The Community and Civic Engagement Committee (CCEC) is an advisory body for the Center for Community and Civic Engagement (CCCE). 

  • The committee meets once per term, for a total of three meetings per year. Each meeting will be organized around a specific topic or issue, such as pandemic recovery, and we will spend the bulk of the meeting gathering insights from the committee members based on respective roles and perspectives. The goal will be to inform CCCE action and address blind spots in our planning while building community among committee members.
  • Occasionally, we will gather input in writing, as a means to engage the group between meetings and/or those who may not be able to attend meetings.
  • We employ ad hoc working groups to take on specific projects or lines of inquiry, such as designing listening sessions, addressing assessment questions, or forming supports for ACE faculty. Participation in these groups will be voluntary and based on the interests and priorities of the participants and group. 

Composition: The committee is convened by the director of the Center for Community and Civic Engagement. Three faculty are appointed by the Faculty Affairs Committee for three-year terms. The Broom Fellow is an ex-officio member, as is a faculty representative of the Public Works Initiative. The committee also includes four community partner representatives, two student-at-large positions selected from among the student fellow staff of the CCCE serving one-year terms, and staff ex-officio positions for the Director of OCS, the Associate VP of External Relations, and the St. Olaf College lead for Academic Civic Engagement.    

Committee Members 2022–2023

Faculty

Palmar Alvarez-Blanco [ex officio]
Claudio Gonzales (3)
Andrea Mazzariello (3)
Andy Poppick (1)

Staff

Helen Clarke [ex officio]
Helena Kaufman [ex officio]
Sinda Nichols [ex officio] [Chair]
Alyssa Melby [ex officio] [St Olaf]

Students

Chloe Truebenbach ’23 [Student-at-Large]
Adi Satish ’23 [Student-at-Large]

Community Members

Mar Valdecantos (Neighbors United)
Anika Rychner (CAC)
Amy Bouma (Faribault High School)
Cynthia Gonzales (Community Without Borders)