Marcella Raphael Wants Global Domination (in Chapters)

by Camille Talag

Originally written for Issue 9 of the W.A.N.D. in 2016

When I was approached to do a volunteer spotlight on Marcella, I was very excited and honored. The Chapters staff is doing great work supporting our two-hundred-plus chapters around the world, and Marcella is very passionate about expanding the Chapters program and her work as a liaison. As somebody who’s lived in three countries and witnessed amazing community organizing work from Harry Potter fans in each, Marcella has a valuable perspective on what tFandom Forward does outside of North America.

Marcella got her start in 2011 with NYDA (New York Dumbledore’s Army chapter) when she was doing her undergrad, and she has been a part of the Fandom Forward community ever since. Her love for Fandom Forward, along with her commitment to activism, wokeness, and progress are the driving forces behind her work as Chapters Liaison and as a Global Task Force member. She “came for the activism [and] stayed for the awesome people.” Like the rest of us at Fandom Forward, Marcella has come to appreciate the level of understanding and acceptance that the staff so effortlessly provides for each other: “I've met people with different stories, ideas, and identities, and I'm not sure where else I'd be exposed to such a wealth of character.”

Noticing that chapters outside of North America have a unique set of opportunities which may not always be tapped into, Marcella is constantly figuring out ways to improve the Chapters program and to make it more inclusive and engaging. She knows that every community has the potential to produce a chapter as amazing as EPIC (Edmonton Potterwatch Institute for Charity) or London Loveiosa, and she is working hard to bring out that potential as part of the recently assembled Global Chapters Task Force. Along with Hilde Kuyper and Maggie Roderick, the other Global Task Force liaisons, Marcella wants there to be more chapters, and she wants the existing chapters to be bigger. 

One more thing about Marcella, she is a fiercely proud Slytherin! She cites her ambition as a defining characteristic and credits it for her lofty goal setting, particularly when it comes to building relationships, gaining knowledge, and improving herself. For Marcella, her ambition is a desire to continue working on the things she deeply cares about, because goals can always be higher and the world can be a better and more magical place.