Einhorn Center launches new staff fellowship program and welcomes largest cohort of new engaged fellows

Forty-two faculty members and staff from 19 Cornell schools, colleges, and administrative units have been named Engaged Fellows for 2026-2027, marking the largest cohort since the program's launch in 2013. Fellows will spend the year developing a community-engaged course, project or publication in a dedicated community of practice committed to advancing the university's public engagement mission.

Facilitated by the Einhorn Center for Community Engagement, the Community-Engaged Fellowship Program has welcomed over 260 faculty and staff members since 2013.

The program now offers three cohorts:

• Faculty Fellows in Engaged Learning develop or revise a community-engaged learning course or project,

• Faculty Fellows in Engaged Scholarship develop peer-reviewed journal articles, presentations, how-to guides or other professional pieces out of their engaged scholarship, and

• The Fellowship for Community-Engaged Professionals will support staff in developing community-engaged co-curricular programs.

While the fellows program has always been open to both faculty and staff dedicated to enhancing their understanding of community-engaged learning, the Einhorn Center is thrilled to launch the Fellowship for Community-Engaged Professionals to specifically support staff across Cornell. This cohort is designed to support university staff members who are interested in deepening their impact on students' personal, academic, professional and leadership development via community-engaged learning; offering staff a unique peer mentorship opportunity and community of practice to address topics and challenges in supporting co-curricular CEL programs.

Richard Kiely, associate vice provost for engagement and land-grant affairs and the Einhorn Center's director of academic initiatives and Amy Kuo Somchanhmavong, associate director in the Einhorn Center, lead monthly meetings with the cohorts. These sessions focus on best practices in community-engaged learning, scholarship and program development, including cultural humility, building strong community partnerships, and critical reflection. The fellows also share the projects they're developing, gathering feedback and ideas from the other fellows.

The 2026-2027 Faculty Fellows in Engaged Learning are:

• Rachel Beatty Riedl, Pegg Koenig '78 director of the Center on Global Democracy, professor, Department of Government, College of Arts and Sciences (CAS)

• Catherine Blumenkamp, lecturer, Department of Human Centered Design, College of Human Ecology (CHE)

• Melissa Conroy, associate teaching professor, Department of Human Centered Design, CHE

• Megan Dias, postdoctoral associate, Jeb. E Brooks School of Public Policy

• Jason Ezell, head of research and learning services, Cornell University Library

• Jacquelin Gerson, assistant professor, Department of Biological and Environmental Engineering, College of Agriculture and Life Sciences (CALS)

• Gabriela Gómez Estévez, director of orchestras, Department of Music, CAS

• Donna Haeger, professor of practice, academic director of the bachelors of professional studies, Charles H. Dyson School of Applied Economics and Management, SC Johnson College of Business.

• Reem Hajjar, Charles Lathrop Pack professor in forestry research, associate professor, Natural Resources and the Environment Section, Ashley School of Global Development and the Environment, CALS

• Steve Heim, senior research associate and lecturer, Sibley School of Mechanical and Aerospace Engineering, Cornell Duffield Engineering

• Daniel Kratochvil, senior associate dean of academic affairs, Cornell School of Continuing Education

• Robert Mackenzie, assistant clinical professor of law, Cornell Law School

• Amelia Moore, associate professor, Natural Resources and the Environment Section, Ashley School of Global Development and the Environment, CALS

• Kelly Northridge, professor of practice, Selander Center for Engineering Leadership, Cornell Duffield Engineering

• Verity Platt, director, Humanities Scholars Program, professor, Department of Classics, CAS

• Amanda Recupero, instructional designer, eCornell

• Seth Saltiel, assistant professor, Department of Earth and Atmospheric Sciences, Cornell Duffield Engineering

• Deirdre Snyder, assistant teaching professor, Marketing and Management, Communications, SC Johnson College of Business

• Hannah Toombs, engaged learning librarian, liaison to Latin American and Caribbean Studies, Cornell University Library

• Wendy Wilcox, research and instructional librarian, Cornell University Library

• John Zinda, associate professor, Ashley School of Global Development and the Environment, CALS

This year's Faculty Fellows in Engaged Scholarship are:

• Christine Bacareza Balance, associate professor, Department of Performing and Media Arts, Asian American Studies Program, CAS

• Dena Bauman, externship director and lecturer, Cornell Law School

• Liz Davis-Frost, mediation and training extension associate, Scheinman Institute on Conflict Resolution, The Worker Institute, School of Industrial and Labor Relations

• Jen de los Reyes, associate professor, Department of Art, College of Architecture, Art, and Planning (AAP)

• Carolyn Fan, postdoctoral associate, Center for Racial Justice and Equitable Futures

• Elizabeth Fox, associate professor of practice, Department of Public and Ecosystem Health, Cornell College of Veterinary Medicine

• Jenny Goldstein, associate professor, Global Development Section, Ashley School for Global Development and the Environment, CALS

• Angela Odoms-Young, Nancy Schlegel Meinig associate professor of maternal and child nutrition, Department of Nutritional Sciences, CHE

• Paul Ortiz, professor of labor history, School of Industrial and Labor Relations

• Thijs Roumen, assistant professor, Department of Information Science, Cornell Tech, Cornell Ann S. Bowers College of Computing and Information Science.

This year's members of the Fellowship for Community-Engaged Professionals are:

• Michael Brown, program leader, Cornell Climate Stewards Program, CALS

• Sarah Buffett, student support specialist, American and Indigenous Studies Program, CALS

• Sam Carney, director of career development, AAP, Cornell Career Network

• Jennifer Duque, student programs coordinator, Bronfenbrenner Center for Translational Research, CHE

• Melissa Jo Hill, digital and visual strategy manager, Cornell Cooperative Extension, CALS

• Darius Melvin, assistant director, Center for Research on Programmable Plant Systems (CROPPS), Cornell Research and Innovation

• Kate Nicholson, director of programs and partnerships, Public Interest Technology Initiative, Cornell Tech

• Gemma Rodrigues, director of education, curatorial of the global arts in Africa, Herbert F. Johnson Museum of Art

• Rhonda Todd, director, Student Success Navigators, Pathway Development Program, Office of Academic Programs, CALS

• Sharifa Wip, associate dean of students, director, Black Student Empowerment, Centers for Student Equity, Empowerment, and Belonging, Office of the Dean of Students, Student and Campus LIfe (SCL)

• Chloe Wray, program coordinator, Humanities Scholars Program, CAS