New York

Cicily Wilson has been at Bard College for 10 years with much of that time spent in the world of Student Affairs and recently joining its Center for Civic Engagement. Prior to working at Bard, Cicily's career centered on nonprofit management with a focus on public relations, community development and fundraising for many organizations including the Elie Wiesel Foundation, Brooklyn Conservatory of Music, and Girl Scouts. She hopes to use her skills in communications as well as student development to enhance student’s civic engagement journey at Bard through impactful connections with community partners.

Erin Cannan joins the center staff after 15 years in the Division of Student Affairs at Bard. Erin arrived at Bard in 1995 as assistant dean of students/director of first-year students, responsible for orientation and student activities. She was promoted to dean of student affairs, responsible for the oversight of 12 departments within the Division of Student Affairs, and overseeing the work of the dean of campus life.

As deputy director of the center, Erin’s primary focus is on the development of local volunteer and internship opportunities. She facilitates local connections to school districts, government, and business while working to develop partnerships within the center network.

Erin earned her B.A. from State University of New York at Geneseo in 1992 and a master’s degree in student personnel services from Edinboro University.

Alison Handy Twang is the assistant director at the Center for Civic Engagement. In this role, she is broadly responsible for promoting, developing and expanding community engagement opportunities for students. Alison oversees a number of community engagement initiatives, including the Bridging the Digital Divide Project, campus political engagement efforts and CCE's partnership with Promise Zone Community Schools. Before joining CCE, she worked in the nonprofit sector, focusing on philanthropy and student and young adult civic engagement. She received her bachelor's degree in political science and master's degree in public administration from Binghamton University and is currently pursuing her PhD in community and public affairs. She serves as president of the board of directors for the YWCA of Binghamton/Broome County and as a member of the advisory committee for the Rural Health Service Corps/AmeriCorps program. She currently resides in Binghamton with her husband, Dylan, and their chocolate lab, Keene.

As Associate Director of Community Service-Learning and Partnership Amy has dedicated herself to purposeful work that produces lasting impact. Amy's programs encompass student-centered programs such as the Public Service Scholars, to faculty engaged scholarship via action research in teaching and practice, to delivering collective empowerment initiatives for improved community health and wellbeing. Most recently she launched the Patient Care Advocacy Team (PCAT) program in collaboration with Cayuga Medical Center and Cornell Career Services to expose students interested in the field of medicine to a direct service partnership with Cayuga Medical Center for what Amy refers to as a process of instilling and building a "culture of care” into healthcare for future practitioners.

Erin Mysogland is the Assistant Director of the Center for Community Action and Research and an Adjunct Assistant Professor of Peace and Justice Studies at Pace University. In both positions Erin works with Pace students to empower them to take action on justice issues they are passionate about. As Pace's Campus Champion, Erin and Pace's AGF Ambassadors work towards full-student voter participation through creative outreach strategies and institutionalization efforts like an on campus poll site. Erin has a Master's in International and World History from Columbia University and the London School of Economics where she studied strategies activists used in response to the policing of migrant children. Erin is passionate about youth voter engagement and movements for racial justice past and present, and is excited to participate in NCLTS to celebrate and learn from the transformative power of young people!

Emanuel Avila is the Associate Director of Judicial Affairs and Service Learning for Queens College, part of the City University of New York. In his role, he is responsible for monitoring the code of conduct, academic integrity policy, and any other matters related to conduct. He also serves as the Voter Registration Coordinator, crisis response administrator, and supports the Office of the Vice President for Student Affairs. He has been the Campus Champion for Queens College's Vote Everywhere team since 2014.

Lisa Torrey is a member of the faculty at St. Lawrence University, in the Department of Mathematics, Computer Science, and Statistics. Along with Ed Harcourt and Choong-Soo Lee, Lisa conducts the computer science program at St. Lawrence. Before arriving there, Lisa graduated from the University of Wisconsin in 2009 and of Dartmouth College in 2003.

Wendi Haugh is a cultural and linguistic anthropologist with a joint appointment in African Studies. She spent her junior year abroad in Kenya, and she has done research in northern Namibia on the ways that people construct a sense of national identity in songs, speeches, talk radio programs, celebrations, and conversations. She is currently launching a new research project on birding, bird guides, and bird-related ecotourism in eastern and southern Africa. She teaches Cultural Anthropology, Humans and Other Animals, Peoples and Cultures of Africa, and Environmental Conservation in Africa. She enjoys travel, bird watching, and hiking in her spare time.

In her professional duties at SBU, Ashley works directly with students to provide leadership and support for civic activities such as voter registration and education campaigns, coordinating elections-related activities at the University’s polling site with Suffolk County Board of Elections, and designing and strengthening opportunities to implement civic engagement outreach efforts through the department, school, and university-wide programming. Under her leadership, she and her team launched the “Democracy 101” program with the goal of educating students about the importance of civic engagement in their local and global communities. SBU’s redesign of orientation allowed her and her team to restructure voter registration on campus, registering an average of 2,000 students to vote each year. Through the Center for Civic Justice's Community Dialogue series, she engages students, staff, and faculty in important civic discourse on some of today's most pressing issues, fostering a safe environment for open discussion. Through her strategic planning efforts, SBU received a Highly Established Action Plan recognition and a spot on the list of Most Engaged Campuses for College Student Voting. Prior to joining SBU, Ashley started her career in government and politics, working for Nancy Goroff’s Congressional campaign, organizing for a local legislative race, and was a Legislative Aid for the Suffolk County Legislature.

Nicholas Paul Palumbo is the Interim Director of Leadership and Service at the Center for Community. In this role, he is responsible for promoting, developing and expanding leadership and service opportunities for students. Nick oversees a number of leadership initiatives, including the Geneseo Opportunities for Leadership Development, Livingston Cares Service Trips, and the on-campus Voter Engagement Taskforce. Before joining the Center for Community, Nick has been serving the Geneseo community since 2016 as an adjunct faculty member in the department of psychology teaching courses in adolescent and child development, motivation psychology, and advance research methods. Prior to that, Nick was at the University of Rochester where he served as a project manager and adjunct professor in the department of counseling and human development. Nick earned a bachelor’s degree from SUNY Geneseo, a master’s from Syracuse University, and an advanced certificate in online teaching from the University of Rochester. He is currently pursuing a Ph.D. in human development from the University of Rochester. Nick enjoys spending time working with undergraduate students on research projects, reading, writing, and traveling to the Adirondacks. Nick also loves to cook and is always trying out new vegan recipes.