Service Learning Advisory Council
Next Service-Learning Advisory Council meeting Date: Jan. 24th, 2008 Time: 2:30 Location: TBA
Adams State College Community Partnerships is pleased to announce the creation of the Service Learning Advisory Council (SLAC) and its new members. The following council members are a diverse group of individuals whose mission and commitment is to expand service-learning in the San Luis Valley. The council members are all dedicated to educating our community of the benefits of service-learning for both youth and the community.
Nancy Molina
is the Service-learning Director at Adams State Community Partnerships. She is an alumni of Adams State College where she received her BA in History/Govt/Social Studies. She went on to obtain her MA in Curriculum and Instruction and is fervently dedicated to enhancing civic engagement and helping individuals improve their status through education. To accomplish these goals she is collaborating with community members and agencies to improve the community.
Catalina Bartlett
holds a master's degree in American Studies from the University of New Mexico and another in English from the University of California at Berkeley. She has taught developmental English, literature courses and academic skills seminars. Ms. Bartlett currently serves as Director of Student Support Services at Adams State College in Alamosa, Colorado. My interest in serving on the SLAC Council is at least two-fold. First is to form partnerships between the larger San Luis Valley community and ASC through the service-learning model. Second is to use the model to reignite a spirit of activism among students and to bridge the gap between theory and practice.
Jenna Boostrom
is the Community Education Coordinator for La Puente Home. She started at La Puente as a full-time AmeriCorps volunteer for the Homelessness Prevention and Outreach Services. She moved to the Valley from Illinois. Jenna earned a BA in International Studies and Environmental Studies from Knox College in 2004. Apart from work, she spends a lot of time cooking and training for my next marathon. She also volunteers as a DJ for KRZA. Jenna is also available to give presentations to schools, churches, and organizations on the services offered by and needed by La Puente.
Mimi Witherington
works with the Alamosa County Chamber of Commerce as the Convention and Group Tours Manager. She is a recent transplant to the San Luis Valley. She attended the University of Georgia in Athens, GA and Armstrong Atlantic State University in Savannah, GA, where she majored in Political Science and minored in Music. After graduating from college, she began her political career working as a caseworker for Congressman Lindsay Thomas and a Regional Representative for Senator Max Cleland. She later went into education, teaching and serving as an administrator at Bethesda Home for Boys in Savannah, GA. Shortly after arriving in Alamosa during the Blizzard of ’06, she began volunteering at Adams State College in the Community Partnerships office- specifically with the Service Learning team. She is excited to be on the SLAC board because she is passionate about Service Learning and wants to continue playing an active role in helping students receive quality Service Learning experiences.
Allison Cruse
is the volunteer coordinator at La Puente Home, student herbalist and community activist. She has lived in the Valley for almost four years, coming initially as an Americorps volunteer at La Puente Home. Allison is active in the community in many different ways involving service, social justice and sustainability. As a member of the SLAC council, she hopes to raise community consciousness about service and the connectedness of all human beings with one another and the earth.
Lisa Mari Centeno
earned a B.A. in Political Science from Purdue University (1993), an M.A. in Political Science from Arizona State (1996), and a Ph.D. in Political Science from Arizona State (2003). Her dissertation, titled Mujeres de Maize/Women of Maize, focuses on Central American women's resistance to globalization. Her research interests include: gender, globalization and Latin American political movements. Her courses cover the theory and practice of International Relations and Comparative Politics: war, diplomacy, government systems, gender, economic development and current international issues. In addition to her coursework, she advises and works to place History/Government students in internships, graduate programs and national political campaigns. Currently, she serves as faculty advisor to the Adams State College Model United Nations Team, which has attended conferences in Las Vegas, Santa Barbara, and Boston. The team also conducted a diplomatic mission to Venezuela during the summer of 2007. She encourages students to learn more about their world so that they may strive to better the international state of affairs.
Diego J. Trujillo
a New Mexico native, with many familial ties to the San Luis Valley has recently relocated to Alamosa, Colorado from Albuquerque, New Mexico to raise his son, establish new roots, and become more connected to the SLV community.
Diego has served students and families at the elementary, secondary and post-secondary levels for the last 6 years. Trujillo currently works at Adams State College as a Tutoring and Testing Coordinator. At Adams State College, he works directly with training and recruiting peer tutors to meet the students' daily needs by supporting them with their classes. In addition, Diego administers placement tests, tests requiring accommodations (distraction-reduced environment or test reader, for example), and makeup tests/exams. He also coordinates note-takers and test-readers for students with approved accommodations.
Trujillo received his B.S. in Special Education K-12 and Elementary Education K-8 with an emphasis in TESOL K-12 from the University of New Mexico. Trujillo previously worked with Youth Development, Inc. The National Hispanic Child and Family Development Institute, a non-profit agency serving youth and families, as a Math Instructor for Project Succeed with at risk students, as the GED Chief Examiner and Coordinator for the GED Test Center, Coordinator for a 21st Century Community Learning Centers Program and tutoring services provided through Supplemental Educational Services funded through NCLB. Prior to this Trujillo worked with the University of New Mexico as an ABE Instructor and Training Specialist where he designed and implemented course work for students in this Worker-Trainee Program through WIA (Workforce Investment Act).
Karen Lemke
as a licensed teacher, Karen has taught courses to children and adults ranging from computer literacy and software to time management, study skills, literature, reading and writing.
She studied English and psychology at Lawrence University and received an MA in Rhetoric/Composition from the University of Northern Colorado. She also completed coursework for secondary teacher licensure through Regis University and completed an internship in Minority Outreach through the Milwaukee Public Museum. She is beginning a PhD program in educational leadership. Her research interests are social justice education, expeditionary learning, and developmental education.
Karen currently teaches developmental reading and writing and is the interim director of developmental education at Adams State College in Alamosa, Colorado. She also teaches EDFD 500 (Writing Fundamentals) and EDFD 642 (Thesis preparation) courses for Regis University's teacher education program. Karen is the secretary and webmaster for the Colorado Association for Developmental Education. She also enjoys beekeeping, music, cooking, and backpacking with her packgoats
