A gathering of ideas and action

In the fourth ACU and DePaul Conference on Community Engagement and Service-Learning: Preparing Educated Citizens during Uncertain Times, we focused on community engagement and service-learning as activities that could engage our students for a lifetime of actions that would strengthen our democracies and serve the common good.

During the conference, we considered how community engagement and service-learning could be enacted in a way that was politically engaged and impactful with universities, communities, and governments. This focus was undertaken with the recognition of uncertain times characterised by political polarisation and rising tensions within our national contexts.

Conference sub-themes

  • CE/SL and political engagement of our students through various lenses and in diverse community contexts (e.g., Race and ethnicity, Faith-based institutions, First Nations peoples, and Migrant and refugee communities)
  • CE/SL and supporting student wellbeing - including safety and security - in challenging times
  • Care for our Common Home: CE/SL, Laudato Si / Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) Laudato Si, and the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs)
  • CE/SL research for advocacy and impact
"Our fourth biennial conference focused on preparing educated citizens during uncertain times and this was fitting given the current world climate. I'm incredibly proud of our collaboration with DePaul and the space that was created for knowledge sharing and co-creation. The energy was infectious and delegates came away with enhanced motivation and ideas for utilising community engagement as a pedagogy, methodology, and way of working with community for the public good."
Dr Matthew Pink
Head of ACU Engagement

Hear from our keynote speakers


Kelly Humphrey

Kelly Humphrey, Pro Vice-Chancellor (Indigenous) at ACU, shares her keynote "Walking at the Speed of Trust".

Judith McCray

Judith McCray, multiple Emmy-winning journalist, filmmaker, and media activist, delivers her keynote "Challenging & Changing Journalism's Status Quo".

View conference program

Click here

Presentations

Keynotes

Too often conventional journalism covers communities of color and other marginalized groups with bias, infrequency, and little connection with those communities. More disturbing is that the actions of real people of color making real change in their neighborhoods and lives are ignored in the media. Even worse are portrayals that people of color lack the agency to address the wrongs and find solutions that empower residents and improves conditions. And when covered, these stories are told from outside, not inside, the community. New directions in journalism recognize the importance of connecting and engaging with diverse communities to listen, build trust, and develop stories that include their voices and perspectives. Often termed collaborative, engaged, participatory and/or hyperlocal journalism, these initiatives reach into communities to better address social, racial, cultural and environmental issues impacting them. The Social Justice Reporting practicum is a two-quarter course that provides students hands-on experience collaborating with Chicago-area community-based organizations and communities of color to conduct primary source research, develop, produce and distribute media addressing social justice and equity, and community empowerment. The resulting stories of individual empowerment and neighborhood transformations are distributed on the podcast documentary series, Change Agents. This session will explore the best practices used to engage students to collaborate with community members and organizers to:

  • build trust
  • identify, develop and vet primary sources
  • authentically reflect the voices and perspectives of residents in communities of color while using journalistic principles and integrity
 
photo of Judith McCray

 

 Judith McCray is a multiple Emmy-winning journalist, filmmaker, and media activist with over 30 years' experience in public broadcasting and independent documentary production. She has worked with stations including WNET/New York, WTTW and WBEZ/Chicago, and WSIU/Carbondale, producing films for PBS and national public television that explore social justice themes. Her passion for finding the "ah-hah" moment in every story-one that can inspire and compel deeper understanding-has taken her to Sudan, Egypt, Kenya, Switzerland, Brazil and across the U.S., uncovering hidden truths and amplifying unheard, often overlooked voices. Raised on a family farm in Iowa by a grandfather who fled Jim Crow-era Mississippi, McCray has long used media to advocate for equity and change. She received the 2023 Leaders for a New Chicago award and currently serves as Senior Professional in Residence at DePaul University, where she teaches journalism and advises the NABJ student chapter. She holds a BSc from Northwestern University and an MA from Rutgers

 
photo of Kelly Humphrey

 

Pro Vice-Chancellor (Indigenous)

Kelly Humphrey is the inaugural Pro Vice-Chancellor (Indigenous) at Australian Catholic University (ACU). Kelly is a proud Gomeroi woman who is deeply committed to supporting Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples in achieving their chosen futures. With degrees in Education and Theology, Kelly has developed a strong foundation in teaching, Aboriginal education, educational policy and leadership within Catholic and Public school systems. Her research, which focuses on Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander school leaders and leadership, reflects her dedication to advancing Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander educational leadership. Kelly has lived in rural and regional areas for most of her career. She has an engaging approach to strengthening connections with regional areas and being responsive to and supportive of diverse communities.

Theme: Community Engagement, Service-Learning and the Political Engagement of our Students

Chicago's longstanding sanctuary city status through its Welcoming City ordinance underscores its support for immigrants. Current anti-immigrant policies challenge this status and continue to limit resources, especially for newly arrived migrants. Despite these challenges, community solidarity and youth engagement continue to find ways to provide support to immigrant youth and their families. Without a doubt, youth has been active in these efforts; however, parallel conversations need to happen so that college students who support or intend to support immigrants, especially in education spaces, better understand the immigrant journey, recognize the root causes of immigration, push their cultural competence, and seize on the assets immigrant children and youth bring into education spaces. Understanding this complexity and joining the youth’s talents and voices in developing integral strategies can propel migrant inclusion in Chicago's urban education landscape. This presentation will share insights into the Egan Office for Urban Education and Community Partnerships Urban Schools Initiative and its connection to the Identities Abroad LSP 200: Youth Migration and Public Education course. It will explore the educational experiences of immigrant families in the U.S. and Mexican schools. Drawing from collective experiences and student reflections, participants will engage in meaningful dialogue and hands-on activities about harnessing local knowledge, cultural values, and networks that create pathways for migrant inclusion in urban education.

 
Associate Director, Egan Office for Urban Education and Community Partnerships, Irwin W. Steans Center at DePaul University

Dr. Mónica Haydeé Ramos is the Associate Director of the Egan Office for Urban Education and Community Partnerships at the Irwin W. Steans Center at DePaul University. She oversees school-based partnerships, family engagement, and community partner internships. Additionally, she collaborates with faculty in service-learning courses that connect their coursework with urban education. She is an adjunct professor in the Community Service Studies minor and Latin-American and Latino Studies in the College of Liberal Arts and Sciences and the College of Education at DePaul University. 

Dr. Ramos received a Fulbright International Education Administrators (IEA) award and a UNESCO CONFINTEA fellowship. At UNESCO, she researched intergenerational learning in immigrant communities and contributed to the publication Learning Together Across Generations: Guidelines for Family Literacy and Learning Programs. She is an active member of UNISERVITATE, a global network of community engagement practitioners in higher education, and CLAYSS, the Latin-American Center for Service Learning and Solidarity.  

People in incarceration represent one of the most socially and economically marginalised people in Australia, with higher rates of mental health, physical health, and disability challenges than the general population. Additionally, demographics data highlights that 60% of people incarcerated in Australia, are not functionally literate, and over half of this population are unemployed upon incarceration, with the majority receiving government benefits.

A growing body of international research supports the benefits of higher education for people incarcerated. However, Australian corrective service institutions tend to prioritise vocational training programs, particularly for those approaching release. When available, higher education programs are often offered as individual, self-directed models of learning, lacking intellectual interaction, social connection and study skills assistance. Now delivering its third unit of an accredited Certificate of Liberal Arts, this presentation reports on the Parklea Clemente pilot program as an emerging initiative designed and facilitated in partnership between Management & Training Corporation (MTC) Pty Ltd and the Australian Catholic University Clemente Australia program. It documents key learnings in how a face-to-face, group learning program can be delivered within a corrections centre environment, building a non-judgemental community and culture that values aspirational education, enables collaborative learning, encourages the forming of study support networks and improves relationships with people both internal and external to Parklea. Finally, the presentation presents early reflections, findings and learnings from students, volunteer learning partners, lecturers, correctional centre staff and ACU.

 
 
ACU Coordinator, Clemente Australia 
Nyree holds a Master of Clinical Psychology degree and has worked in mental health and suicide prevention for over a decade in clinical, research, and project management roles across primary care, acute mental health, suicide prevention and community health sectors. Nyree led a lived experience team at the Black Dog Institute, advocating for the perspectives and voices of people with lived experiences of mental health challenges, by focusing on systems and cultural change to reshape how ‘knowledge’ is defined,  and how services are designed and delivered.   

Nyree joined ACU on the Clemente program in late 2023, inspired by the University’s ethos on the “pursuit of knowledge, the dignity of the human person and the common good”. She currently is the Clemente Coordinator for the program delivered at Parklea Correctional Centre, and Mission Australia Community Services. Nyree draws from her experience and knowledge to create safe, supportive and effective learning spaces for   students to continue to learn and find their place and value, in their academic pursuits.  
 
Brian Gurney, MTC Deputy Governor 
Brian’s career in corrections has spanned over 28 years. Brian has risen through the ranks to become General Manager at Parklea, having had many varied experiences along the way through a dozen correctional centres and specialised intelligence and security units. Whilst his career has been spent as a custodial correctional officer, responsible for the safety and security of correctional centres and management of staff and inmates, Brian has always taken an interest in inmate welfare, development and programs. Brian has been able to experience the positive effect on offenders in custody being able to improve themselves and address their offending behaviour through programs and education.  

In August 2022, Brian joined MTC Parklea, attracted to the innovation privately managed correctional centres can employ. One of those innovations is the Clemente Program delivered in partnership with the Australian Catholic University. MTC began in the USA over 40 years ago with the vision of assisting people improve their lives, an ethos Brian shares. Though a correctional officer by “trade”, Brian has always been a large supporter of offenders through safe, decent and respectful interactions and support of programs such as Clemente to help inmates avoid returning to custody.  

In keeping with the conference sub-themes, this proposal examines the political engagement of incarcerated students through the lenses of literal and legal constraints, and examines their efforts to amplify the political voices of imprisoned and re-entering communities.

Under the concept of “civil death,” virtually all who are convicted of a felony in the U.S. are automatically stripped of the right to vote during their incarceration, and many states extend that limitation after release. Currently, about 4 million Americans are ineligible to vote due to such laws. Moreover, broad variation in these laws contributes to rampant misinformation about voter eligibility—unfortunately, to the point that citizens with a felony record who are eligible to vote often do not vote for fear of running afoul of them. Such circumstances are tantamount to voter suppression. They also contribute to scholarly conclusions that people with a felony record are politically apathetic. Indeed, most studies of political agency among such individuals do not directly engage with them.

And despite ample documentation of confusion around felony status and voter eligibility, few studies consider the fundamental question of whether formerly incarcerated individuals are even aware of their eligibility. Formal scholarship, particularly in political science, thus tends to overlook successful and inspiring evidence of civic engagement among currently and formerly incarcerated individuals. This presentation will highlight such engagement, particularly their advocacy of civic education. It will argue that studies of voting and representation can and must be enriched by centering the expertise of system-impacted individuals.

 
 
Associate Professor of Political Science, DePaul University

Christina Rivers is an Associate Professor of Political Science at DePaul University. She is the author of The Congressional Black Caucus, Minority Voting Rights, and the U.S. Supreme Court, and has written about ballot access for pretrial detainees, felony disenfranchisement laws, and prison-based gerrymanders. From 2016-2024 she taught at Stateville Correctional Center as part of DePaul's Inside-Out Prison Exchange program and coordinated a law & policy think-tank. There, she collaborated with her incarcerated students in writing the Re-Entering Citizens Civic Education Act, which mandates voter & civic education as part of the exit process from Illinois' prisons. She also volunteers with voter access and education for eligible voters at Cook County jail, serves on the "Freedom to Learn" campaign to expand college programming in Illinois prisons, and directs the DePaul Institute for Restorative Educational Engagement, which seeks to enhance academic and civic programming for incarcerated students and their communities.

"This interactive workshop explores the importance of relationships as the foundation of transformative community engagement. Guided by Asset-Based Community Development (ABCD), we share how DePaul University's Steans Center and Egan Office collaborate with faculty, staff, students, and community partners to preserve and amplify neighborhood histories.

Using North Lawndale as a case study, we reflect on how long-standing partnerships help us break down institutional silos and function as a collective resource for community-driven goals. Our model goes beyond transactional engagement to co-create space for intergenerational storytelling, historical archiving, and community-defined narratives.

In an era when histories are increasingly removed from curricula and public discourse, relational preservation is a powerful tool for justice and cultural sustainability. Documenting community stories strengthens student learning, deepens faculty engagement, and reinforces institutional accountability to the neighborhoods we serve. It also prepares students to become civic actors by connecting them to place, people, and purpose. Participants will: Learn strategies for fostering interdepartmental collaboration rooted in ABCD and shared values Explore ways to engage students in story collection and historical archiving Reflect on their own institutional and community relationships to uncover new engagement pathways The session will feature stories from North Lawndale, an institutional relationship-mapping activity, and a collective discussion on how storytelling can serve as both method and mission in community-engaged scholarship. Themes Addressed: CE/SL and political engagement through place-based narratives CE/SL research for advocacy and historical preservation CE/SL as a collaborative practice across institutions and communities Technology and storytelling for cultural memory"

 
 
Associate Director of Academic Service Learning, DePaul University’s Steans Center

Miranda Standberry-Wallace is an educator, community strategist, and systems builder with over 17 years of experience advancing equity through university-community partnerships, nonprofit leadership, and place-based entrepreneurship. She serves as Associate Director of Academic Service Learning at DePaul University’s Steans Center, where she leads initiatives that connect students, faculty, and community partners to co-create solutions rooted in asset-based development and social justice. 

Miranda brings a uniquely grounded perspective on how academic institutions can serve as catalysts for community-led change in a technology-driven society. She holds dual Master’s degrees in Business and Information Technology and is currently pursuing a PhD in Educational Leadership at DePaul’s College of Education. 

As a community practitioner and master collaborator, Miranda specializes in elevating the role of social capital in sustainable development. She integrates artificial intelligence into entrepreneurship training programs—equipping local business owners with tools to increase capacity, preserve cultural identity, and circulate dollars within local economies, while also building pathways to global markets. Her work champions storytelling as both a business strategy and a method for deep relationship-building across academic, civic, and grassroots spaces. 

A 2025 Chicago Peace Fellow and board member of the United Evangelistic Consulting Association, Miranda’s leadership reflects a globally informed, community-rooted model for equity, collaboration, and sustainability—amplified by the Vincentian values and mission of DePaul University, her home institution.  

 
 
Director, DePaul University Egan Office of Urban Education

Professor John Zeigler is Director of DePaul University Egan Office of Urban Education and He believes in the power of building effective networks and creating opportunities for community partners to share their practices, promising ideas, and challenges to create impact. His work is rooted in the belief that if we create the right environments people will organize together and solve their own problems. He works with local leaders to assess the opportunities and needs that can be addressed by leveraging internal resources with external investment. He is an Asset Based Community Development and Shannon Institute Fellow. While director of the Egan Urban Center he was awarded the Gandhi, King, Ikeda: A Legacy of Building Peace award given by Morehouse College in Atlanta Georgia. John has been awarded the Peace Corp’s Loret Miller Ruppe Award for Outstanding Community Service, Young Chicago Authors Wallace Douglas Distinguished Service Award, and the State of Illinois, “Everyday Hero”.  

This paper explores the millennium-long history of the Order of Malta as a living tradition of service grounded in the defence of human dignity. Established in Jerusalem before the First Crusade and formally recognised in 1113, the Order of Malta represents one of the oldest continuous institutions of Christian charitable care. From its medieval origins in the treatment of pilgrims and the poor, to its evolution into a global humanitarian presence, the Order offers a historically rich model of service that remains deeply relevant in the modern world. Drawing on archival and historical research as well as contemporary community-engaged programs developed in partnership with Australian Catholic University (ACU), this presentation examines how the Order’s foundational commitment to the sick, the poor, and the marginalised has been translated into practical action across centuries. At the heart of this tradition lies a profound concern for the inherent dignity of the human person: a principle that underpins both the Order’s past and its ongoing mission today. The paper also reflects on how the Order’s historical legacy can shape the formation of university students engaged in service-learning, particularly within faith-based institutions and in migrant and refugee communities. As a scholar and former refugee child whose arrival in Australia was precipitated by Soviet-sponsored violence, I offer a personal perspective on how the Order’s history speaks to the experience of displacement and the ethical imperative of care. In doing so, I argue for a historically grounded, human dignity-centred approach to community engagement in uncertain times.

 
Campus Dean (Canberra), ACU

Assoc. Prof Darius von Güttner Sporzynski (Australian Catholic University, Canberra), Fellow of the Royal Historical Society (UK), is an Australian historian specialising in the political, religious, and cultural history of Central Europe from the Middle Ages to the modern era. His research examines the transmission of ideas, identity formation, dynastic politics, and the exercise of power, with a particular focus on women. He is the editor of The Jagiellon Dynasty, 1386–1596: Politics, Culture, Diplomacy (Brepols, 2025) and is currently preparing ACU’s pioneering Order of Malta formation project, designing the first global micro-credential that fuses the Order’s history, spirituality and service. 

Military-affiliated families undergoing transitions—whether through relocation, deployment, or separation from service—face complex challenges that affect their emotional, social, and structural well-being. Communities play a vital role in supporting these families through three interrelated functions: practitioner, partner, and practice. Grounded in an Asset-Based Community Engagement (ABCE) framework, this approach emphasizes the strengths, capacities, and cultural wealth embedded within communities that support military families.

As practitioners, communities mobilize local expertise, peer networks, and service providers to meet transitional needs. As partners, they engage in reciprocal collaboration with families and institutions to co-design responsive and inclusive systems. As practice, communities embody values of resilience, inclusion, and cultural competence through sustained, place-based efforts. Recognizing and investing in these community assets is essential for fostering long-term well-being and empowerment among transitioning military-affiliated families. From this perspective, the Multi-Faith Veteran Initiative (MVI) creates community hubs that serve as centralized access points for service members and their families, providing holistic, culturally responsive, and spiritually inclusive support.

 
Founder and Director, Multi-Faith Veterans Initiative (MVI), DePaul University’s Egan Office of Urban Education and Community Partnerships

Walidah G. Bennett is the Founder and Director of the Multi-Faith Veterans Initiative (MVI) at DePaul University’s Egan Office of Urban Education and Community Partnerships. Through MVI, she collaborates with faith-based and community organizations to support veterans and their families by building community-based circles of support and fostering partnerships with behavioral health providers. A strong advocate for community-driven change, Bennett has held executive roles in mental health, child welfare, and women’s international policy. She serves on the City of Chicago Commission of Veteran Affairs and the State of Illinois Governor’s Challenge Veterans Suicide Prevention task force. Bennett holds degrees from Northeastern Illinois University, professional certificates from the University of Chicago, and a certification in Trauma and Resilience. Bennett is recognized in Who’s Who of the World’s Women and 2000 Notable Women.

In uncertain times marked by deepening political polarisation and social fragmentation, universities have a critical role to play in fostering educated citizens who are equipped to strengthen democracy and serve the common good. This discussion explores the intersections of community engagement/service-learning (CE/SL) and political engagement through a hands-on approach rooted in community organizing principles.

Framed by traditions such as Asset-Based Community Development (ABCD), emergent strategy, and grassroots organizing, the workshop will guide participants through an experiential learning process. Attendees will identify pressing social issues through collaborative dialogue, drawing on their own lived experiences and the diverse communities they serve. Drawing from tools inspired by Roots for Radicals, Audre Lorde, and Emergent Strategy, each group will develop an actionable response to their chosen issue. This structured yet open-ended format invites critical reflection on the temptations of gatekeeping and the possibilities of collective power. The session concludes with a reflective discussion on how this community organizing framework can be embedded in CE/SL curricula to sustain long-term civic and political engagement. In doing so, we explore how service-learning can move beyond charity to solidarity, and how universities and community leaders can serve as beacons of hope, action, and transformation. Community leaders, faculty, staff and students are invited to join us and participate in this mission and issue - focused discussion and activity.

 
Master’s in Public Policy candidate, DePaul University

David Pintor was born and raised in Chicago, IL, and brings over 18 years of experience in community engagement throughout the city. He is currently a Master’s in Public Policy candidate at DePaul University, where he previously earned his BA in Sociology after beginning his undergraduate studies at Carleton College in Minnesota. David’s professional journey has been deeply rooted in equity, education, and grassroots building. He has served as a Program Manager at DePaul’s Steans Center since 2019, where he cultivates university-community partnerships and strengthens student community engagement. His diverse background includes roles in community organizing, nonprofit management, anti-oppression training, and work as a teaching artist. Outside of his professional life, David enjoys collecting vinyl records, spending time with his two dogs, Cacahuate and Frijol, and never turns down a plate of chilaquiles. 
 
 
Community Development Program Manager, DePaul's Steans Center for Community-based Service Learning

Kaliah Liggons is the Community Development Program Manager at DePaul's Steans Center for Community-based Service Learning. Kaliah graduated from DePaul University with a Master of Public Administration degree. She currently holds a B.A. in Sociology and a B.A. in Criminology and Criminal Justice from Southern Illinois University in Carbondale, IL. Some of her social interests include educational reform, youth advocacy and food and housing insecurity. Kaliah enjoys traveling and exploring diverse cultures, live music, culinary experiences and learning, often referring to herself as a life learner. 

Theme: Community Engagement, Service-Learning and Care for our Common Home

This abstract outlines an international partnership between occupational therapy (OT) programs at DePaul University and Catholic University of Santo Domingo in the Dominican Republic grounded in an asset-based capacity building approach. By focusing on the strengths and resources of each participating institution, the partnership aims to foster mutual growth, knowledge exchange, and sustainable development between programs. Students from DePaul University have the opportunity to work and learn alongside Dominican OT faculty and students. Students visit several sites where OTs work in the DR including a large rehabilitation hospital, a pediatric clinic, a mental health clinic, and a community center serving the needs of the aging population. DePaul OT students work together with Dominican OT students to discuss the similarities and differences in the way people with disabilities access OT between the two countries. One day is dedicated to sharing community-based practices from each geographic location. Through active community engaged learning, readings, and guided discussions, students reflect on the social, political, economic, and political influences on health, disability, and healthcare. Students also learn about the Dominican Republic through historical and culturally relevant experiences such as the Colonial Zone, an Art and History museum, and a visit to a Haitian community. Upon return, students complete an assignment identified in collaboration with the DR OT community to help build capacity for OT in the Dominican Republic. Examples of these assignments will be shared.

 

 

Founding director, Master of Occupational Therapy program, DePaul University

Dr. Kate Barrett joined DePaul University in the Fall of 2019 as the founding director of the Master of Occupational Therapy program. Building on the mission of DePaul University, she developed a community-engaged curriculum in which each occupational therapy student is paired with a community partner for the duration of their didactic curriculum.  

Her primary areas of interest include global health, immigrants & refugees, and integrating skills for cultural fluency into health care education. She serves on the Haiti Rehabilitation Foundation academic committee and has taught courses in the first occupational therapy baccalaureate program in Haiti at the Episcopal University of Haiti. Over the past 30 years, she has partnered with organizations in Peru, Ecuador, Haiti, and the Dominican Republic to build relationships and learning experiences that support the growth of the profession globally.  

  

Since 2021, Australian Catholic University (ACU) and the Order of Malta have partnered to progress community-engaged initiatives through the Order of Malta & ACU Community Hub (Hub). Guided by Catholic Social Thought, this partnership draws on community and organisational strengths to deliver meaningful, place-based projects in the culturally diverse City of Darebin, Victoria.

Food insecurity was identified as a priority, with up to 9% of residents in some Darebin suburbs reporting food stress (Darebin City Council, 2022). In response, the Hub collaborated with ACU’s School of Behavioural and Health Sciences, Nutrition and Dietetic Team, to investigate opportunities for a collaborative capacity building initiative. Master of Dietetic Practice (MDP) students used theoretical, evidence-based processes to investigate local needs and opportunities for food literacy initiatives to build community food security. Consultations with 16 organisations and a range of community members/groups were carried out to identify key priorities and explore opportunities to partner. Through collaboration with three community partners, including community health, food relief, local primary school - a shared priority emerged: building food literacy among culturally diverse families with school-aged children. Partner agencies and MDP students collaboratively designed and delivered food literacy sessions that aimed to build food skills, promote healthy eating on a budget, and strengthen social connections.

This presentation shares the framework and process that underpinned our partnership approach. It will reflect on our shared learnings as partners and the value of collaborative decision-making in shaping our future collaborations in community capacity building. It illustrates how community-led, place-based approaches can align with Sustainable Development Goals, particularly SDG 2 (Zero Hunger) and SDG 17 (Partnerships for the Goal), to build responsive and sustainable solutions to local food insecurity.

 
 
Accredited Practising Dietitian (APD), Lecturer at Australian Catholic University (ACU)

Jessica Malcolm is an Accredited Practising Dietitian (APD) and lecturer at Australian Catholic University (ACU), dedicated to advancing education innovation in nutrition and dietetics. With extensive experience working alongside schools, community organisations, and government agencies, she designs collaborative initiatives that improve nutritional outcomes across diverse population groups. Her work spans settings that support people of all ages, backgrounds, and health needs. 

In her role at ACU, Jessica coordinates units within the Bachelor of Nutrition Science and Master of Dietetic Practice programs, integrating public health, community nutrition, and culinary nutrition into curriculum design. She champions experiential and community-engaged learning, creating meaningful, practice-based opportunities that develop socially responsible, adaptive, and future-focused graduates.  

 

 
Program Coordinator, Order of Malta & ACU Community Hub ACU Engagement

Anna joined the ACU Engagement team in 2021. She has a strong background in program and project management across not-for-profit and major events sectors working with a wide range of groups, including veterans, elite athletes, corporate teams, and school students. Anna established the Order of Malta and ACU Community Hub in 2022, which operates within the Darebin LGA in Melbourne. The Hub facilitates place-based programs leveraging the skills and expertise of community members, ACU staff & students, and Members of the Order of Malta, to improve social, mental and physical health and wellbeing outcomes of people experiencing disadvantage and marginalisation.

In today’s rapidly evolving world, building community partnerships within a diverse community is essential for addressing systemic challenges and fostering innovative solutions. This workshop, ""Building Community Partnerships within a diverse Community: Bringing Solutions, Ideas, and Disruptive Innovation,"" invites participants to explore the power of collaboration and the value of diverse perspectives. Attendees will learn how to create effective community partnership networking groups that not only enhance visibility and empowerment but also drive impactful change for our common good and shared interconnectedness. Through this discussion and interactive session, we will delve into the strategies for defining a group’s shared responsibility and engaging community, establishing communication channels, and fostering a culture of innovation. Real-life scenarios will showcase successful networking efforts that have led to transformative ideas within the community. Participants will be encouraged to share their own experiences, challenges, and innovative solutions, creating a rich dialogue that uplifts collective knowledge and creativity. This session aims to inspire attendees to take actionable steps toward building or enhancing their own community partnerships. Together, we will address pressing issues and unlock the potential for disruptive innovation, ensuring a brighter, more inclusive future. Join us to be the catalyst for change!

 
Advocate, Author, and Change-Maker, DePaul University
With a Bachelor of Arts in Organizational Communications and a Master of Science in Public Administration Management from DePaul University, Monique currently serves as a Service Program Manager in the Steans Center. Her background spans from a leadership role in marketing in the oil and gas industry to serving as the Director of Partnerships at a Chicago area Catholic High School. Where she made significant strides in enhancing student experiences. 

She is an award winning children’s author and the founder of a nonprofit organization where her advocacy is centered on empowering women and children, particularly in disadvantaged communities. Her community engagement over the past 15 years has centered on promoting maternal health care, access to early childhood education, creating initiatives that address critical issues faced by mothers and their children and advocating for underrepresented communities.  

Throughout her career, she been deeply committed to fostering environments where women and children can thrive. She believes in the power of education and community support as tools for transformation. By collaborating with various organizations and advocating for policies that support women, children and communities of color, she strives to make a meaningful impact globally.   

This presentation will showcase iGEN Learning, a partnership between Catherine McAuley College Bendigo, Mercy Health and Australian Catholic University that brings together Year 10 students and aged care residents in an engaging, meaningful program. Since 2020, over 850 students have participated in the semester-long, curriculum-based program, which includes educational training modules, individualised projects and reflective practices. By embedding iGEN in both the College curriculum and lifestyle program at the home, we have ensured our communities have a strong and sustainable partnership. The input from ACU has been invaluable in shaping a program which is looking to expand within the vast Mercy network. The benefits from participation are immense. Students see improved communication skills that overflow into their part-time jobs and general life; awareness and empathy towards the older generation; and for some a desire to work in the aged care or health space. Residents share their wisdom with students around career and life advice and enjoy being part of the school community, which all leads to increased sense of purpose and quality of life. iGEN pivoted to virtual connections through COVID isolations and given the success of this, has maintained a virtual program with other homes since. ACU are assisting to measure program outcomes and also identify factors that contribute to the successfulness of the iGEN program. Together, we are addressing a gap in international literature on intergenerational programs with teenagers. As a partnership, we are enhancing lives, while giving students invaluable life skills and often, a direction into healthcare.
 
   
Project Coordinator, Mercy Health

Ellen is an experienced physiotherapist who embraces new challenges, including establishing the primary contact physiotherapy role in the Emergency Department at Bendigo Health. She enthusiastically joined the iGEN program when the opportunity arose in 2019 and has since played a pivotal role in its leadership. Ellen has been instrumental in guiding the intergenerational program through its early development, the challenges of the COVID-19 pandemic, and its continued growth and refinement. Her visible passion for iGEN is fuelled by the joy of witnessing meaningful relationships form between students and residents, and the benefits for all involved. Ellen has also supported the ACU research team in collecting data on the program, aiming to deliver the best possible experience for all participants while contributing to the broader research base on intergenerational programs involving teenagers. 
 
Colin Hogan
iGEN Director at Catherine McAuley College Bendigo

Colin is an experienced and passionate secondary teacher at Catherine McAuley College in Bendigo, Victoria. With extensive pastoral leadership experience across various year levels and structures within the College, he transitioned into a leadership role within the iGEN Learning program to further support students’ personal development. Colin has actively pursued the growth of the iGEN program, both within his school and across other Mercy Education and affiliated Colleges. Through his involvement and leadership in the program, he has collaborated with the ACU and GrandSchools research teams, and engaged in professional dialogue on the field of intergenerational learning, recognising its value in fostering meaningful, collaborative, and constructive connections between students and others in the community. 

Theme: Community Engagement, Service-Learning and Curriculum Development

Health professional education is often focussed on discipline- specific content. Whilst focus on direct, person-centred clinical practice is very important, it is also acknowledged in professional standards that allied health practitioners must consider the broader context in which they work (Speech Pathology Australia, 2020, Occupational Therapy Board Australia, 2018, Australian Association of Social Workers, 2023). In a rapidly changing world, an understanding of global considerations and how they impact healthcare delivery, particularly at a community level, can offer useful learnings for future graduate practice. In 2022, the School of Allied Health was successful in the approval of a new, interprofessional subject to be undertaken on the Australian Catholic University Rome campus. This subject (ALHT420: Global perspectives of community-centred practice) would focus on facilitating student understanding of working with communities in a global, interprofessional context. Students from occupational therapy, speech pathology and social work undergraduate degrees would be eligible to apply. The subject content and assessment supports students to reflect on how learnings from this international experience may prepare them as educated, future-ready health professionals and global citizens. This presentation will present how the subject was developed, discuss learning objectives and assessment, and reflect on implementation to date, including feedback from stakeholders. Future areas of consideration will be presented.
 
 
Assistant Deputy Head, School of Allied Health, ACU

Michelle is the Assistant Deputy Head in the School of Allied Health, based in Melbourne. Michelle is the Speech Pathology lead for CE, and has recently commenced a lead role for the School of Allied Health. She is the National Lecturer in Charge of the third year Speech Pathology unit Community Development, Public Health and Speech Pathology, and also supports the teaching team who deliver the first year unit Communication and Development Across the Lifespan. Michelle is interested in understanding how best to support students and staff when working with communities, and how we can engage in community experiences to develop well-rounded, civic-minded health professionals.  

 
 

This study investigates the impacts of Project Tanaw, an arts-and-design-based Service-Learning (S-L) project by Interior Design students of De La Salle-College of Saint Benilde (DLS-CSB). “Tanaw,” meaning sight, demonstrates the transformational potential of creative fields by rejuvenating the Enhanced Learning Resource Center (ELRC), a library for visually impaired students of the Philippine National School for the Blind (PNSB). Using a Theory of Change (ToC) framework, the study combines inputs, activities, outputs, outcomes, and impacts to evaluate its impact through mixed-methods design.

The findings show significant benefits for all stakeholders. Students developed empathetic design acumen, increased leadership skills, deepened community engagement, and acquired stronger technical competencies. Educators enhanced their teaching methodologies and adopted more integrative mentorship strategies. With the newly renovated ELRC, PNSB faculty and students experienced heightened awareness, and renewed commitment to learning. The broader community benefited from the innovations in accessibility design and a sustainable arts-based Service-Learning framework. The ELRC's spatial planning, lighting and color combination, and tactile surfaces highlight the Interior Design project's enduring impact to the visually challenged stakeholders. Furthermore, the effects of Project Tanaw went beyond its immediate outcomes, serving as an inspiration to succeeding projects not only of the Interior Design program but also of other DLS-CSB programs and even Uniservitate network of schools, promoting a sustainable culture and amplifying its ripple effects. The findings can benefit administrators, decision-makers, and educators in the roles they play in enhancing the S-L programs and curriculum reforms in higher education.

   
Architect and Environmental Planner, De La Salle-College of Saint Benilde

Dottie Asela D. Domingo is a licensed Architect and Environmental Planner. In 2010, she joined De La Salle-College of Saint Benilde as a pioneering faculty member of its Architecture Program. In 2015, she was chosen to be OIC Associate Dean. A year after, she was appointed Dean for the School of Design and Arts handling thirteen Degree Programs. Under her 8-year Deanship, she has stabilized its school operations, sustained its growth even during pandemic, and spearheaded its strategic spin-off into 3 new schools. Currently, she is serving as Special Assistant to the Vice Chancellor of Academics. She is also recently appointed as Commission on Higher Education (CHED) Architecture Technical Panel member.

Prior to joining Benilde, Arch. Asela had years of corporate practice in different real-estate companies, Ayala Land, Landco Pacific, and Phinma Properties. She completed her Architectural degree in UP Diliman and her MBA in Ateneo Graduate School of Business.

This presentation reports on the learnings gained from leading an educational program addressing participation issues for deaf people in Solomon Islands (SI). Deafness is one of the most common disabilities in SI, with causes linked to high levels of poverty-related and often preventable diseases such as meningitis, rubella, and otitis media. Community attitudes, and children and parents’ fears of discrimination impact access to education and other aspects of inclusion in society. This project, co-designed by an Australian academic and SI educators attempted to respond to these and other concerns by providing deaf language and deaf culture training in SI schools and communities. Three project phases involving 1) training of deaf and hearing sign language trainers; 2) delivery of basic sign language training in rural communities, and 3) a Certificate of Learning and Teaching were implemented in 2022-2023. A total of 902 participants were involved across the three phases. ACU pre-service teachers supported the program, acting as tutors to assist with coursework, teaching, and assessment support for SI students enrolled in the Phase 3 Certificate. We report here the service learning element of the project design, findings from the project including the impact of deaf training on communities, and the insights of the academics and tutors who delivered the Certificate. Challenges of navigating cultural differences, learning preferences, and the impact of bearing witness to profound disadvantage will be discussed. Recommendations from these learnings provide a guide for meaningful service learning in international contexts.

   

Senior Fellow, Higher Education Academy and the international community engagement coordinator, National School of Education, Australian Catholic University

Associate Professor Mellita Jones is a Senior Fellow of the Higher Education Academy and the international community engagement coordinator for the National School of Education at Australian Catholic University. Her international community engagement work has involved research, teacher professional learning, and leadership of ACU pre-service teacher immersion programs across a number of countries in the Asia-Pacific region including Brunei Darussalam, Kiribati, Timor Leste, and Solomon Islands. Her research is concerned with effective teacher education for a socially just world. She achieves this through both her international work and in science teacher education where her initial qualifications lie. Mellita has won a number of teaching excellence and community engagement awards, including an Australian Government Citation for Outstanding Contribution to Student Learning, the International Uniservitate Award for Service Learning in the Asia-Pacific region, and an Order of Australia Medal for service to education. She has also reviewed and written teacher education units for UNESCO’s teacher education program for the Pacific region. Mellita currently serves on the Executive committee for the World Federation of Associations of Teacher Education (WFATE). 
   
Sarah Grosse (nee Evans-Malone), ACU Alumni

Sarah Grosse is a past ACU student, now teacher, who is passionate about fostering culturally inclusive environments through curiosity and creativity. Alongside advocating and accomplishing curriculum reform for ACARA, Sarah has explored cross-cultural experiences through her time in the Solomon Islands. Here she worked with both students and teachers to create classrooms that are culturally informed, including assisting in implementing a sign language initiative that expanded inclusive practices across the Solomon Islands. Sarah also has a background in the performing arts and formerly worked as a choreographer for K-12 school productions.
 
Alice Plummer, ACU Alumni

Graduated from ACU 2024 with a Bachelor’s degree in Education (Primary and Special Education), Alice is currently teaching in an inclusive education context in NSW. Alice participated in two mission-oriented trips to the Solomon Islands to support the teaching and learning of primary aged students, as well as a university course. Her experiences working with children and adults of all abilities both in Australia and overseas have inspired a passion for equity in education. 

This session will describe the Asset-Based Community Development (ABCD) framework and how it can inform occupational therapy practice and curriculum development. We will describe how the ABCD framework shaped community partnership opportunities within an occupational therapy curriculum and how it is embedded within the curriculum. The Asset Based Community Development (ABCD) approach is a helpful framework for developing strong and intentional community partnerships. Specific courses, assignments, and learning objectives associated with the community partnership experiences will be shared. Community-based experiences provide opportunities for OT students to develop a variety of interpersonal and clinical skills and also support classroom learning. True partnerships within the community help students engage in learning with and from community partners, building upon students’ ability to listen to the voices of the community, think critically, question assumptions, live with ambiguity, communicate effectively, build relationships, respond in culturally responsive ways, and act ethically.

 

 

Founding director, Master of Occupational Therapy program, DePaul University

Dr. Kate Barrett joined DePaul University in the Fall of 2019 as the founding director of the Master of Occupational Therapy program. Building on the mission of DePaul University, she developed a community-engaged curriculum in which each occupational therapy student is paired with a community partner for the duration of their didactic curriculum.  

Her primary areas of interest include global health, immigrants & refugees, and integrating skills for cultural fluency into health care education. She serves on the Haiti Rehabilitation Foundation academic committee and has taught courses in the first occupational therapy baccalaureate program in Haiti at the Episcopal University of Haiti. Over the past 30 years, she has partnered with organizations in Peru, Ecuador, Haiti, and the Dominican Republic to build relationships and learning experiences that support the growth of the profession globally.  

  

Theme: Community Engagement, Service-Learning, and Student Wellbeing

Fostering a community of care in the classroom is more important than ever. Our roles and responsibilities as leaders and educators have expanded. Students are navigating increased uncertainty and tension both on and off campus. American Council on Education (2025) reports that, “Nearly eight in 10 students (77 percent) indicated that mental and emotional difficulties negatively impacted their academic performance for one to six or more days in the past four weeks.” The National Council for Mental Wellbeing (2025) similarly found that over 45% of college students in the U.S. are grappling with mental health, “contributing to soaring degree incompletion rates of 39%.” These challenges are compounded by what U.S. Surgeon General Dr. Vivek Murthy declared a loneliness and social isolation epidemic (2023).

University mental health providers cannot carry the responsibility alone. How, then, can we be more adaptive and flexible to meet students where they are while preparing them for adulthood, career readiness, and to be engaged members in their communities? This interactive presentation will address how to serve the whole student and the whole class, and in turn, the university and broader community. Grounded in restorative practices, organizational communication, and asset-based community development, this session will introduce strengths-based facilitation techniques, co-created learning activities, and low-barrier reflections. Drawing from examples teaching inside the prison system and in service-learning courses on campus, this session will leave participants with practical, adaptable strategies that encourage resiliency and build community that extends beyond the classroom.

 
Assistant Director, ABCD Partnerships, DePaul’s Asset-Based Community Development Institute, DePaul University

Jen Kouba (they/them) holds both BA and MA degrees from DePaul University's College of Communication. They currently serve as the Assistant Director of ABCD Partnerships at DePaul’s Asset-Based Community Development Institute and teach in both the Peace, Justice, & Conflict Studies Program and the School for Continuing and Professional Studies. Jen is both a certified Peace Circle Facilitator and Inside-Out Prison Exchange Program’s Facilitator. 

Beyond their work at DePaul, Jen is a job developer and job coach with Project Wright Access at Wilbur Wright College, supporting young adults with disabilities in career development. Their writing has appeared in Speak Up Magazine, Advancing Philanthropy, Better Magazine, and Harness Magazine. Jen has also been featured on media platforms such as CANTV’s Change Agents, Fox 32 Chicago, Comcast Newsmakers, and WBEZ. 

Jen is an avid traveler, artist, reader, and volunteer living in Chicago.  

Our presentation will focus on Theme 2: CE/SL and Supporting Student Wellbeing, with a timely report on new initiatives developed to empower students, address ""placement poverty"", and expand opportunities for meaningful student engagement. These initiatives are closely aligned with the ACU Community Engagement (CE) guidelines and both industrial/external stakeholders’ expectations. Naturally, our presentation will also demonstrate our work under Theme 1: Diverse Community Contexts—showcasing the roles law students can take — as well as Theme 4: CE/SL Research for Advocacy and Impact (through our recently hosted international colloquium in November 2024 with edited manuscript expected to be submitted to Routledge for publication in 2025), and Theme 3: Care for Our Common Home (CE/SL and Laudato Si/SDGs). The session will include joint presentations from our partners, featuring contributions from both ACU students and participants from external institutions. Ian Lam, ACU-TMLS Pro Bono Program Coordinator, is Sydney-based and will attend in person. Other presenters will join in person, or participate remotely through technological means: Associate Professor Kunle Ola, ACU-TMLS Professor Patrick Keyzer, ACU-TMLS Kristen Nettelbeck, Current law student, ACU-Sydney, recently volunteered as a legal intern at Kyampisi Childcare Ministries in Kampala, Uganda Lily Wakefield, Current law student, President LGBTQIA+ Society. ACU-Melbourne Elena Suares, Recent law graduate, ACU-Melbourne, Community Activist in social housing Moe Turage, ACU-Brisbane student in Education, Consultant for Australian Catholic Anti-Slavery Network (ACAN), Instructor for TMLS-ACNC Anti-modern Slavery Project, Member of the Government Survivor Advisory Council, Advisory Panel Member of NSW Office of the Anti-slavery Commissioner. 

 
Lecturer, Thomas More Law School (TMLS), Australian Catholic University (ACU)

Ian Lam is a Lecturer in the Thomas More Law School (TMLS), Australian Catholic University (ACU). Before joining TMLS, as a qualified solicitor and chartered accountant, Ian taught taxation law in the Peter Faber Business School of ACU. Currently, Ian is a teaching scholar specialised in Commercial Law and Taxation Law. Ian is also the pro bono program coordinator at the TMLS which is the only law school in Australia that requires students to complete 80 hours of supervised pro bono legal work within the law curriculum. The program provides the opportunity for students to demonstrate positive impact on society. In the past three years, Ian and the pro bono team has taken the program to a new level by working with approx. 250 students/year, and providing no less than 50,000 hours of pro bono legal work (20,000 hours/year) to help the vulnerable in the community.

This workshop explores practical strategies for helping students in community engagement programs recognize, develop, and articulate transferable skills gained through service experiences. Drawing from DePaul University's Community Service Scholars Program, participants will discover how intentional reflection activities and structured workshops enable students to connect their service commitments to concrete professional and civic competencies. The presentation demonstrates how skill-identification practices support student well-being by giving purpose and professional relevance to service work, especially during periods of uncertainty or challenge. Through interactive exercises, attendees will experience sample reflection activities that guide students in identifying skills such as active listening, advocacy, collaboration, and cross-cultural communication developed through community engagement. The workshop presents assessment data showing how these practices improve student retention in-service programs and strengthen the connection between community engagement and career readiness. Participants will leave with practical tools including reflection prompts, skill translation frameworks, and workshop templates they can adapt to their institutional contexts.

 
Program Manager, Community Service Scholars program, DePaul University

Kayla Sims is Program Manager for the Community Service Scholars program at DePaul University, a three-year initiative that connects undergraduate students from sophomore through senior year with community organizations throughout Chicago to address critical social issues through sustained service commitments. 

Sims specializes in designing culturally responsive programming that connects youth service experiences to professional skill development and civic engagement. Her work focuses on creating supportive learning environments that integrate restorative justice practices while fostering cross-cultural dialogue and community connection. Prior to her role at DePaul, she served as Program Manager for nonviolence initiatives at True Star Media, developing leadership curricula for high-risk youth that received recognition from state senators and business leaders. 

Sims holds a Master's in Urban Education from the University of Chicago and a Bachelor's in Writing, Rhetoric, and Discourse from DePaul University. Her professional development includes training in restorative justice practices, trauma-informed education, and asset-based community development. 

 

Theme: Community Engagement and Service-Learning Research for Advocacy and Impact

The Timor Leste Youth Development (TLYD) Project is a partnership between Australian Catholic University’s (ACU) Stakeholder Engaged Strategic Unit (SESU) and Australian Marist Solidarity (AMS). Youth development is deeply aligned with the Marist Charism, emphasising education, social justice, and community support as pathways to personal and communal growth. The Marist Brothers, in collaboration with AMS, desire to continue their work in delivering critical youth services that foster development and empowerment among young people in Baucau, Timor Leste. However, the specific needs, existing capacities, as well as the optimal model for delivering such services is not currently well understood. The TLYD project is designed collaboratively between ACU academic researchers and AMS representatives and is intended to provide the requisite knowledge and tools for the development of sustainable, asset based, youth development in the Baucau Diocese of Timor Leste. This presentation provides an overview of the partnership work leading to a three-phase project plan designed around Kumar’s (2002) Participatory Rural Appraisal (PRA), a participatory, community-based approach around principles of community involvement and ownership, participatory learning, and empowerment. The model is presented as an exemplar of a co-design research approach that enables recognition and use of the knowledge and expertise of local people.  

   

Senior Fellow, Higher Education Academy and the international community engagement coordinator, National School of Education, Australian Catholic University

Associate Professor Mellita Jones is a Senior Fellow of the Higher Education Academy and the international community engagement coordinator for the National School of Education at Australian Catholic University. Her international community engagement work has involved research, teacher professional learning, and leadership of ACU pre-service teacher immersion programs across a number of countries in the Asia-Pacific region including Brunei Darussalam, Kiribati, Timor Leste, and Solomon Islands. Her research is concerned with effective teacher education for a socially just world. She achieves this through both her international work and in science teacher education where her initial qualifications lie. Mellita has won a number of teaching excellence and community engagement awards, including an Australian Government Citation for Outstanding Contribution to Student Learning, the International Uniservitate Award for Service Learning in the Asia-Pacific region, and an Order of Australia Medal for service to education. She has also reviewed and written teacher education units for UNESCO’s teacher education program for the Pacific region. Mellita currently serves on the Executive committee for the World Federation of Associations of Teacher Education (WFATE). 

During current global uncertain times, which include economic downturn and political instability, CE/SL activities/programs can be restricted, unfunded or simply threatened to cease by governments or institutions locally and globally. As such global solidarity and scholarly work in the CE/SL field is critical to ensure innovation and sustainability of such activities. CE/SL activities are more than an educational experience as such activities can be vital for economic development by facilitating the development of graduate skills, including empathy and critical thinking/engagement, teamwork and problem solving, which are much needed in solving local and global challenges in diverse populations. CE/SL activities build advocacy and resilience by creating sustainable partnerships between multiple stakeholders including institutions, local and national governments. One international association providing a safe and sustainable environment for promotion of CE/SL training, fellowship, mentorship, scholarship and leadership is IARSLCE. The mission of IARSLCE is to support development and dissemination of research in CE/SL internationally and across all education system levels. Globally, individuals and institutions can become members of the IARSLCE. Australian Catholic University (ACU) and DePaul University are institutional members of IARSLCE, and all staff and students can join IARSLCE Practitioner Scholar Committee (PSC), which is an online global community to attain professional development/training in the development of scholarly research, and networking in SL/CE via enrolment and completion of the PSC course. IARSLCE PSC course has been offered for the last four years. The presenters (previous PSC participants) currently serve as the co-facilitators and they will share their experiences from the PSC.

   
Senior Lecturer (Bioscience), Australian Catholic University (ACU) School of Behavioural and Health Sciences, Faculty of Health Sciences

Isabelle Lys is a Senior Lecturer (Bioscience) at Australian Catholic University (ACU) School of Behavioural and Health Sciences, Faculty of Health Sciences. She has more than 20 years of experience in higher education as a researcher and educator.  As an ally for Aboriginal and Torres Strait students and staff, and local communities, Dr Lys  advocates for Indigenous Knowings in Sciences. She has experience in scholarship and teaching of Community Engagement (CE) in both Biomedical Science and Exercise Science disciplines, in addition to teaching Biomedical/Health Science units. She completed the De La Salle University Uniservitate Service-Learning Course in 2022 and is one of the co-facilitators of the International Association for Research on Service-Learning and Community Engagement Practitioner Scholar Committee (IARSLCE PSC) online course. Her passion is in leading/developing CE curriculum/projects that are inclusive, reciprocal, engaging, evidence-based, and addresses real-world challenges. 

Associate Professor, Department of Communication, Media & Sport Management at Slippery Rock University of Pennsylvania

Doug Strahler is an Associate Professor in the Department of Communication, Media & Sport Management at Slippery Rock University of Pennsylvania. With expertise in strategic communication and media, he teaches courses in digital media production and engages in research focused on community engagement and media studies. He was the recipient of the 2016-17 President’s Award for Excellence in Teaching and serves as a Community-Engaged Learning Faculty Associate with SRU’s Center for Community Engagement. Outside the classroom, he is actively involved with the International Association for Research on Service-Learning and Community Engagement (IARSLCE), Campus Compact, and the New York State Communication Association. 
 
Senior Director of integrative Engagement and Global Impact, Northeastern University

Dr. Becca Berkey is the Senior Director of integrative Engagement and Global Impact at Northeastern University, overseeing Community-Engaged Teaching & Research as well as the John Martinson Honors Program, and additionally serves as a lecturer in Human Services at the university. She has more than 15 years of experience in higher education, and is an interdisciplinary learner, researcher, and educator focusing in her role as a practitioner-scholar on faculty development and community impact of SLCE, and in her role as a scholar-activist as an Environmental Sociologist working with community and coalition-based organizations on issues pertaining to farmworker justice, health, and safety.  
 

 

Director of Education Training, Oakland University William Beaumont School of Medicine

Dr. Wedemeyer serves as Director of Education Training in the Oakland University William Beaumont School of Medicine where she collaborates across disciplines to develop community engagement and service-learning initiatives within the surrounding communities. As Assistant Professor, she also has teaching responsibilities across several courses including as small group facilitator in the Promotion & Maintenance of Health and Art & Practice of Medicine. Her research and scholarly activity have been informed by positions in humanities and professional school graduate assistantships, research assistantship with University of Michigan youth injury prevention, and presently on creating pathways for youth to become compassionate, community-engaged physicians.  

 

There is scant representation of the outcomes of international teaching experiences from the perspective of host teachers despite a growing number of these sorts of programs. Addressing this gap, we conducted focus group interviews with 21 Solomon Islands teachers/school leaders regarding their experiences hosting Australian pre-service teachers in their schools. Findings revealed a range of program benefits, challenges, and some suggestions for improvement, and overall showed the value of these types of programs for host country teachers. However, given the popularity of international study programs as an internationalisation strategy in higher education in Global North countries, and the likelihood of these programs to involve previously colonised, developing countries, the study’s findings are important from an ethical standpoint, to explore potential colonising influences and power relations that may arise. As such, this presentation will provide evidence-informed data on the advocacy and impact of international immersion programs in developing country contexts.
 
   

Senior Fellow, Higher Education Academy and the international community engagement coordinator, National School of Education, Australian Catholic University

Associate Professor Mellita Jones is a Senior Fellow of the Higher Education Academy and the international community engagement coordinator for the National School of Education at Australian Catholic University. Her international community engagement work has involved research, teacher professional learning, and leadership of ACU pre-service teacher immersion programs across a number of countries in the Asia-Pacific region including Brunei Darussalam, Kiribati, Timor Leste, and Solomon Islands. Her research is concerned with effective teacher education for a socially just world. She achieves this through both her international work and in science teacher education where her initial qualifications lie. Mellita has won a number of teaching excellence and community engagement awards, including an Australian Government Citation for Outstanding Contribution to Student Learning, the International Uniservitate Award for Service Learning in the Asia-Pacific region, and an Order of Australia Medal for service to education. She has also reviewed and written teacher education units for UNESCO’s teacher education program for the Pacific region. Mellita currently serves on the Executive committee for the World Federation of Associations of Teacher Education (WFATE). 
   
Renata Cinelli
Associate Professor, National School of Education, Australian Catholic University

Renata Cinelli is an Associate Professor in the National School of Education, Australian Catholic University. Renata has both interest and experience working with and in communities of cultural diversity. She has led 10 international experiences for Australian pre-service teachers to countries such as Solomon Islands (2014-2020), Kiribati (2017-2018), and Italy (2018-2019), as well as experience conducting culturally appropriate research with Aboriginal peoples in urban, regional, and remote communities in Australia (since 2009). Renata has taught units on service learning, community engagement, and Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander histories and cultures, and she supervises PhD students undertaking research in culturally diverse communities. Renata’s involvement in the Solomon Islands teacher education immersion program (with the team Jones, Cinelli, Gallagher, and Deenmamode) was recognised via the Uniservitate Award (2022) for providing the best service-learning experience in the Asia-Pacific region.    

Researchers of learning in schools, workplaces, and professions have established that relationships are at the core of impactful teaching and learning, with people learning more deeply when connected to others in meaningful ways. For college students, community-engaged courses are relationship-rich sites for learning. However, faculty and community partners can also gain outsize benefits from community-engaged learning, especially at the course design stage. In this presentation, I describe how DePaul's HumanitiesX program has used three intentionally "relationship-rich" structures to develop new, community-engaged humanities courses: 1) teams of faculty, community partners, and student fellows who design courses together; 2) annual cohorts of multiple teams who engage in shared inquiry and learning; and 3) an overarching "Experiential Humanities Collaborative" with a goal to transform humanities teaching by engaging university and community stakeholders in project-based work directed at today's pressing social challenges. I describe these three structures and the outcomes we have seen in the program's four-year history, including feelings of belonging, reinvigorated purpose, successful courses, and partnerships that continue beyond the new courses designed. Felten and Lambert, authors of the 2020 book Relationship-Rich Education, argue that "relationships are the path to the learning, professional, and civic outcomes of higher education for our students" (5). This presentation shows tangible ways that centering relationships can also be the path to positive outcomes for faculty and community partners, providing attendees with both inspiration and practical advice for implementation in their own settings.

 
Faculty Director, HumanitiesX: DePaul University

Dr. Lisa Dush is the faculty director of HumanitiesX: DePaul's Experiential Humanities Collaborative, a year-long fellowship program that brings faculty, community partners, and students together to co-design new community-engaged humanities courses. An associate professor of Writing, Rhetoric, and Discourse, she also coordinates DePaul’s Strategic Writing and Advancement for Nonprofits graduate certificate. Dush has published widely about digital and new media writing, particularly in nonprofit settings and community-engaged classrooms. Her recent scholarship uses the HumanitiesX model to articulate more collaborative and experiential approaches to humanities education.  

The significant gap between need and availability of legal services for low-income individuals, in particular with regard to rights that provide for fundamental protection and safety, is well documented. Migrant access to lawful immigration status in the US implicates access to other protections, making access to reliable information and services critical to safety. Migrant-serving community-based organizations, often located in neighborhoods most heavily impacted by poverty and where migrants live and work, and often founded and/or lead and staffed by refugees and migrants, play a central role in migrant access to information. Immigrant-serving community organizations have language access, lived experiences and have built trust relationships that facilitate migrants accessing services, information and representation. The role and impact of community organizations in informing any strategy for response to immigration law and policy developments demands opportunities for immigrants to access information and legal services. Yet, community organizations face resource challenges including for training and development necessary for reliability and sustainability. By partnering with community organizations on information and legal assistance needs on a regular and systematic basis and supplying them with shared resources, the University is able to leverage resources in a way that contributes to the community, addressing fundamental societal needs of access to justice. This presentation will provide lessons learned from the Clinic’s model which, through intentional partnerships with organizations with shared mission, has proven to be a successful collaborative model that effectively shares resources, lightens CBO burdens and increases the effectiveness of representation of low-income immigrants and refugees.
 
 
Professor of Legal Practice and Director, Asylum & Immigration Law Clinic, DePaul University

Sioban Albiol is the DePaul College of Law Asylum and Immigration Law Clinic Director and Professor of Legal Practice. In the Clinic, Prof. Albiol teaches and supervises students representing migrants navigating the US immigration system. Additionally, she oversees the Legal Resources Project which provides training and technical assistance to dozens of immigrant-serving nonprofits with the goal of increasing access to reliable legal information and representation. In 2015, Prof. Albiol co-founded the Translator and Interpreter Corps at DePaul to address language barriers faced by migrants in accessing information and benefits. In 2021, she co-founded and currently co-directs the DePaul Migration Collaborative, a joint initiative between the College of Law and College of Liberal Arts which engages scholars, practitioners, students and alumni to find solutions to society’s most pressing problems in the areas of migration, mobility and human rights. Prof. Albiol has represented migrants and worked with advocacy organizations for nearly thirty years. 

This workshop presentation will explore the transformative power of music as a tool for advocacy and community engagement, drawing on the experiences and outcomes of Australian Catholic University's (ACU) Big Sing for a Big Cause events in 2024 and 2025. These events, which brought together diverse communities through the universal language of music, aimed to raise awareness and support for various social causes and increase access and inclusion for students with a disability. The presentation will delve into research conducted on the impact of these events, highlighting how music can foster a sense of unity, amplify marginalised voices, and drive social change. By examining case studies and participant feedback, the workshop will demonstrate the effectiveness of music-based initiatives in enacting meaningful advocacy, generating tangible impacts, and leading to transformational learning experiences. A key feature of the workshop will be audience participation, where attendees will engage in some hands-on music learning with samples from the Big Sing project. This interactive component will illustrate the principles discussed. Conference attendees will leave with a deeper understanding of the intersection between music, advocacy and community engagement, equipped with strategies to implement similar initiatives in their own contexts. This workshop aims to inspire and empower attendees to harness the power of music for social good and human connection, fostering a more inclusive and impactful approach to community and co-curricular engagement.

 
Senior Lecturer (Music Education) and National Professional Experience Coordinator, Faculty of Education and Arts, Australian Catholic University (ACU)

Kathleen is an international leader in community engagement through music and education, with a 40-year career embedded with social justice advocacy. Her work uses the performing arts to address critical social issues, creating transformative learning experiences for participants while affecting positive change. At ACU, she leads longitudinal research on the impact of issues-based community music engagement in higher education. Accolades include the University of Surrey (UK) Vice-Chancellor's Alumni Achievement Award (2017), ACU’s Vice-Chancellor Staff Excellence Award for Community Engagement (2021), and an ACU Citation for Contributions to Student Learning (2022). A highlight of her work was co-creating Street Requiem in 2014. It has been performed over 45 times globally, including at Carnegie Hall, and received a Special Judge’s Citation from The American Prize for “Dignifying the Homeless Through Song”. “Kathleen McGuire Day” was designated by two San Francisco majors in 2010 and 2013, recognising her significant contributions to the community.

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