Presenters

Nancy Franz
Associate Dean, Extension and Outreach for Families and 4-H Youth, College of Human Sciences, Iowa State University
Director, Iowa State University to Families with Extension in Iowa, Iowa State University

Nancy serves as Associate Dean for Extension and Outreach for Families and 4-H Youth in the College of Human Sciences and the Director of ISU to Families with Extension in Iowa. Franz began her extension career in 1981 with University of Wisconsin Extension, serving in county and state level 4-H youth development positions. She became a graduate assistant with Cornell Cooperative Extension (Ithaca, N.Y.) in 1999 and returned to UW Extension in 2002 as an administrative coordinator with 4-H youth development as well as program development and evaluation. In 2003 she became associate director of University of New Hampshire Cooperative Extension (Durham) and joined Virginia Cooperative Extension in 2006. She also has experience as a guide and public speaker with Woodswomen Inc. and as a Youth Conservation Corps staff member with the U.S. Forest Service, Chequamegon National Forest, and the National Park Service, Apostle Islands National Lakeshore, both in northern Wisconsin. Her research focuses on transformative learning in intra-organizational partnerships, implementation of strategic plans, program evaluation, revenue generation and engagement in Extension programs. Franz received her doctorate in agriculture, extension and adult education with minors in human resources and leadership from Cornell University. She received her master's of education professional development degree from the University of Wisconsin-Superior and her bachelor's degree in environmental studies/outdoor education/recreation from Northland College, Ashland, Wisconsin. She also received a master online educator certificate from Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University. When she's not exercising her "extension gene" she loves to read, be outdoors doing silent sports, and consuming dark chocolate.

Judith Ramaley
President Emerita, Winona State University  
President Emerita and Distinguished Professor of Public Service, Portland State University  

Dr. Ramaley also served as President of the University of Vermont and professor biology from 1997 to June 30.  Dr. Ramaley has a special interest in higher-education reform and has played a significant role in designing regional alliances to promote educational cooperation. She also has contributed to national discussions about the changing nature of work and the workforce. She also plays a national role in the exploration of civic responsibility and the role of higher education in promoting good citizenship and has published extensively on educational reform, science, technology, engineering and mathematics education and the leadership of organizational change.

Lorilee Sandmann
Professor, Lifelong Education, Administration, and Policy, University of Georgia
Co-Director, National Review Board for the Scholarship of Engagement

Lorilee Sandmann is a Professor in the Adult Education Program, Department of Lifelong Education, Administration, and Policy at the University of Georgia. She has previously served as Associate Vice President for Public Service and Outreach at UGA and Executive Director of the Georgia Center for Continuing Education. Dr. Sandmann's current research projects focus on leadership and organizational change in higher education's institutionalization of community engagement, as well as faculty roles and rewards related to engaged scholarship.

Lisa Townson
Assistant Director, Cooperative Extension, University of New Hampshire

Lisa provides administrative support to program staff in all Cooperative Extension at UNH, leading program support units such as communications, information technology, program evaluation and campus engagement.   She holds a doctoral degree in higher education from the University of New Hampshire.  She’s been providing leadership to the Emerging Engagement Scholars Workshop since its inception in 2007 and has also been involved in engaged scholarship faculty development initiatives at the University of New Hampshire.

Crystal Tremblay
Research Coordinator, UNESCO Chair in Community-Based Research and Social Responsibility, University of Victoria (Canada)

Dr. Tremblay researches community development, resource management and participatory governance drawing largely from Social Economy, Political Ecology, and Feminist theories. Her work is multi-disciplinary and covers such areas as waste and resource management, poverty reduction and social inclusion, informal economy, and livelihood enhancement. She is currently working as a Postdoctoral Fellow with IRES, exploring the impacts and implications of shifting water governance structures in Accra, Ghana, and Cape Town, South Africa, simultaneously providing a powerful narrative portraying the lived experiences of the individuals affected by limited or (in)access to water.

Mentors

Theresa Beyerle
Associate Director, Institute for Teaching and Learning, University of Akron

Theresa Beyerle has recently returned to The University of Akron to oversee and coordinate service-learning and undergraduate research. She brings more than 20 years of active involvement in the Akron community with an emphasis in the nonprofit and social service sectors. She has been actively involved across campus, including participating in the Academic Leadership Forum, Make a Difference Day, Engagement Council, ITL service-learning research team and other groups. Off campus, she has volunteered with the Rubber City Roller Girls, Habitat for Humanity, Rebuilding Together, Mature Services and others. She has also served on the boards of the YWCA of Summit County, Project LEARN, Coming Together Project, Women’s History Project, Girl Scouts of North East Ohio, and Women’s Network of Northeast Ohio. In addition, she is a graduate of Leadership Akron, and has earned many awards for her service to the community.

Carl A. Kallgren
Associate Professor, Psychology, Pennsylvania State University - Erie, The Behrend College
Founder and Director, Susan Hirt Hagen Community, Outreach, Research, and Evaluation, Pennsylvania State University - Erie

Carl A. Kallgren, Ph.D., is Associate Professor of Psychology, Penn State Erie, The Behrend College, and Founder and Director of the Penn State Erie’s Susan Hirt Hagen CORE (Community, Outreach, Research, and Evaluation) and Director of Positive Youth Development of Erie County. Dr. Kalgren received his Master’s in Science (M.S.) degree in social psychology from the University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee and his Doctorate (Ph.D.) in basic and applied social psychology from Arizona State University (1987).  Upon graduation, he moved to Erie, Pennsylvania and joined the psychology faculty at Penn State Erie, The Behrend College, where he has been for the past twenty-six years.  He research interests have covered basic social psychological topics (persuasion, attitude-behavior relations, and norms) and applied topics (the impact of parental death on children, adolescent pregnancy prevention, and developing a new model of social intervention).  He founded Penn State Erie’s Susan Hirt Hagen CORE in 1998 to help reduce the high rate of teen pregnancy and foster healthy youth development by providing quality research services to local service providers.  He was instrumental in obtaining a multi-million dollar endowment for CORE in 2008. Through this work, he has developed the CORE Model of Social Intervention.  He has 20 scientific publications and over 50 presentations, many funded projects, and many reports to sponsors.  He received the Unsung Hero’s award from Penn State Erie in 1992-3, and the Behrend College Council of Fellows Excellence in Outreach and Service Award in 2001, The Pennsylvania Psychological Association’s Public Service Award, 2005, and CORE received the prestigious Community Matters Collaborator Award from the United Way of Erie County in 2006.  

Sara Dodd
Director, Center for Adolescent Resiliency, Texas Tech University

Sara Dodd serves as Director of the Center for Adolescent Resiliency at Texas Tech University.  She is an Assistant Professor in the College of Human Sciences and is jointly appointed to Texas AgriLife Extension of the Texas A&M University as a state specialist in 4-H and Youth Development. Prior to her faculty appointment, she worked at Texas Tech as a research associate and project director for an NIH grant studying the effects of frequent work travel upon families (Dr. Anisa Zvonkovic, principal investigator). Prior to graduate studies, Dr. Dodd worked as an analyst in the IT industry and as a legislative staff member for a Texas state senator. She earned her bachelor's degree (government) from Abilene Christian University and her MBA (management) and Ph.D. (family/consumer Sciences) from Texas Tech. Dr. Dodd's primary research interests include adolescent wellness and youth development, leadership theory and development, and consumer/behavioral economics.

James Frabutt
Director Teaching Exceptional Children Program, University of Notre Dame
Director, Academic Community Engagement, Office of the Provost and Faculty, Mary Ann Remick Leadership Program, University of Notre Dame

Dr. Frabutt directs the Teaching Exceptional Children (TEC) academic program that instructs Catholic School teachers who wish to develop skills to meet the needs of children with mild to moderate disabilities in an inclusionary classroom. The TEC program is a one year certification program in which a licensed Catholic School teacher receives an additional license from the State of Indiana as a teacher of students with exceptional needs: mild interventions. The TEC program is responsive to meeting the needs of all students in Catholic schools across the country. Dr. Frabutt is also a faculty member in the Mary Ann Remick Leadership Program in the Alliance for Catholic Education, an innovative, research-based administrative degree program that forms, educates, and supports Catholic school teachers to continue their service to K-12 schools through administrative preparation. In 2006, the program received degree-granting status and now offers a Master of Arts in Educational Administration. Dr. Frabutt teaches the action research sequence in the Master's program, emphasizing classroom-, school-, and parish-based strategic inquiry designed and conducted by practicing educators and administrators. He has directed a local collaborative, community-university partnership featuring the involvement of schools, parents, law enforcement, mental health practitioners, the faith community, and juvenile justice professionals. Together, this partnership developed a comprehensive youth violence prevention and intervention program targeted at middle school and high school youth.  His recent community-based research efforts focused on reducing disproportionate minority contact in the juvenile justice system and developing models for reducing violence and victimization among immigrant youth.

Laurie Van Egeren
Assistant Provost for University-Community Partnerships, Michigan State University

Laurie Van Egeren, Ph.D., is Assistant Provost for University-Community Partnerships in the Office of University Outreach and Engagement. Previously, she was the director of the Community Evaluation and Research Collaborative and the co-director of the National Collaborative for the Study of University Engagement. Dr. Van Egeren conducts program evaluation and intervention research funded by NSF, NIH, the State of Michigan, and the W.K. Kellogg Foundation. Her primary interests are in intervention research in non-traditional school settings such as out-of-school-time programs and early education programs. Van Egeren also conducts evaluation in community and economic development, science education, autism intervention, technological capacity building, and co-parenting and family relationships. She holds a Ph.D. in developmental psychology and a M.A. in child and family clinical psychology from Michigan State University.