2020-21 Senior Leaders Cohort
A NATIONAL COMMUNITY OF PRACTICE
In 2020-21, these outstanding Senior Leaders are participating in the Bonner Foundation’s National Community of Practice through the Bonner Professional Development Senior Leader Series. Each of these individuals plays a major role leading the Bonner Program at their institution and overseeing campus-wide strategies for engaging students, faculty, and departments in civic engagement and community engaged learning. Most direct an established campus-wide center, responsible for coordinating campus-community partnerships and projects that include service, research, teaching, and learning. Most are also instructors, with more than half in formal faculty and teaching roles.
The Senior Leader series is designed to provide these seasoned professionals with a space to discuss their work in leading, managing, and promoting campus and community change. Through our web-based seminars, cohort members engage with literature, theory and case studies. They discuss its application and practice at their colleges and universities in states around the nation. In doing so, they also identify and spread proven and innovative models, contribute to the field, and advance effective practice. Through their self-designed projects, to be completed later in the year, these Senior Leaders will also create new knowledge for the field.
Senior Leaders serve as mentors to many colleagues in their institutions and communities. 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 Senior Professionals cohort below. Throughout this year, their core webinars address:
Navigating Institutional Change in Complex Times
Building Center Infrastructure
Faculty as Allies and Community-Engaged Curriculum
Practicing Self Care for the Long Haul
Managing Up: Working Effectively with Senior Leaders
Advancing Your Career (with special sessions to be scheduled with Field Leaders)
A Commitment to Anti-Racism
The Community Engagement Field (with special sessions to be scheduled with Field Leaders)
Additional Topics designed and presented by cohort members themselves
AMY GILLILAND
MARYVILLE COLLEGE
Amy Gilliland serves as the Director of Community Engagement at Maryville College in Tennessee. In this role, Amy cultivates relationships with and serves as the point of contact between not-for-profit agencies and the College. On campus, Amy helps raise awareness about community needs and supports faculty interested in community-engaged learning, including its current work to develop pathways in areas like racial justice. She helps students across campus, including sixty Bonner Scholars, find meaningful involvement with our community’s marginalized populations through service and internships. Amy also serves as the campus director for the Nonprofit Leadership Alliance chapter at the College, which helps students develop the competencies necessary to become Certified Nonprofit Professionals (CNPs). To help prepare students for this work, she teaches Introduction to Nonprofit Management each spring semester. Her other responsibilities on campus include: directing the Federal Community Work Study program, supporting administration of the Bonner Scholarship program, serving as part of the Maryville College Strategic Partnership Group, and traveling with students internationally.
CHRISTIAN RICE
URSINUS COLLEGE
Christian is Assistant Professor of Philosophy & the Humanities and Assistant Dean for Civic Engagement. He graduated from Ursinus in 1998 and received a Doctorate of Theology from Harvard Divinity School in 2008. Christian then returned to Ursinus to direct the College’s civic engagement initiatives. He has directed the Ursinus Bonner Program since 2008 and was instrumental in the creation of UCARE—the Ursinus Center for Advocacy, Responsibility, and Engagement. Christian teaches in the Philosophy and Religious Studies department and his scholarly writing has focused on examining the philosophical and moral underpinnings of human rights discourse. He worked with his colleagues to create a minor in Peace and Social Justice Studies. This year he received the Ursinus College Alumni Award for Service to Humanity in recognition of his efforts at Ursinus to build a culture dedicated to civic engagement. Christian met his wife, the Reverend Janel Reppert Rice, at Ursinus and they married in 2001. Christian and Janel have a daughter named Sophie.
DAVID RONCOLATO
ALLEGHENY COLLEGE
Dave Roncolato is the director of Civic Engagement and professor of Community & Justice Studies at Allegheny College. He oversees the Bonner Program and numerous projects that engage students and engage faculty through the Allegheny Gateway. He oversees the development of deep sustained partnerships within the Meadville Community, including Partners in Education. Dave serves as a Senior Faculty Fellow for the Bonner Foundation. He has consulted with the Bonner High-Impact Initiative and projects involving academic deans and provosts. Previously Dave served in ministry including as the Catholic youth minister at St. Brigid Church in Meadville Pennsylvania and as the Catholic Campus Minister at Allegheny College. Dave completed a master’s degree in Christian Spirituality from Creighton University and a Ph.D. in Catholic Social Ethics, from Duquesne University. He continues to offer spiritual direction for adults. Dave is married to Reverend Sarah Roncolato, an ordained United Methodist minister who serves as the pastor of Stone United Methodist Church in Meadville. They have two daughters, two sons and an ever-expanding family.
JILO TISDALE
SPELMAN COLLEGE
Jilo is a graduate of Northwestern University where she received her undergraduate degree in Comparative Literature and African American Studies. She served as a Teach for America corps member in New Orleans, Louisiana before completing her master’s degree in Education at the University of Michigan. Jilo served as a classroom teacher, assistant principal and adjunct professor before transitioning into the non-profit sector. In 2006 she was selected to serve as the Education Program Officer for the Mechanicsville Community Learning Collaborative. In 2008 Jilo joined the United Way of Greater Atlanta as Senior Director of Youth Programs until transitioning to Spelman College in 2013. As Director of the Bonner Office of Civic Engagement Jilo leads a dynamic team whose hard work ensures that Spelman students have access to opportunities ranging from introductory service experiences to multi-year community-based internships. Jilo is the mother of three children. She enjoys podcasts, sunsets and rodeo.
MONTY WHITNEY
MOREHOUSE COLLEGE
Monty Whitney has been the Director, Bonner Office of Community Service at Morehouse College in Atlanta, GA since August, 2008. Previously he was an Assistant Professor in the Department of Psychology at Morehouse College. Monty’s teaching and courses are noted for their community service learning requirements and serve as a model for other courses at the College. Monty earned his Ph.D. degree from Michigan State University. His area of training and expertise is in Ecological Psychology, which is the study of the impact of culture and environment on individuals, groups and organizations. He has co-authored several books on African-American Issues in Mental Health. He is the former Executive Director for Human Relations for the City of Cincinnati and the former National President of the Association of Black Psychologist.
TIFFANY FORD
RHODES COLLEGE
Tiffany Ford is the Director of the Bonner Center for Service at Rhodes College. She graduated from Rhodes in 1995 with a B.A. in philosophy and received her Masters of Science in Social Work from the University of Tennessee in 2001 with a concentration in management and community practice. She began her career working with people living with HIV/AIDS as a Medical Social Worker. She continued in HIV/AIDS services as a fundraiser, department manager, and quality management coordinator. In 2011, she began working at Rhodes as the Grants and Foundations Manager and joined the Bonner Center in 2017. In her role as the Director of the Bonner Center, she manages the Bonner Scholars program, community service work study, the Laurence F Kinney student volunteer program, and Project Pericles. Her main interests are developing strategic community partnerships, leadership development, and all things Memphis.
VIRGINIA LEE
EDGEWOOD COLLEGE
Virginia Lee is the Director of the Bonner Program at Edgewood College in Madison, Wisconsin. She also oversees Edgewood's involvement in the Bonner Community-Engaged Learning Initiative, through which Edgewood is revising its innovative general education curriculum, COR2, to include civic and community engagement pathways. Virginia is a passionate advocate of youth development, particularly programs that foster academic achievement, the pursuit of higher education and promote civic engagement. She has nineteen years of experience developing and facilitating youth programs for nonprofit organizations and institutions of higher learning including AmeriCorps, Madison School and Community Recreation, Reach Dane, The Met School, University of Wisconsin Madison, and Edgewood College. Virginia is a proud graduate of Bennett College, an HBCU serving women in Greensboro, NC. She is a passionate mentor who attributes part of that role to her own experience in programs like the McNair Scholars.
ARLETTE CEPEDA
WAGNER COLLEGE
Arlette Cepeda is the Bonner Program Director and Community Engagement Manager at Wagner College, and former Director of the Center for Leadership and Community Engagement (CLCE). She oversees student programs and initiatives focused on community engagement. Arlette received a B.A. in Studio Arts from Hunter College and a Masters degree in Higher Education and Learning Organizations Leadership from Wagner. She has worked to develop sustainable partnerships that promote collaboration between students, faculty, staff and community partners to address pressing social issues on and off campus. She is a current member of the Diversity, Equity and Inclusion committee at Wagner College. As a visual artist, she has participated in various individual and collective exhibitions and been a teaching artist for the Brooklyn Arts Council, New Visions and The Children’s Aid Society in New York City. Cepeda was also the administrative director of CAS/AileyCamp Staten Island, a public relations assistant for Alvin Ailey American Dance Theater and worked as a wholesale and retail representative for Petrossian Caviar.
CINDY FERGUSON
UNIVERSITY OF LYNCHBURG
Cindy Ferguson is the Director of Community Engagement and Bonner Leaders Program at University of Lynchburg. She brings a unique perspective as a non-traditional, first generation student who started CVCC at the age of 40, after a conversation with her daughter who was then in sixth grade. She was a student assistant in Workforce Development with Barbara Bragg, when she helped advocate for funding of Virginia Community College System. She went on to earn a bachelor’s in Psychology at Randolph College. Cindy then attended Lynchburg to work on her Masters of Education in School Counseling. She served as graduate assistant for the Bonner Leader Program. In August 2018, the Dean of Students asked if she would consider serving as interim Bonner Leader Program Coordinator. She became the new center's Director in 2019. Cindy has lived in Lynchburg since 1991 and has served with nonprofit agencies such as Park View Community Mission, Miriam's House, Interfaith Outreach, Daily Bread, Beacon of Hope, and Lynchburg City Schools.
DEREK WADLINGTON
WILSON COLLEGE
Derek serves as the Chaplain and Director of the Curran Bonner Leader Program at Wilson College in Shippensburg, Pennsylvania. After earning an MFA in technical theatre and a ten- year stint in the arts and entertainment industry Derek shifted careers. He attended seminary and become an ordained Presbyterian minister. Five and a half years in a church setting helped him realize his passion was actually helping others grow through service work, which ultimately led him to Wilson, where he is in the second year of building a Bonner Leader program. Derek has also served on several nonprofit boards, including for Shippensberg Produce and Outreach and Interfaith Housing Alliance. Derek is married and has three kids, a dog (Luna), and a cat (George). He enjoys cycling, playing guitar, reading, and being in conversation with whomever is willing to talk to him. Derek earned a Bachelor’s in Sociology from Bowdoin College, an MFA from Ohio University, and a Master’s in Divinity from Columbia Theological Seminary.
MATT BRYANT CHENEY
CARSON-NEWMAN COLLEGE
Matt Bryant Cheney returned to Carson-Newman University in 2018 to serve as Assistant Professor of English and Director of the Center for Community Engagement (CCE) at the Bonner Center for Community Engagement. Matt previously served as Bonner Scholars Coordinator at Carson-Newman from 2008-2011. Dr. Bryant Cheney currently provides leadership for all of the CCE’s initiatives while serving on faculty committees and teaching courses in English, Social Entrepreneurship, and Film. A scholar of 20th & 21st Century American Writing and Social Theory, Matt holds an MA from the University of Tennessee and a PhD from the University of Kentucky. A native East Tennessean and first-generation college graduate, Matt also graduated from the C-N Bonner Program in 2008 alongside Ashley Bryant Cheney, his wife and co-conspirator of twelve years. Matt and Ashley live in Talbott, Tennessee with their daughter Blesan and enjoy seeing their adult son Will when he’s able to visit from Kentucky.
RUTH KASSEL
SIENA COLLEGE
Ruth Kassel is the Associate Director of Academic Integration within the office of Academic Community Engagement at Siena College. Ruth Kassel has worked in faculty development since 2008 and community engagement since 2011. At Siena she supports faculty in CE teaching and community based research. She has worked on creating a tiered, developmental model for faculty work in community-engaged learning. Most recent publications focus on high impact practices and retention, transdisciplinary community engaged Research, and students as partners in community engaged classes. Ruth also serves as an Instructional Design Assistant at the University of Albany. She earned her doctorate in Spanish Linguistics at the University of Albany, where she also explored community engaged learning pedagogies. Ruth and her husband have two daughters.
VANESSA BUEHLMAN
CHRISTOPHER NEWPORT UNIVERSITY
Vanessa Buehlman has worked in the Center for Community Engagement at Christopher Newport University (CNU) in Newport News, VA since January 2014. She has served as Director of the Center and Christopher Newport's Bonner Program since October 2018. Vanessa's previous higher education work includes distance learning course development for City Colleges of Chicago in Mainz, Germany, and institutional effectiveness and assessment work at Thomas Nelson Community College in Hampton, VA. The highlight of her career has been working directly with students at CNU and witnessing the transformative power of service and community-engaged learning in their development as active citizens. She holds undergraduate degrees in Economics and English from Dickinson College in Carlisle, PA, and a Master's Degree in Business Administration from the University of Maryland University College.
ARIANE HOY
BONNER (CONVENOR)
Ariane, Vice President, is delighted to work with this incredible cohort of senior leaders. Since 2004, she has helped institutions build and strengthen student, faculty, and campus-wide engagement and institutional change. Ariane draws on her own research, teaching, and scholarship in designing this experience, as well as the Advancing Community-Engaged Learning in Higher Education series. She has focused on community engagement since attending Stanford, where work in the Haas Center for Public Service and East Palo Alto catalyzed her commitment to a career in social change. She spent more than a decade in program development and leadership roles at City Year, Jumpstart, Echoing Green Foundation, and Campus Outreach Opportunity League. Ariane earned a master’s from Drexel and a doctorate at the University of Pennsylvania, focusing on higher education innovation and change. She is co-editor of Deepening Community Engagement in Higher Education: Forging New Pathways and co-author of Civic Engagement at the Center: Building Democracy through Integrated Cocurricular and Curricular Experiences.