ABOUT • PRACTICE AREAS • TEAM • FELLOWS
About Us
The Ralph W. Voorhees Center for Civic Engagement is a collaboration of university faculty, students and community development actors that seeks to enhance educational opportunities, facilitate innovative research, and build community development capacity.
What We Do
Education
The Center brings the university into the community and the community into the university through community based research and discussion. Each Spring, a faculty committee selects four to five Ralph W. Voorhees Public Service undergraduate fellows who work together with a community partner during the Fall semester. Students work with the Center on research projects throughout the year.
Research, Information, and Analysis
Center staff conduct research on urban and community issues in communities around the world. They pursue work that enables them to think creatively about what produces local problems and engages in local, national, and international conversations about these issues. Faculty and students work in collaboration with communities to conduct research, publish, and present research locally and at academic conferences.
Discussion, Networking, and Public Policy
The Center creates opportunities to discuss community development and urban challenges to enhance relationships, communication and to foster entrepreneurship.
Center Staff
Kathe Newman
Faculty Director
Nadia A. Mian
Senior Program Director
Mehreen Mian
Business Services
2025-2026 Ralph W. Voorhees Public Service Fellows
Besan Abusharia
Rafael Escalante
Dhvani Gandhi
Madison Griffin
Tatiana Sarmiento
Faculty Affiliates and Visiting Faculty
Juan Ayala
Bernadette Baird-Zars
Hector Blanco
Yen-Tyng Chen
Cara Cuite
James DeFilippis
Peter Hepburn
Carmelo Ignaccolo
Robin Leichenko
Will Payne
Ronald Quincy
Andrea Restrepo-Mieth
Jovanna Rosen
Eric Seymour
Mi Shih
Michael Smart
Emmy Tiderington
Chat Travieso
Dan Treglia
David Troutt
Shar Williams
Nancy Wolff
Student Researchers
Ben Cramer
Research Associate
Daniel Fairman
Research Associate
Bridget Fisher
Senior Research Associate
Sophia Fox-Dichter
Senior Research Associate
Jyotsna Kumar
Research Associate
Triparnee Kushari
Senior Research Associate
Soo Yeon Lim
Senior Research Associate
Yu Wang
Senior Research Associate
Buket Ozdemir
Senior Research Associate
Kenismael Santiago Pagan
Senior Research Associate
Ashley Painter
Research Associate
Marcelo Remond
Research Associate
Shranya Sahu
Research Associate
Former Researchers
Olubori Agboola
MCRP Candidate
Stephanie Kusi Bamfo
Research Associate
Cybil Bailey
Research Associate
Shiloh Deitz
Post-doctoral Associate
KJ Dodd
Research Associate
Avery Greenwood
Research Associate
Madison Griffin
Research Associate
Tye McCatty
Research Associate
Ahthia Waugh
Research Associate
Tiffany Ip
Research Associate
Matt Mleczko
Post-doctoral Associate
Ryan Lawrence
Research Associate
Lauren Nolan
Senior Research Associate
Rebecca Levitsky
Research Associate
Tiergan Reynolds
Research Associate
Zehra Mahdi
Doctoral Fellow
Amara Thompkins
Research Associate
Ameya Majumdar
Research Associate
Nirupama Vidyarthi
Research Associate
Center Affiliates
