Dr. Leon-C. Malan: Colby-Sawyer College
Professor, School of Arts & Sciences
Leon has grown Colby-Sawyer College's vacant lawn into a sustainable source of local food. The ``Main Street Garden`` now encompasses two plots of land and they serve as a learning tool for students across disciplines. Leon and his students partner with the Kearsarge Lake Sunapee Community Food Pantry and they are recipients of the bounty from the garden. Leon's work as a professor/farmer instills our students with the ubunto philosophy = ``I am because we are.``
Christie Harner: Dartmouth College
Senior Lecturer in English, Assistant Dean of Faculty for Fellowship Advising, Faculty Director of Stamps Scholars Program
For Dr. Christie Harner, engaged pedagogy and iterative learning are not simply teaching tools, but rather the values that undergird both her research and classroom. As a Senior Lecturer in the Department of English and Creative Writing, Christie weaves community engagement into the heart of innovative courses such as ``Netflix and the Victorian Serial Novel``, ``God, Darwin and the Literary Imagination``, ``Animal Studies: Theory, Literature, Politics ``and ``Victorian Children's Literature: Fairytale and Fantasy``. In partnership with the Dartmouth Center for Social Impact, these community-driven experiential learning projects (called Social Impact Practicums) allow students to apply their knowledge in partnership with local schools, museums, libraries and other social sector agencies to shine a light on the intersection between English literature and broader issues such as educational access, rural poverty, and animal welfare. In addition to a dedication to expanding learning beyond the College walls in her academic courses, Dr. Harner's role as both Faculty Director of the Stamps Scholars program and her position as Assistant Dean for Fellowship Advising illustrate her excellence in coaching and preparing students to succeed not only in their applications to prestigious fellowships (Rhodes, Marshall, Fulbright, Truman, etc.) but more importantly in their ethical, compassionate and powerful engagement with the larger world on a global scale. In addition to her impressive array of pedagogical enterprises with community partners, Dr. Harner continues to actively publish in top journals and use her platform of research to shine a light on the importance of applied interdisciplinary work that engages all stakeholders. Christie Harner is a leader in her field and both the Upper Valley and Dartmouth are lucky to have such an accomplished, inspiring, and dedicated faculty member in their midst.
Kristi Collins: Franklin Pierce University
Program Director and Associate Professor, New Hampshire Physician Assistant Program
Program Director of the Master of Physician Assistant Studies, Kristi Collis is a shining example in her commitment to improve healthcare for rural and medically underserved areas of New Hampshire. Director Kristi Collins is a practicing PA engaged in evaluation and treatment of substance use disorders patients in a clinic location in the Upper Valley of New Hampshire. Many of the patients come from surrounding rural areas and rely on the work Kristi provides to ensure their sobriety and medication-assisted treatment. As Director of the Physician Assistant Studies Program, Kristi has worked to ensure that 100% of Franklin Pierce University PA students gain experience in a rural medically underserved area during their clinical rotation. This commitment has been an essential step in helping to alleviate the workforce shortage in the state. Kristi has also been involved in applying for grants to further the rural health research and practice of the PA program. These grants, and her leadership, strives to cultivate a vital, innovative rural healthcare infrastructure that identifies and properly trains potential workforce participants in the healthcare field. Furthermore, Kristi has partnered with organizations like New Hampshire AHEC to enroll PA students in the Health Service Scholars Program as they seek to address first-hand health issues and the disparities for those experiencing poverty. Kristi Collins is tireless in her work to enhance the education opportunities for those in the PA Studies Program while she strives to improve access to rural health in New Hampshire, and is a recent recipient of the Community Star Award through NRHD Community Star Project.
Brittanie Mulkigian: Great Bay Community College
Director of Student Life
As the Director of Student Life, Brittanie Mulkigian, has a passion for uplifting individuals and helping them achieve positive outcomes. Her vision of a sustainable future has focused her passion in helping the college and the greater community. Ms. Mulkigian partners with the Seacoast community in many areas, including, food pantries and mental health organizations. Specifically, in the area of food insecurity, she is a leader in Great Bay Community College’s partnership with Gather. This partnership first focused on a food pantry, which feeds over 100 families. That partnership grew to include answering the need of the organization for a kitchen coupled with the College’s need for food service. Today, the Cooking 4 Community Program uses the kitchen to feed over 5,000 individuals a month in the greater community and the Gather Café has fed over 2,700 students at a 50% discount and an additional 360 plus students for free. Ms. Mulkigian has a vision that food insecurity will not be a barrier for citizens to reach their full potential.
Bertina Stambolliu: Hellenic American University
Academic Affairs Administrator
Bertina Stambolliu began working for the University as a part-time assistant in the Registrar’s Office, where she had assisted as a work-study student. In 2022, Bertina was asked to assume the role of coordinator of the Office of Academic Affairs. During her short time in the position, she has already made a significant contribution to the operations of the institution. Since Fall 2021, Bertina has provided her services to the University's Counseling Center, where she is an intern responsible for ensuring the confidentiality of client records and where she takes care of clients and fellow students. In her volunteer work at the Center, she focuses on promoting mental health awareness. She has participated in events related to anxiety, trauma, Covid-19, depression, and suicide prevention. She has also worked alongside mental health professionals of the European Branch of the American Counseling Association, to help organize the association's 63rd annual conference, entitled ``Moving Through Together: Addressing a Changing World``.
Dena Shields: Keene State College
Clinical Associate Professor of Health Sciences
Professor Shields' leadership in the Hungry Owl has significantly advanced public service on our campus. Since taking over as faculty advisor in April 2020, Professor Shields has devoted innumerable hours to advancing the Hungry Owl's mission. Under her leadership she has expanded the Hungry Owl to include several services and projects, collaborated with other student groups and departments and formed community connections, applied for grants from various organizations such as C and S Grocers, TJX Foundation, and NH Food Bank and provided numerous students with volunteer, internship, and leadership opportunities. She has made an immeasurable impact on both the college and broader community, and her contributions will continue to make a difference for years to come.
Michelle Scott, MA, RD/RDN: Manchester Community College
Adjunct Faculty, Nutrition
As Nutrition Adjunct Faculty, at Manchester Community College, Michelle Scott, MA, RD/RDN, has shared her passion for social justice, cultural understanding, and building respect for the environment with our students, not only in the classroom but through many facets of student life. She has served as trip advisor for our service trip to Pine Ridge Reservation, is co-advisor to the Cultural Exchange Club, shares her nutrition expertise through our wellness programming in addition to the academic setting, and is regularly found supporting students as they strive to reach their goals. She engages students in rich conversations, listens to their thoughts, and challenges them to act. Michelle Scott is a shining example of someone who lives out her values---the values of equity, respect and understanding.
Carla Jean Smith, MSN, RN, CNE, GCPH: Massachusetts College of Pharmacy and Health Sciences
Assistant Professor, School of Nursing
Carla contributes significantly to the community and state. She is the Vice Chair of Commission on Government Affairs for the New Hampshire Nurses Association (NHNA) where she is the NHNA representative to ANA Nursing Practice and Work Environment, Center for Ethics and Human Rights, and Healthy Nurse Healthy Nation, as well as the NH Opioid Task Force of the Governor's Commission on Alcohol and Other Drugs. Carla is a peer reviewer of Excellence in Nursing Awards nominations, and serves on the Board of Directors as a Legislative Advocate for the NHNSA, providing testimony for ongoing key legislation., and has a long history of volunteering at many organizations throughout the state. When COVID began, Carla assisted the community by joining the COVID Alliance Senior Support Team of NH as Volunteer Coordinator, assisting MCPHS students volunteering remotely. She is an AHA Heartsaver CPR and Stop Bleed Trainer, and part of NH Healthcare Workers for Climate Action. Additionally, Carla has and continues to participate in two-week mission trips to Ecuador for the Global Smile Foundation, and often shares her service experiences into the classroom, encouraging students to become more involved.
James Chase: New England College
Associate Professor of Art
James Chase has been an advocate for the arts at New England College and in the greater New England regional community. He is an active mentor to students and has been instrumental in forming the SOUA Art Club on the IAD campus. He is founder of Arts Build Community and co-producer of the Manchester Mural Festival. He has brought dozens of murals to the New Hampshire Community. He is a recent recipient of the Arts Entrepreneur Award through HW Business Committee for the Arts. Girls, Inc, and the United Way of Greater Manchester have benefited from his volunteerism. On campus, he has served as ad hoc admissions advisory member for IAD and has been instrumental in planning and attending Admissions Tour Days and engaging with prospective students and their families. James offers demonstration and workshops for High School students and the Art Educators Association.
Sara Dupont, LICSW, MSW: Plymouth State University
Clinical Assistant Professor in Social Work
Sara teaches the Intro to Social Work course, which engages students in service learning experiences with numerous local non-profit partners. She is an advocate for social justice, and connects students with the important work that community partners are doing, frequently inviting partners into her class. She also invites the Community Impact team to prepare students for ethical engagement throughout the broader region to ensure that their work increases the capacity of partners.
RVCC DEI Committee: River Valley Community College
Jerry Appell (Chair), Melanie Henry, Kelly Clark, Cara Chanoine, Julie Robinson, Bridget Conley, Aimee Jahn
Since its formation, RVCC's DEI Committee is a collaborative team that facilities equity and inclusion for all its members and the academic community. DEI committee members individually have a range of backgrounds and life experiences that ground them in their mission to support the diverse population of students, faculty, and staff members at RVCC. Early initiatives have included organizing campus Safe Zone trainings, sponsoring a variety of DEI-related events, and an active and engaging webpage that offers a range of resources that include music videos, articles, lectures, and cultural events. During AY 22-23 DEI strengthened its connections to other committees and campus organizations at RVCC. This year the Student Government Association (SGA) in collaboration with DEI has adopted a diversity theme of ``We All Belong at RVCC`` for its Spring Fling celebration. For this event, DEI will also be organizing interactive creative activities that include dance, crafts, and music, as well as providing a variety of international foods. This is just one example of the work DEI has done to build relationships with the wider RVCC community. For the past two years, the DEI Committee has made a unique contribution to RVCC as a college that promotes the values of diversity, equity, and inclusion. In an effort to best recognize this contribution, please accept this nomination of the DEI Committee at River Valley Community College for the 2023 Campus Compact Award for Good Steward.
Dr. Bradford Stull: Rivier University
Professor of English, Coordinator of General Education Program, Coordinator of Global Scholars Honors Program
Dr. Stull oversees Rivier's one credit service-learning requirement that pairs service in the local community with reflective journaling, and classroom learning. Additionally, he coordinates the University's student success classes for first year students, integrating a day of service in the first semester for the entire first year class, and encouraging individual class service projects throughout the spring. In other areas, Dr. Stull encourages community engagement and service that supports our mission of transforming hearts and minds to serve the world, all the while incorporating the values of Catholic Social Teaching as well as integrating course concepts which link classroom knowledge to experiential learning.
Elizabeth Rickenbach: Saint Anselm College
Associate Professor of Psychology
Professor Elizabeth Rickenbach is a faculty who has been deeply committed to community engaged learning since coming to the college in 2014. She teaches several courses that incorporate community engaged learning into them including Introduction to Psychology, Adolescent Psychology, Adulthood and Aging, Brain Aging and Dementia, and Research Methods. Professor Richenbach is creative and flexible, always looking for ways to support her students learning while making sure to meet the needs of the community partners. In the spring of 2020, she was working on unique community engaged learning project with The Moore Centers' Moore JOBS program, an internship program at The Moore Center that prepares individuals with intellectual disabilities for meaningful employment. For a second year in a row, this program was partnering with a Saint Anselm faculty member to create an opportunity for Moore JOBS interns to experience the academic and social life on our campus, including a classroom component to help prepare the interns for their internship placement at a nursing home. Beth worked with the Moore JOBS staff to facilitate the classroom component for the interns and her students in her Brain Aging and Dementia class. Just as the initiative was getting off the ground we were forced to go remote due to the beginning of the pandemic. Prof. Rickenbach didn't give up, she worked with the Moore JOBS team to move the initiative online. While it wasn't what everyone had initially planned, it still provided connection and learning for the Moore JOBS interns and her students. Prof. Rickenbach continues to find ways to integrate community engaged learning into more of her courses. This semester she added a community research project to her Research Methods course. Thirteen students will be working with community partners on projects that will help their programs while allowing the students to apply research methods and skills they are learning in class. Prof. Rickenbach not only believes in the power of community engaged learning, but is also a wonderful role model for her students, helping them to make sense of their experiences and navigate any unknowns that may arise as they work with community partners.
Beth Anderson: Southern New Hampshire University
Associate Director, Deborah L. Coffin Women’s Center
Beth has shown a commitment to community service since she arrived at Southern New Hampshire University as a first year student in 2011. In every role she fills she thinks about how to put community at the center of her work. As Associate Director of the campus Women's Center, Beth is a key partner in campus community engagement efforts. This year alone she has partnered with The Chandler Center to plan a homecoming fundraising event, incorporate community engagement into the annual International Women's Day breakfast, teach two service-learning courses, facilitate a hygiene products drive for the YWCA, and advise an alternative break trip. As if that weren't enough, Beth also serves on the Community Development Scholarship team where she helps spread the word about scholarships available for students who are doing work to benefit community, interviews applicants, and makes decisions about who should be awarded funds. In all of this, Beth maintains a commitment to student development. Southern New Hampshire University is fortunate to have someone who cares so deeply about community and is willing to do the messy work of engaging students.
Malin Clyde: University of New Hampshire
Associate State Specialist, Community Volunteer State Specialist
Malin has worked tirelessly to connect UNH students to NH communities for almost 10 years, most recently championing the hiring of an Extension internship coordinator for the first time. Eight years ago, Malin started an innovative internship program for natural resource students, called the Nature Groupie Internship, which bridged the gap between local conservation organizations' need to hire seasonal work and the thousands of students at UNH. Malin created a highly successful internship that connects students with real-world community organizations so they can build skills and apply knowledge learned in the classroom to field work. Still Extension's most sought after internship, alumni of have gone on to very successful careers in NH and beyond. Malin also helped found Nature Groupie, a program of UNH Extension that makes it easier to volunteer outside. Almost 10 years ago, Malin had been hearing repeatedly from community organizations that they needed more volunteers to help care for conservation land in NH. Through creative thinking and innovative technology, Malin led the creation of a new online platform to recruitment new, younger volunteers and support the needs of these conservation organizations. As an alumni of the UNH Innovations I-Corps Training Program, Malin has continued to bring incredible creativity Nature Groupie and all of UNH Extension. Malin is also now teaching a graduate level course called ``Fundamental of Citizen & Community Science``, through which she is teaching the next generation how to engage the community in science research. The course focuses on best practices for effective projects and teams and include topics such as volunteer engagement, methods for data sharing, and issues of social justice in citizen science.
Dana Pierce: University of New Hampshire at Manchester
Communication and Events Coordinator
Dana is dedicated and committed to operating the UNHM Food Pantry and expanding fresh and frozen food options for our campus community to ensure that everyone has access to nutritious and accessible food and personal hygiene options.
Tamara Roberge: White Mountains Community College
Coordinator of Workforce Development and Community Education
Tamara is the Coordinator of Workforce Development and Community Education at White Mountains Community College, Tamara does it all. Tamara organizes training for community partners, applies for and manages grants, and is an integral member of the campus community. Some of Tamara's recent work has infused student scholarship into the college through her organizing of the annual ``Golfing the Gap`` benefit golf tournament. Tamara is extremely visible in the community through her attendance at local events and service on the Mount Washington Valley Economic Council Board, Coos Economic Development Corporation Board, and her role in the Comprehensive Economic Development Strategy Committee in the north country. Tamara has also been instrumental in exposing young learners to the many career options at WMCC through ``junior`` programs in welding and culinary arts, as well as organizing summer camps. Tamara is a true asset to WMCC and the greater community.