Julie Rhoten, an SSS Associate since 1994, is the current Executive Director of Stanford Settlement in Sacramento

Our Associates

A Sister of Social Service Associate is a person who feels an identity with the spirit and charism of the community. Associates are men and women from many faith traditions and walks of life who join with the Vowed Members in living and expressing the purpose and goals for which the Sisters of Social Service were founded, while at the same time continuing to live within their own lifestyles.

SSS Associates want to grow in an awareness of the presence of the Holy Spirit and the Spirit’s action in the world. They want to have a more informed social conscience which has been shaped by the social mission and teachings of the Church and the Sisters of Social Service. Associates participate, in some way, in the work and prayer of the community and explore and deepen the Benedictine spirit which looks toward a balance of work and prayer in one’s daily life.


Associates commit themselves to share the Spirit, values and goals of the Sisters of Social Service, who are in turn, enriched by the sharing of their vision of life in the Spirit.