People

The Creative Community Building Program includes an interdisciplinary team of University of Connecticut faculty and staff along with community-based practitioners. This program draws from philosophy, sociology, creativity, education and pedagogy, women’s studies, science and engineering, multiculturalism, leadership, anthropology, cooperative development, arts, peace and justice, community health, community media, and more.

Creative Community Building Program Team

• Steven Dahlberg - Associate Director
  Principal, International Centre of Creativity and Imagination
  (applied creative thinking and problem solving; creative organizations, communities and cities; creative education; creative aging/retirement)
• Phoebe Godfrey
  Assistant Professor in Residence, Sociology - University of Connecticut
  (race, class and gender; applying sociology to social issues; politics of food; peace studies)
• Katie Gregory - Assistant to Director
  Wrench in the Works Community Space
• Len Krimerman - Director
  Professor Emeritus, Philosophy - University of Connecticut
  (theory and practice of democratic and self-managed organization; philosophy of education; participatory forms of community planning, social inquiry and development)
• Marita McComiskey
  Associate Director and Coordinator of Internships, Women’s Studies Program - University of Connecticut
• Kathryn Ratcliff
  Assistant Professor, Sociology - University of Connecticut
  (sociology of health; women and health; applied sociology; community internships)
• Christine Wilson
  Associate Dean of Students and Director of Student Activities - University of Connecticut
  (multicultural issues in education; constructivist pedagogy; classroom and organization assessment; inclusive leadership, leadership for activism and social change)

Program Team Interns

• Carrie Carter
  Undergraduate, Philosophy Major
• Janna Mahfoud
  Graduate Student, Human Development

Creative Community Building - Lead University of Connecticut Faculty
In addition to the core team above, the following University of Connecticut faculty and staff have been involved in developing the Creative Community Building Program, and will contribute teaching, research and/or service (outreach) talents to this program. Their relevant areas of expertise are also indicated.

• Manisha Desai
  Professor of Sociology and Director of the Women’s Studies Program
  (women’s movements; transnational feminism; rethinking globalization; the politics of possibilities)
• Guillermo Irizarry
  Director, Institute for Puerto Rican and Latino Studies
  (Latin American, Caribbean and U.S. Latina/o literature and culture; ethnic studies in an American, hemispheric context; and diaspora studies)
• Kazem Kazerounian
  Professor of Mechanical Engineering
  (product design with focus on health and ergonomic aspects of the products; robotic manipulation; creativity in engineering education; science and democracy)
• Samuel Martinez
  Associate Professor, Anthropology and Latin American and Caribbean Studies
  (labor and minority rights research and advocacy; migration; unfree labor; US and Caribbean)
• Xae Alicia Reyes
  Associate Professor of Education, Neag School of Education
  (critical pedagogy; civic education; multi-cultural education issues; bilingual education; policies and practices; foreign language education; classroom discourse; school reform)

Creative Community Building Practitioners
The follow community-based practitioners are providing program input and relationship building with communities, and are available for guest speaking, course teaching, workshop leading and community internship development.

• Carolyne Abdullah
  Program Director, Everyday Democracy - East Hartford, Connecticut
• Jennifer Gutshall
  Executive Director, Cooperative Development Institute - N. Deerfield, Massachusetts
• Miriam Kurland
  Northeast Coalition for Peace and Justice - Willimantic, Connecticut
• John Murphy
  Board Member, Windham Area Arts Collaborative; General Manager, WHUS-FM - Willimantic/Storrs, Connecticut
• Catherine Russell
  Executive Director, Area Health Education Center
• Joanne Sheehan
  Peace and Justice Practitioner, War Resisters League of New England
• Patricia Wilson-Coker
  Former Commissioner of Social Services, State of Connecticut