The Bonner Foundation welcomed twenty-two staff and faculty to the Bonner Network. As part of their onboarding, we invite new staff to visit our headquarters and attend the 2026 New Bonner Staff Orientation, held at Princeton Theological Seminary in Princeton, New Jersey, from July 26–29. Participants represented sixteen institutions of higher education, including fifteen with established Bonner Programs and one (Weber State University in Utah) that expects to launch a Bonner Program this fall.
2026 New Bonner staff, faculty, and Bonner Foundation staff in front of The Erdman Center at Princeton Theological Seminary
This year the orientation was designed as a “flipped classroom,” with participants using the handbook, program checklists, frameworks, and planning tools to prepare for interactive sessions focused on planning, peer learning, discussion, and reflection. It began with a welcome dinner at the Bonner Foundation followed by an introductory session with philosophy, key frameworks, and a brief history of the Bonner Program. Key topics included recruiting and mentoring students, collaborating with campus units (like Admissions, academic departments, Financial Aid), designing training and reflections, developing reciprocal community partnerships, and other fundamentals. Participants discussed best practices for building strong service-based programs, as well as how the Bonner Program can serve as a model and catalyst for campuses to strengthen their culture and infrastructure for community-engaged learning.
Since 1990, the Bonner Program has provided students with “Access to Education and Opportunity to Serve.” The Bonner Program is built on a unique student-centered approach for institutions of higher education to build reciprocal and sustained partnerships with communities. During the Orientation, participants were guided and supported as they envisioned ways to engage different stakeholders (students, staff, and faculty) in building and maintaining meaningful campus-community partnerships.
Five Bonner Program staff from the network joined participants for topic-based design clinics and small-group conversations. Participants selected sessions based on their program needs, exploring questions related to recruitment, community partnerships, campus-wide service culture, fundraising, institutional buy-in, student support, leadership, accountability, and thriving in the first year as Bonner staff.
Guest Presenters included:
Abby Kucks, Assistant Director, Rutgers University - New Brunswick
Althia Muse, Director, Bonner Community Scholars - The College of New Jersey
Kim Silverio Diaz, Coordinator for Civic and Experiential Learning - Middlesex College
Krystal Woolston, Director, Public Service Programs - Montclair State University
Michael D’Italia, Director, Engaged Learning and Assessment - Rutgers University - Camden
Shared meals and informal networking opportunities gave participants additional opportunities to build relationships with Foundation staff and peers across the Bonner Network. Participants left the Orientation with many new ideas. They appreciated the support of the Bonner network - a diverse group of dedicated, generous practitioners across 65+ institutions who openly shared their wisdom and experience. To learn more about the New Staff Orientation or access the presented materials please visit our Bonner Wiki Meeting Archives page.
Help us warmly welcome the following new members to the Bonner network:
Alyssa Aycock — Administrative Assistant, Center for Community Engagement (Carson Newman University)
Sandra Baltazar — Community Programs & Partnerships Manager (Weber State University)
Madison Cannon — Bonner Leader Coordinator (Elizabethtown College)
Kathleen Clark — Director of the Sabo Center for Democracy and Citizenship (Augsburg University)
Clare Daley — Coordinator for Democracy House (Middlesex College)
Hannah Dozier — Global & Community Engagement Fellow (Wofford College)
Erin Doggette — Executive Director (Stetson University)
Katharine Fitzgerald — Program Coordinator (Nazareth University)
Brittany Garcia — Director, Community Engagement (University of Tampa)
Ema Halilovic — Graduate Assistant (Rider University)
Teresa Holt — Director (Weber State University)
Savanna Illinger — Manager, Community-Engaged Learning (Brown University)
Kailyn Johnson — Community Engaged Scholars Coordinator (Maryville College)
Brady Labine — Program Manager (College of Saint Benedict & Saint John's University)
Jenny Lieurance — Associate Director of Community Engagement (Washburn University)
Garrett Norblom — Programs Coordinator for the Center for Community Engagement (Carson Newman University)
Jose Reyes — Assistant Director (Stetson University)
Erica Roszko — Bonner Leader Program Coordinator (Wilkes University)
Lauralee Solimeno — Community Work-Study Coordinator (Weber State University)
Devon Smyth — Director of Community Engagement (Berry College)
Brianna Titi — Program Manager (Elizabethtown College)
Alexander Nichols — Associate Director (Stetson University)