Civic Engagement

Until July 2025, I was the Faculty Fellow of Civic Engagement at Columbia College Chicago. I created Columbia Votes!, which helped raise the voting rate at the college from 56% in 2016 to 72% in 2020. I hired, trained and led a team of student Voter Registration Geniuses. Before leaving the college, I created a playbook so someone can carry the word forward and build on what my geniuses and I created.

Some recent presentations

“Beyond The Vote: Engaging Students In Civic Action.” Forbes. July 2025

“Want to persuade young people to vote? Show them how it's a tool for change.” Chicago Sun-Times. September 2024

“How one college is combating student voter disillusionment in 2024: Changing times call for changing tactics.” Student Vote Research Network Substack. June 2024

“Incorporating Deep Listening into College Voter Engagement.” Student Voting Research Workshop. April 2024

“Solutions Audiences Everywhere: Using SoJo for Civic Engagement, On Campus and Off.” Solutions Journalism Network Train-the-Trainers. February 2024

“Engaging Audiences in Elections: What I’ve learned from my Gen Z students.” Journalism and Women Symposium. October, 2023

“Embedding Civic Education in the Curriculum and Beyond: The Columbia College Chicago model.” Democracy in All Seasons, for Every Season Workshop. Faculty Network for Student Voting Rights. October, 2023

“Faculty Workshop: Pedagogy & Practice: Integrating Civic Values Beyond the classroom.” Governors State University. March, 2023

“Innovative Approaches to Full Student Voter Participation.” Students Learn Students Vote Post-Election Gathering, Virtual. December, 2022.

“BIYoC Civic Power Outages - Civic Influencers™ Town Hall.” Panel moderator. October 2021.