After serving as the director of Big Laurel for many years, Gretchen is a wealth of knowledge and tradition. Gretchen is a talented storyteller and is able to hold almost any audience captive for hours of heart-warming and adventure-filled tales. Famous for her homemade oatmeal bread, “better” butter, and Big Laurel applesauce, Gretchen has fed many visitors over the years. She currently lives with Sister Kathy, their three cats, and three dogs at the St. Joe’s House.
Angel Estepp
Angel Estepp
Angel Estepp, a lifelong resident of Marrowbone Creek, West Virginia, is serving as a Notre Dame AmeriCorps at Big Laurel Learning Center for her second year during the 2022-2023 school year. Angel grew up around Big Laurel and has fond memories of attending summer camps as a kid. In her free time, Angel enjoys fishing, ATV riding, and spending time at the lake with her family and friends. She appreciates the kindness and caring that she experiences in the Big Laurel community. Angel is looking forward to continuing to meet new people and learning about the environment and the economy.
Elizabeth Nawrocki
Elizabeth Nawrocki
Elizabeth is serving at Big Laurel as a Notre Dame AmeriCorps Member for the 2022-2023 school year. During undergrad at Wheeling Jesuit University, Elizabeth visited Big Laurel for the annual wood chopping trip and the seed to return one day was planted. Elizabeth has spent the intervening years hopping around the country, spending time farming with the L'Arche community in Tacoma, WA, studying theology at Loyola University Maryland, and campus ministering at Gannon University and slinging lattes in Erie, PA. In her spare time you can likely find her experimenting in the kitchen, building up basic skateboarding skills, collecting cool leaves, stones, or flowers on a walk, or starting a new creative project that will likely not be finished for 3-5 years (good things take time!).