SIENAcollege Academic Community Engagement
RECIPROCAL TRANSFORMATIVE PATHWAY MULTIFACETED BEYOND THE CAMPUS DEVELOPMENTAL PARTNERSHIPS HUMANE SUSTAINABLE CONNECT COMMUNITY SERVICE CAPACITY BUILDING ENGAGEMENT EXPERIENTIAL COMMUNITY DEVELOPMENT HUMANE ACADEMICS ASSETS KNOWLEDGE INSPIRE RESEARCH EDUCATIONAL PARTICIPATION COLLABORATE LEARN PATHWAY CAREER SOCIAL JUSTICE STRENGTHEN PASSIONATE DEDICATE TO TEAM NETWORK CAMPUS-COMMUNITY SOLUTION QUERY DISCOVERY INTERNATIONAL LOCAL IMPLEMENTATION STRATEGIC PLANNING INNOVATION CONSOLIDATION COMMUNICATION ROOT CAUSES LEADERSHIP LEARN OUR MISSION INFRASTRUCTURE REFLECTION CO-CREATION ACQUISITION OF KNOWLEDGE CULTURE OF SERVICE MEANINGFUL JOIN DIVERSITY SUPPORTIVE ESTABLISH MODERN DAY ST FRANCIS ALONGSIDE
Annual Report
2014
DEEP Service High Impact
Dr. Mathew Johnson ’93 Director of ACE
Yalitza Negron ’08, M.S.E.d. Associate Director of ACE
The Siena College Office of Academic Community Engagement is dedicated to fostering opportunities for faculty, staff, students, national service volunteers, and community members to work together on addressing the most pressing needs of our communities. This year was no exception. We focused on enhancing the quality, breadth, and depth of our DEEP (Developing Engaging Educational Partnership) Service programs, high impact initiatives, and orientations so that all those involved would have a meaningful, engaging, and rewarding community engagement experience. We are excited to present this year’s annual report filled with stories and information about our accomplishments, high-impact conferences and events, gifts and grants, and community recognition. We also included a section devoted to our impact numbers. We are proud of and grateful to all those who worked in solidarity through Office of Academic Community Engagement partnerships to build a world that is more justice, peaceable, and humane.
During 2014, members of the Office of Academic Community Engagement developed programs and resources that supported our community through significant milestones. These milestones were not accomplished in silos. Through the hard work and dedication of our undergraduate students, postgraduate fellows, community partners, faculty members, and administrators, we worked in unison with the belief that we can "create a world that is more just, peaceable and humane." As a result, we cocreated sustainable systems that address the critical needs of those we serve. Even though these successes may be smaller steps toward our ideal community, persistence and self-integrity are important values that drive our work. During challenging economic times, these values are key in helping us to accomplish more with less. This year has been a true testament of the impact a community has when it brings its resources, passion, and heart together. Until the day comes that our ideal community has been achieved, we will continue with our efforts through one shared mission and vision.
Mathew Johnson, Ph.D. ‘93
Yalitza Negron ’08
Accomplishments Academic At the OďŹƒce of Academic Community Engagement, we place the creation and acquisition of knowledge in dialogue with the needs and assets of the greater community through our reciprocal partnerships. This year we worked on developing a new certificate in community consulting as an academic pathway for the Siena ACE NEXT Fellows. This certificate will enable our students to develop consulting skills in order to work with nonprofits across the Capital Region in the areas of strategic planning, marketing, and business. We also supported a number of community engaged teaching and learning partnerships that allowed students, faculty, and community members to work together on important community issues. Community Engaged Teaching and Learning Feature: In the spring 2014 semester, Siena College faculty member Dr. Katherine Meierdiercks and her advanced GIS students partnered with Underground Railroad History Project of the Capital Region, Inc., a nonprofit organization that seeks to promote and encourage knowledge and understanding of the anti-slavery and underground railroad movements on a local and national level. Dr. Meierdierck and her students partnered with Stephen Harriet Meyers Middle School students to create a digital story map that includes local historic sites and areas of importance related to the black abolitionist movements. The story map invites people to visit historic sites, even some that have been replaced by other structures or parking lots. This project provides a wonderful example of how ACE Annual Report | 4
faculty, students, and community members can work together to bring light to an important community issue that would otherwise be lost.
Capacity Building Building capacity is at the heart of what we do. ACE connects Siena faculty, students, and volunteers with community organizations in order to build systems that work to provide an infrastructure for successful programs that help address the needs of our communities. In all of our programs and partnerships we focus on not only building capacity of organizations, but also the capacity of individuals and community members so that they can have the skills and tools they need, and ultimately our communities need, to be successful. Partner Feature: The Parsons Child and Family Center, a long-term ACE community partner, is one of the largest multi-service agencies in New York’s Capital Region and is dedicated to helping children and their families through counseling services, child abuse/neglect prevention and treatment, family strengthening programs, early childhood family support, special education, youth development programs, and mental health services. ACE has placed Bonner Service Leaders, Summer Service Scholars, and AmeriCorps VISTA Fellows at Parsons to help build the capacity of their organization in a variety of ways. This year, AmeriCorps VISTA Fellow Rhonda Daniel played a significant role in helping to build the capacity of the organization by developing their volunteer
program and starting the Get Real program, which teaches community members important life skills. For the volunteer program, Rhonda took a holistic approach. She created a new volunteer application, interviewed volunteers to see if they would be a good match for the organization, and placed volunteers in positions that would suit their skills and interests. The new volunteer management system increased the capacity for Parsons to host volunteers in meaningful positions that provided the most benefit for the organization and the population they serve as well as the volunteer doing the service. For the Get Real program, Rhonda developed a line of workshops that will help community members learn important life skills, like applying for a job, learning how to use a computer, and developing time management skills. Not only is Rhonda helping to build the capacity of Parsons, but also the capacity of individuals to live productive and meaningful lives. Rhonda’s supervisor and the organization were so impressed with her work that they secured funding to hire her after she completes her second AmeriCorps VISTA term of service.
Developmental
One of our major focuses at ACE is to provide developmental opportunities for our undergraduates and postgraduates fellows, participants, and volunteers to grow personally and professionally. We engage them in opportunities to develop their academic and professional skills so
that they may successfully transition into the next chapter of their lives. Our goal is that by the time they have completed their commitment with ACE, they have acquired the skills they need to be successful when they start a new job, further their education, or participate in a national service program. Student Feature:
Recent graduate and Bonner Service Leader alumnus Ryan Gonnelly ’14 originally joined ACE because he did community service projects in high school and wanted to continue this inspirational work in college. As a college freshmen and sophomore, he served at the Unity House of Troy, giving presentations to community members and providing food and services as an intake coordinator. During his first two summers, he also helped run Siena’s Civic Engagement camp for high school students. Then, as a junior and senior, he served in a leadership role as an ACE Program Associate. Now, Ryan works at the AIDS Council of Northeastern New York in Albany as a data coordinator and support specialist. Ryan credits ACE and the Bonner program for his success. The developmental opportunities he got to grow personally and professionally as a student in the Bonner program helped him become the person he is today.
Multifaceted
Reciprocal
ACE builds community partnerships with a multifaceted approach, where multiple ACE programs are actively engaged at each of our community partner organizations. As a result, our involvement connects community partners with short-term and long-term volunteers that serve in different capacities for varying lengths of time throughout the year. Different types of service and time commitments ensure that our community partners can focus on developing relationships with our volunteers over longer periods of time and give them quality projects that will make a greater impact.
ACE is committed to developing reciprocal relationships that are mutually transformative. That is to say that when students, volunteers, faculty, staff, and community partners work together on solving a community issue, all members of the group are valued for their knowledge, resources, and skills. At ACE, we have developed over 30 reciprocal campus-community partnerships that focus on building partnerships that work together to building last solutions in our communities.
Partner Feature: The Boys and Girls Clubs of Albany is one of ACE’s strongest and longest running community partnerships. Since the placement of the first Siena AmeriCorps VISTA Fellow in 2008, the Boys and Girls Clubs of Albany has hosted hundreds of ACE students and volunteers in ACE’s DEEP Service programs and initiatives, including ACE Summer Service Scholars, Bonner Service Leaders, and Community Engaged Teaching and Learning faculty and students. This year, we are developing a new partnership with Siena’s athletic department. Siena student, Taylor Booth ’15, is leading the effort to develop a program for Siena athletes to mentor youth at the Club through athletic leadership building experiences. Our multifaceted partnership has truly benefited both ACE and the Boys and Girls Clubs of Albany. Together we have worked hard to provide meaningful service experiences for ACE faculty, students, and volunteers that positively impact youth in the Capital Region. As a result, we have had many successes, including record breaking fundraisers and the development of new programs and initiatives that offer youth the chance to learn, grow, and succeed. ACE Annual Report | 6
Partner Feature: Our partnership with Mediation Matters embodies what it means to have a reciprocal partnership. Mediation Matters is a multifaceted organization of volunteers and professionals that are dedicated to empowering individuals, communities, and families to manage and resolve conflict in a healthy and productive way. Over the last year, our partnership with Mediation Matters has blossomed. Currently, ACE AmeriCorps*VISTA Fellows, Kevin Sullivan and Joshua Oscher are serving at Mediation Matters. They play an important role in helping Mediation Matters build capacity by spreading awareness and about their programs and services as well as providing trainings on conflict resolution. This year, ACE benefited from these trainings when the AmeriCorps VISTA Fellows program received a training on difficult conversations and when the entire ACE staff participated in a peer mediation and conflict resolution training in February. The ACE staff are now continuing with their training by participating in apprenticeships in order to gain a certificate to volunteer as a mediator. Our partnership with Mediation Matters is just one example of our mission to create reciprocal relationships that allow both ACE and our community partners to work together and benefit from each other.
Sustainable Each of our DEEP Service programs and projects is dedicated to capacity-building and working with faculty, staff, students, and community members to build the resources and skills needed to sustain a program or project for years in the future. Program Feature: The Siena Girls Scouts started as a Siena AmeriCorps VISTA initiative at Hackett Middle School that aimed to connect Siena students with girls in the Capital Region. The program was widely successful and in effort to keep it going, Siena ACE adopted it as an official DEEP Service program. This year, it gained official status as a Siena club, which now gives Siena students the opportunity to lead its growth and sustainability. The success of this program is a testament to the hard work of Siena students, ACE staff, community members, and volunteers who sought to make it a program for generations of young girls to get involved in throughout Capital Region community. With its official status as a club, the Siena Girl Scouts program will receive club funding that will support trainings and meetings for the Siena Girl Scouts Leaders, as well as provide important resources to continue the effort to grow the program and build its sustainability so that more Girls Scouts can get involved.
The Siena Girl Scouts club attracts participants from all over the Capital Region including North Albany Academy, Hackett Middle School, Schuyler Elementary, and Troy Public School 2. This year, the Siena Girl Scout Leaders emphasized building relationships among the girls across the different schools. The junior groups (4th and 5th graders) went camping with Girl Scouts from other schools and had a great bonding experience. The Troy and North Albany girls earned badges, played games, and went on nature walks together. During the annual Girl Scouts cookie drive, the girls worked together to sell over $15,000 worth of cookies. The Siena Girl Scout Leaders were pleased by the way the girls embraced the true sisterhood spirit of the Girl Scouts. The Siena Girl Scout Leaders are working to integrate the program deeper into the community. They will be partnering with an instructor from the Rape Aggression Defense System (RAD) to teach the girls about personal safety, as well as a Siena Health Services Nurse who will teach the girls about first aid. The club will also be implementing a new curriculum, Free to Be Me, for the cadette and senior meetings. This curriculum was developed by the World Association of Girl Guides and Girls, as well as Dove, and aims to increase self-esteem through fun and empowering activities. We are excited to see the Siena Girl Scouts Club launch this year and are proud of those who dedicated their time and energy to support this great cause for young girls in the Capital Region.
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Events and Conferences The Office of Academic Community Engagement offers opportunities for all ACE participants to engage with the greater community through a variety of events including conferences, forums, workshops, networking events, retreats, and service days. For our students and national service participants, these opportunities pave a pathway to make connections with community members, develop a more nuanced understanding of pressing issues in the Capital Region, reflect on their service activities, and develop their personal and professional goals.
Halloween Extravaganza 9 The Halloween Extravaganza, a yearly fundraising event started by ACE Associate Director of ACE, Yalitza Negron ’08, when she was a Siena student, celebrated its ninth event this year. Now planned and hosted by Siena undergraduates in the Bonner Service Leaders program, Halloween Extravaganza attracts over 300 children and their families to participate in Halloween inspired activities with over 35 Siena clubs and organizations each year. This year, the students raised $1,274 dollars and donated the proceeds to ACE community partner Green Tech High Charter School, a school for young men in Albany, New York.
Latino Youth Conference The Latino Youth Conference, hosted by the Black and Latino Achievers program at Siena College each year, is a one day event that seeks to encourage and motivate middle school and high school students to look beyond the goal of high school graduation to higher education. This year, ACE administrator (now Director of College ACE Annual Report | 8
Access at Albany Leadership Charter High School for Girls) Tony Rivera played a significant role in planning and executing this engaging and energizing conference. Each year, the event offers Latino youth a full day of workshops, an Information & College Expo, peer panel discussions, keynote speakers, food, and entertainment. The conference has become a wonderful opportunity for students to meet positive mentors, hear encouraging words from those who have achieved success, get connected with important resources, and build a strong foundation for future achievements. This year’s event attracted over 100 participants and was a great success.
ACE Coffeehouse The ACE Coffeehouse is a lively fall networking event that is planned by a committee of ACE participants. Siena College students, undergraduate and postgraduate national service volunteers, faculty, staff, and ACE’s nonprofit community partners are invited to mix and mingle and get to know each other through a variety of activities that encourage attendees to engage in a fun and approachable way. This year, the event attracted over 100 participants and many remarked that it was a great way to make professional connections and develop a network of like-minded people working in the area of community development. For many of our ACE national service participants serving off campus, this is an especially important event, as they use the opportunity to make connections with Siena faculty, staff, and students who want to engage in the community. The ACE Coffeehouse has become a successful launching point for many campuscommunity partnerships.
ACE Winter Retreat The ACE Winter Retreat is an annual two-day event planned by ACE administrators and AmeriCorps VISTA Leaders exclusively for ACE participants. This year’s retreat took place in February and included two days of reflection and team bonding activities that sought to reenergize and refocus participants on their motivations and goals to participate in community development work. The retreat theme “Hear Me Roar” infused a fun and spirited element to all the activities, including the team bonding experiences. This year, the team went bowling together at Olympic Lanes in Menands, New York and snow tubing at Tubby Tubes in Lake Luzerne, New York. They also enjoyed a family style dinner together on the last day of the retreat. This event has become a wonderful opportunity for ACE participants to build relationships with each other and reflect on the importance of their community engagement work.
MLK Day of Service Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. once said, “Life’s most persistent and urgent question is: What are you doing for others?” Each year, thousands of Americans across the country come together to answer that question on the MLK Day of Service. Instead of approaching it as a “day off” Americans make it a “day on” to serve their neighbors and communities. This year, the student body of Siena College engaged in service activities alongside high school students in the Capital Region. For the Siena ACE Bonner Service Leaders, the MLK Day of Service was their first Weekend Service Day of the 2014 year. About 100 Siena students participated along with 75 students from Green Tech High Charter School, Albany Leadership Charter High School for Girls, Albany High School, and North Albany Academy. Together, they served at several Siena College community partner sites including Capital Area Peer Services, St. John/St. Ann’s Community Outreach Center, St. Charles Shelter, Ronald McDonald House, Interfaith Partnership for the Homeless, and Capital City Rescue Mission. They also provided cards for children at the Albany Medical Center. For all the students, it was a rewarding day that fostered friendship, support, and community.
Community Forum The Community Forum is an ACE sponsored and planned student-led event that invites members of both the Siena and Capital Region community to participate in a day-long forum to discuss critical issues facing Albany area youth, and create actions plans to address the issues. To guide this year’s forum, ACE identified key areas for discussion, including the enhancing NY Common Core state standard initiative, increasing financial literacy, supporting Latino and Latina youth, developing healthy relationships, improving school climate by decreasing or eliminating bullying, and addressing hunger and homelessness through volunteerism. The Siena students who facilitated the discussions completed a course taught by ACE administrator, Dr. Ruth Kassel, called Facilitating Community Change. This year’s forum attracted a broad range of attendees including various faculty, nonprofit professionals, undergraduate students, and national service participants. The event also featured notable public figures Albany Mayor, Kathy Sheehan, and Superintendent of the City School District of Albany, Dr. Vanden Wyngaard.
Video Showcase The ACE Video Showcase is an opportunity for ACE participants to embrace entertainmenteducation as a social marketing tool to convey important messages about their community development work. Participants learn how create short films based on the topic of their choosing, whether that is a profile of their service site, a community-based issue, or training and enrichment activity. Each year, we invite members from both ACE Annual Report | 10
the Siena and Capital Region community to see the films on the day of the showcase. This year, a panel of judges composed of Video Showcase Planning Committee members gave awards to three films for best soundtrack, best message, and best film. The audience also got to participate by voting for the people’s choice award. The best film went to the humorous Law and Order: Special VISTA Unit for its creative script and excellent editing. The Video Showcase is always a great time and a wonderful way to come together as a community and watch inspiring films. To see the films, visit youtube.com/ sienacollegeace.
AmeriCorps Week and VISTA Volunteer Appreciation Week Each year during AmeriCorps Week and Volunteer Appreciation Week, ACE takes the opportunity to recognize and thank our national service volunteers who dedicate many hours of their time to community engagement initiatives that help grow the capacity of our communities to address critical issues and pressing needs. This year during AmeriCorps Week, we honored our participants by surprising them with letters of appreciation and words of encouragement and support. We also extended our appreciation to VISTA Volunteer Appreciation Week and surprised our AmeriCorps VISTA Fellows with special recognition from AmeriCorps VISTA Leaders, site-supervisors, and ACE administrator staff. The week also included a luncheon at Albany’s Washington Park and a slideshow of pictures that captured all the appreciation activities that week. Each of our volunteers are truly appreciated!
High-Impact Initiative The High-Impact Initiative works to catalyze and support a three-year development strategy for campus teams involving faculty, administrators, students, and community parters at college and universities to develop high-impact education practices that are integrated with high-impact community engagement. Since 2012, ACE and the Bonner Foundation have co-sponsored a 4-day conference that invites representatives from colleges and universities all around the nation to Siena College to participate in discussion about high-impact strategies. This year, a total of 175 people attended from 22 colleges and universities. Attendees participated in a welcome dinner and opening ceremony, workshops led by, for, and with students, faculty, staff, and community partners, breakout sessions, and presentations, all with the goal to encourage teamwork, learning, and strategic thinking and planning. ACE and the Bonner Foundation were honored to welcome several national keynote speakers including John Saltmarsh from the New England Resource Center for Higher Education, and Ashley Finley and Caryn Tighe Musil from the Association of American Colleges & Universities.
AmeriCorps VISTA Pre-Service Orientation Every year, the Corporation for National and Community Service hosts Pre-Service Orientations around the country which all new AmeriCorps VISTA members are required to attend before they start their year of service. Typically they take place at a hotel in the region where the AmeriCorps
VISTA members will be completing their service term but for the first time this year, AmeriCorps VISTA hosted Pre-Service Orientation at Siena College for the Northeast region AmeriCorps VISTA Fellows. Approximately 90 new AmeriCorps VISTA members attended (including a new team of Siena AmeriCorps VISTA Fellows). The orientation included trainings and workshops to help prepare AmeriCorps VISTA members before the start of their term. ACE took a special role in planning fun social outings for the group, including a trip to downtown Albany to attend Alive at 5. When the training was over, the new VISTA members traveled back to the place where they will be serving and the new Siena AmeriCorps VISTA Fellows stayed in the Albany region to prepare for a Siena College On-Site Orientation Training the following week.
ACE Summer Gear Up Before the 2014-2015 academic year, ACE hosted Summer Gear Up, which was an opportunity for ACE participants to come together as a group before the start of school and get ready for their upcoming community engagement activities. Workshops, trainings, team building exercises, and social activities were planned to help ACE participants connect on a deeper level, make new connections with a variety of Capital Region community partners, and have fun. This year, Summer Gear Up took place from August 18 through August 27 and the theme was “One World: Many Stories” which inspired ACE participants to focus on the mission of ACE, which is to build a world that is more just, peaceable, and humane.
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Recognition Mayors Day of Recognition for National Service On April 1, 2014, the Office of Academic Community Engagement received special recognition from Albany Mayor Kathy Sheehan on the second-annual Mayors Day of Recognition for National Service. On this day every year, participating mayors from all over the nation highlight the value and impact of national service to the nation’s cities by recognizing their local community leaders who are improving lives, strengthening communities, and fostering civic engagement. This year, Mayor Sheehan honored ACE by visiting the office and recognizing the efforts of our undergraduates, national service volunteers, faculty, staff, and community partners. During Mayor Sheehan’s visit, ACE staff, students, and national service volunteers coordinated a series of meet and greet opportunities that gave her the chance to get to know the ACE community and understand the projects and initiatives in progress. During the morning session, Mayor Sheehan met Siena AmeriCorps VISTA Fellows, Bonner Service Leaders, and community partners. They each shared ways that being involved in ACE programs has impacted their personal and professional lives. During the next session, she met with ACE administrators Dr. Mathew Johnson ’93 (Director), Yalitza Negron’ 08 (Associate Director), and Lamara Burgess (Coordinator of VISTA) as well as Kathleen Carey, ACE’s AmeriCorps VISTA state office representative. They shared the principles of the ACE DEEP Service philosophy, which is to develop engaging, educational partnerships that aim to build the capacity of our communities so that we can address pressing challenges. Impressed by our commitment to community engagement, Mayor Sheehan expressed the hope that we can collaborate on future national service initiatives. At the end of Mayor Sheehan’s visit, she presented ACE with a Mayoral Proclamation, which recognized us for the positive impact of national service in our city and thanked us for our service and the paths we have chartered to give back to our communities.
“Mayor’s Day of Recognition provided a great opportunity for our ACE connections to showcase their programs and talk about the impact they are having on the Capital District community. It also opened the door to discuss bigger issues within the area and how we can utilize our resources to combat them.” - Lamara Burgess ACE Annual Report | 12
During Mayor Sheehan’s visit, ACE sta, students, and national service volunteers coordinated a series of meet and greet opportunities that gave her the chance to get to know the ACE community and understand the projects and initiatives in progress.
Gifts and Grants $400,000 Corporation for National and Community Service Grant This year, ACE received a $400,000 Corporation for National and Community Service (CNCS) grant for the Siena AmeriCorps VISTA Fellows program. Previously a federally administered grant, it is now a fully operational program grant that allows ACE to oversee the administrative aspects of the Siena VISTA program. Since the establishment of the Siena VISTA Fellows program in 2008, CNCS has administered the VISTA Fellow’s stipends. With the new CNCS grant, ACE will administer the stipends, which eliminates the possibility that the Siena VISTA Fellows will not receive their stipends in the case of a federal government shutdown. ACE will also take the role of granting extensions to service terms. Occasionally a Siena VISTA Fellow requests to serve at his or her community partner site for an additional number of months or another service year. Previously, extensions required CNCS approval. The CNCS grant also allows ACE to hire additional administrative support, including a fulltime position for the Siena VISTA Fellows program and a full-time position to support campuscommunity partnerships.
$100,000 Collection of Gifts The Office of Academic Community Engagement received gifts from several generous donors that will support the ACE General Fund. This fund supports our DEEP Service programs, which engage faculty, staff, students, volunteers, and community partners in developing partnerships and projects that address key challenges faced by the community. ACE now has ten DEEP Service programs, which are led by
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ACE’s dedicated staff. The collection of gifts will support their effort in providing quality and meaningful experiences for participants in the programs, as well as professional and personal development opportunities to grow as individuals working for social change. One of the gifts will support the new ACE position of Civic Leader in Residence, held by Gerald “Jerry” DeFrancisco, a Siena College alumnus and professional consultant whose career spans over 40 years in telecommunications, general management, consulting, and academia. He is a great a asset to the ACE community.
$250,000 Gift for NEXT One of ACE’s newest programs, Non-profit Excellence and Transformation (NEXT), received $250,000 from a generous donor this year. NEXT engages consulting teams of students, faculty, staff, and community members in working towards a vibrant, solution-oriented, sustainable non-profit sector across the Capital Region by providing business, operations, and program consulting services to community-based nonprofits. The NEXT program will develop highly-engaged consulting teams of Siena students, faculty, and administrators to support non-profit development that emphasizes innovation, consolidation, and solution-oriented collaboration. Consulting services that NEXT may provide include board function, financial systems, HR, marketing and strategic communications, shared services and mergers, and impact measurements. NEXT consultants help identify needs and opportunities then work closely with community partners to develop strategies and programs that emphasize innovation, consolidation, and solution-oriented collaboration to address them. NEXT consultants help identify needs and
opportunities, then work closely with community partners to develop strategies and programs that emphasize innovation, consolidation, and solutionoriented collaboration to address them. Currently, the program has 22 NEXT Fellows, 3 leadership committee members, 6 steering committee members, and 8 faculty mentors that work together year-round to provide business, operations, and program consultation.
Notable Grants to Community Partners Google Ad Grant Siena AmeriCorps VISTA Fellow, Jack Kelley, who served at the Affordable Housing Partnership from July 2013 to July 2014, applied for a Google Ad grant and received $10,000 per month in in-kind AdWords™ advertising for one year (a value of $120,000). This powerful online advertising tool is Google’s nonprofit edition of AdWords and it empowers nonprofit organizations to promote their mission and initiatives on Google Search result webpages. Jack Kelley’s success inspired other Siena AmeriCorps VISTA Fellows to apply for a Google Ad grant. Both Siena VISTA Fellow Anthony Salvatore of Capital Region Sponsor-A-Scholar and
Alexandria Pizzola of Peter Young Housing Industries and Treatment received the same grant. New York State Department of Criminal Justice Services Grant Siena AmeriCorps VISTA Fellow, Justin Devondorf, who served at the Albany County District Attorney’s Office from July 2013 to July 2014, applied for a New York State Department of Criminal Justice Services grant and received $48,613 to help local law enforcement purchase and install or upgrade audio and video interrogation equipment. The use of video recording equipment has become widely recognized as a way to enhance the fairness, integrity, and effectiveness of the criminal justice system. District Attorneys’ Offices in 29 New York counties received grants and will use them to purchase and upgrade equipment for 150 agencies, including police departments and sheriff’s offices. The Albany County District Attorney’s Office grant will benefit the Albany, Bethlehem, Cohoes, Coeymans, Green Island, Guilderland, Menands and Watervliet police departments, as well as the Albany County District Attorney’s Office, Albany County Sheriff’s Office and the Albany County Child Advocacy Center.
Donation Helps Girl Scouts Get Their Badges The Office of Academic Community Engagement is grateful to a special donor who is helping young girls in the Siena Girls Scouts program fully realize their accomplishments. During a conversation with Siena ACE Assistant Director, April Backus ’12, she found out that some of the girls in the program could not afford to purchase their sashes and badges or participate in Girl Scouts activities. Afterwards, she decided to contribute her personal funds to help make that possible. Thanks to her generous donation, ACE purchased over 400 badges the girls earned during the 2013-2014 academic year. On top of that, for the next 5 years, she has committed to donating $1,500 per year to invest in the the items that the girls may need. Her commitment to the Siena Girl Scouts program is in large part due to her own family involvement in scouting for many years. When she heard that some girls may not have the beneficial experiences that her family has had, she decided that the Siena Girl Scouts deserved to have the same scouting experience as every other girl. The Siena Girls Scouts are so grateful for her generosity.
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ACE By the Numbers Total ACE Numbers 40 reciprocal community partnerships 104,624 total hours served by ACE participants 534 undergraduates involved in ACE initiatives 30 postgraduates involved in ACE initiatives $253,450.70 fundraised by ACE participants $345,583 grants awarded to community partners
Academic AmeriCorps
Community Corps
300 hour internship at a Capital Region nonprofit in conjunction with a Siena College credit-bearing course
Undergraduate service for 2 years, 5+ hours per week
39 participants 12,900 hours served $47,873 AmeriCorps Education Awards received
AmeriCorps VISTA Fellows
23 Community Corps members 6 programs involved with Community Corps 2,774.75 hours served $17,918 AmeriCorps Education Awards received
Postgraduate, one-year, full-time, indirect service
Community Engaged Teaching and Learning
28 AmeriCorps VISTA Fellows 2 AmeriCorps VISTA Leaders 21 community partners 12 professional development modules $253,450.70 total amount fundraised $345, 583 grants awarded
Academic teaching and learning with outcomes of course or project met by meaningful community engagement
Bonner Service Leaders Undergraduate direct service for 4 years, 8-10 hours per week 48 Bonner Service Leaders 5 Bonner Service Leader Program Associates 14 community partners 45 professional development trainings 6 community service Sundays 31,515.25 hour served $19, 975 AmeriCorps Education Awards received
28 courses taught 10 trained, supported faculty 369 students in ACOM classes 21 community partners 1 CETL Fellow 1 CETL project
Connect4Change Project management service connecting corporate volunteers with community partners 2 Connect4Change project leaders 8 Potential projects in development 6 Siena students engaged
Each year more than 700 students involved with ACE create a financial impact of close to $3 million.
Dake Family/Stewart’s Shops Fellows Developmental postgraduate communitybased research fellowship
5,957.25 total hours served $63,004 AmeriCorps Education Awards received
Youth Programs
02 undergraduates / 01 postgraduate 03 projects
Character building and college access youth programs led by Community Corps members
Global Service Internships
15 TeenCorps members 95 Girl Scouts 47 Trailblazers 157 youth participants 7,020 hours of participation
Undergraduate 5-week internship in Bolivia with Unidad Académica Campesina 6 participants 1 community partner, 3 community partner sites
NEXT Consulting Services Teams of students, faculty, staff, and community members providing consulting services to nonprofits 22 NEXT Fellows 3 leadership committee members 6 steering committee members 8 faculty mentors 7 clients, 9 contracts
Summer Service Scholars Undergraduate direct and indirect service for 10 weeks, 40 hours per week 25 participants 14 community partners
Total AmeriCorps Numbers 142 AmeriCorps participants $300,000 Educational Segal Merit Award 46, 384 hours AmeriCorps members served 58,240 hours AmeriCorps VISTA Fellows served
ACE TEAM GROWTH Yalitza Negron ’08
Yalitza Negron ’08, M.S.Ed., was promoted to the position of Associate Director of ACE on August 28, 2013. Prior to her promotion, she served as the Assistant Director of ACE. Yalitza has been a valued member of the ACE since the establishment of the office in 2008. April Backus ’12, was promoted to the position of Assistant Director of ACE on August 1, 2014. Prior to her promotion, she served as the Coordinator of ACE Quality Assurance and Youth Programs. As the Assistant Director of ACE, she oversees several ACE programs, AmeriCorps quality assurance, and serves as a liaison to Albany public schools.
April Backus ’12
Lamara J. Burgess, was promoted to Coordinator of ACE, AmeriCorps VISTA Fellows program on July 29, 2013. Prior to her promotion, she served as a AmeriCorps VISTA Leader with the Siena VISTA Fellows program. As the Coordinator of ACE, she coordinates the Siena VISTA Fellows program, supervises two AmeriCorps VISTA Leaders, and oversees a team of 30 Siena AmeriCorps VISTA Fellows each year. Lamara J. Burgess
Cristina Alberto, was hired as ACE Office Assistant on January 6, 2014. She works closely with Assistant Director of ACE, Lori A. Barringer, to oversee the day to day operations of ACE and ensure that they are running smoothly. Cristina graduated in 2013 with her Associates of Science Degree in Accounting. Currently, she is pursuing her Bachelors Degree in Business Administration at SUNY Cobleskill. Cristina Alberto
Gerald “Jerry” DeFrancisco, partnered with ACE as a Civic Leader in Residence starting July 7, 2014. He is a professional consultant whose career spans over 40 years in telecommunications, general management, consulting and academia, serving in senior leadership positions in a wide variety of assignments. He was appointed President, Humanitarian Services for the American Red Cross in September 2008, leading operations for over 1500 Red Cross locations across the country and around the world delivering the organization’s humanitarian mission.
Gerald DeFrancisco
Erik Eddy, Ph.D., partnered with ACE as a Faculty Fellow during the 2013-2014 academic year. Dr. Eddy holds a Masters in Business Administration and a Masters in Organizational Change from Bowling Green State University and received his doctoral degree in Organizational Studies from University at Albany, State University of New York. He is currently an Associate Professor of Management in the School of Business and the NEXT Faculty Fellow at Siena College. Erik Eddy, Ph.D. ACE Annual Report | 18
Staff Award Yalitza Negron ’08 received Rising Latino Stars Under 40 award. Every year, Hispanic Coalition NY, Inc. recognizes New York State Latinos under the age of 40 who are making a positive difference in their community. Award recipients are nominated by friends and colleagues and a review committee, which is comprised of former Rising Star members, select the winners. This year, Associate Director of ACE, Yalitza Negron ’08, was nominated and selected for an award. In March 2013, she attended an awards ceremony, along with the other winners, to accept her award. We are so proud of her hard work and dedication to civic engagement and empowering volunteers and students.
Student Awards and Recognition Adderlin Taveras ’15 received the Gilman Award, which fully funded a study abroad internship with the ACE Global Service Internships program. The Gilman Scholarship Program aims to diversify the kinds of students who study and intern abroad and the countries and regions where they go by offering awards to U.S. undergraduates who might otherwise not participate due to financial constraints.
Adderlin Taveras
Kevin Schafer
Kevin Schafer ’14 received the Office of Academic Community Engagement Academic Achievement Award for having the highest overall grade point average of 3.77 in the ACE program’s graduating class. His service legacy includes pioneering a service minded after school program at Albany High School. Laura Priest ’14 received the Office of Academic Community Engagement Engaged Scholar Award for an ACE member who embodies the integration of service and academics. She served at the Peter Young Foundation, as well as New Meadow and Castleton Elementary School. Ena Keric ’14 received the Office of Academic Community Engagement Engaged Scholar Award for an ACE member who embodies the integration of service and academics. She was the founding fellow of ACE’s NEXT Consulting program. Katherine Wells ’14 received the Office of Academic Community Engagement Life of Service Award for an ACE member who embodies the integration of service and academics into their long-term career goals. She now works as a campaign manager at the Upstate NY Chapter of the National MS Society. Claudia Congemi ’14 received the Office of Academic Community Engagement Dake Postgraduate Fellow Award for designing the winning community engagement project for implementation during their Dake postgraduate year of service.
Laura Priest
Ena Keric
Katherine Wells
Claudia Congemi ACE Annual Report | 19
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