2020-21 Mid-Career Professionals Cohort

Bonner Professional development seminar series

In 2020-21, a group of eleven highly competent community-engagement advocates is participating in the Bonner Foundation’s National Community of Practice through the Mid-Career Professionals Series. All the participants bring with them an extensive amount of experience mentoring students and strengthening campus-community partnerships. They have demonstrated a strong desire to lead community engagement initiatives at their schools.

The Mid-Career Professionals series offers a space and professional development opportunities to connect with colleagues at a national level, learn about evidence-based practices in community-engaged learning, and devise new strategies to develop a culture of engagement at their respective institutions. Cohort members participate in monthly webinars to get familiar with new literature, deepen their theoretical knowledge-base, and apply this new learning to their current roles. Through their self-designed projects, to be completed later in the year, this cohort will also engage in scholarly pursuits to advance the field.

These professionals serve as coordinators, program managers, and directors at their institutions. It is our hope that their participation in this series will open new doors for their leadership and advancement. They are great candidates for providing expertise and guidance through consulting, advisory boards, and other projects. To learn more about the four levels of Bonner Professional Development Seminar Series, please visit here. Learn more about the 2020-21 Mid-Career Professionals cohort below. 

Adrienne Tharp

Bonner Scholars Coordinator 

Adrienne serves as the Assistant Director for the Center for Service Leadership and the Bonner Scholars Coordinator at Waynesburg University.  Prior to starting her career in higher education, Adrienne spent a year of service with the Jesuit Volunteer Corps in Nashville, TN working with homeless and street youth. She felt her call to serve wasn’t quite over and did a second year as an AmeriCorps VISTA; which opened the door for her to begin her journey working in higher education. Here she is 11 years later! Originally a West Virginia native, she now lives in Waynesburg with her husband, two children, and two Boxers. 

Emily Donlon

Director of Service and Community Engagement

Emily Donlon is the Director of Service and Community Engagement at Notre Dame of Maryland University in Baltimore, Maryland. Since 2019, she has served as the Director for NDMU’s Bonner Leaders Program as well as advisor to Omega Phi Alpha, the campus’ service sorority. She also works with campus civic engagement initiatives like mentoring NDMU’s Newman Civic Fellow and co-leading the All In Campus Democracy Challenge advisory group. She first entered the Bonner Pipeline as a Bonner Scholar at Centre College in Danville, Kentucky, and after going from the Bluegrass state to Bulgaria to now Baltimore, she believes in the guiding and motivating force for good that exists within the Bonner Program.

Ian McGinnity

Director of the Office of Student Leadership and Engagement

Ian McGinnity has worked at The University of Tampa since July 2014. As the Bonner Leader Program Director, he works closely with the Bonner students and their non-profit site supervisors, co-facilitates trainings with the Bonner Student Coordinators, and has developed structures for Bonner committee, a big/little program, and senior capstone projects. McGinnity also advises the PEACE Volunteer Center which focuses on local service projects, on-campus advocacy events, and Alternative Breaks trips. He co-chairs the All-In Democracy Challenge Coalition at UT, and supervises three full-time staff members and six student coordinators. He enjoys developing students’ skills and harnessing their passion for service work.

Katie Kahn

Bonner Community Scholars Program Manager

Katie is a proud alum of The College of New Jersey, class of 2015, and the Bonner Program. She is currently pursuing her Master’s in Clinical Mental Health Counseling. Since 2015, Katie has worn many hats at TCNJ's Center for Community Engagement: Literacy and College Access AmeriCorps Member, Bonner Coordinator for k-12 Education, and now  Program Manager. Katie’s primary responsibilities are the implementation of the four-year student development curriculum, development and maintenance of systems of accountability, recruitment and on-boarding of new Bonner Scholars, coordination of food security and environmental service, and program public relations and marketing.

Natalie Vickous

Director of Civic Engagement & Student Leadership & Bonner Program Director

Natalie completed her Bachelor's and Master's level education in the field of counseling and now uses that knowledge to guide community engagement, service scholarship, and student leadership at Lindsey Wilson College. Since 2017, Natalie has acted as the Director of the Bonner Scholar Program, a program that aims to increase college access for students with strong commitment to service and social justice. As the Director of the Center for Civic Engagement & Student Leadership, Natalie has worked since the fall of 2019 to bring ethical and intentional community-engaged learning opportunities to the classroom in various fields of study, connecting students with real-world experience in collaboration with the surrounding community, and engaging faculty in high-impact practice and partnerships.