The Academic Community Engagement (ACE) Fellows program promotes and sustains community-engaged teaching, research, and scholarship through a cohort-based program.
ACE Fellows develop community-based projects congruent with their research, scholarship, and/or teaching interests. They may choose to start a new project or develop existing work. Fellows receive a $1,000 award each year of the two-year fellowship, which can be used toward project-related expenses, travel costs, honoraria for speakers and panelists, etc.
Apply
Interested faculty must submit an application and CV detailing the anticipated impact of a proposed ACE project and any prior experience with community-engaged learning.
Permission to pursue a two-year commitment to the ACE Fellowship must be granted by the applicant’s Department Chair and/or Dean. Applications will be reviewed by a committee comprised of previous ACE Fellows and the Director of Community Partnerships and Experiential Learning in the Office of Civic and Community Engagement.
If you have questions about the ACE Fellows program, please contact Allison Walker, Director of Community Partnerships & Experiential Learning.
ACE Fellows By Cohort
Merve Balkaya-Ince, Assistant Professor, Psychology
As an Applied Developmental Psychologist, Dr. Balkaya-Ince specializes in community-engaged research that translates findings into practical community benefits. Her expertise includes leading a $1.16 million John Templeton Foundation project with Muslim American communities nationwide, where she built stakeholder partnerships, conducted longitudinal studies, and developed community-informed toolkits and resources. As an ACE fellow, she aims to advance community-based teaching approaches in her Culture and Psychology course by partnering with local organizations like Crisis Control Ministry and Crossnore to provide students with experiential learning opportunities. She also seeks to build relationships with mosques and Islamic community centers in Forsyth County to support both her research on Muslim American communities and her commitment to reciprocal community engagement.
Wanda Balzano, Associate Professor, English/WGS
English and Women’s, Gender, and Sexuality Studies professor Wanda Balzano seeks to deepen her capacity for creating reciprocal, ethical community partnerships through place-based engagement in Winston-Salem. She plans to collaborate with the North Carolina Department of Adult Correction and regional correctional facilities to establish the Inside-Out Prison Exchange Program, working alongside community-based reentry organizations like the Forsyth County Reentry Council. Balzano aims to ensure any collaboration is community-informed and aligned with shared values, potentially connecting with Wake Forest’s Leadership and Character Program.
Jes Bolduc Assistant, Teaching Professor, Department of Chemistry
Chemistry professor Jes Bolduc, collaborating with Italian Studies professor Silvia Tiboni-Craft, aims to build inclusive networks that increase equitable access to resources through interdisciplinary education and community development. Their two-year plan includes establishing community fridges using surplus WFU refrigerators as satellite Campus Kitchen drop-off points, partnering with organizations like LEAD Girls of NC, H.O.P.E., and Ronald McDonald House. In year two, they will expand their “Cultural Chemistry” collaboration to cook for local food-insecure communities, combining Italian culinary traditions with biochemistry education.
Jennifer Gentry, Teaching Professor, Department of Art
Art professor Jennifer Gentry seeks to develop truly reciprocal community partnerships where community members become active co-creators rather than service recipients, building on her previous experience with community-engaged learning. She wants to design sustainable experiences that extend beyond single semesters and develop effective assessment methods that capture civic awareness and cross-cultural competence outcomes. Gentry aims to integrate community engagement authentically into both her teaching and creative practice while honoring community knowledge. She intends to partner with Habitat for Humanity of Forsyth County.
Amy Grybush, Assistant Professor, Counseling/Graduate School
Counseling professor Amy Grybush wants to learn how to manage community-engaged projects as Principal Investigator and navigate local community systems to build relationships and access those in need. She plans to work with either the WSFC school system or the KinderCare childcare facility for WFU employees to provide community services that will also serve as research projects leading to scholarship. The project would align with skills and attitudes for future curricular additions in the counseling program.
Ziyi Geng, Assistant Teaching Professor, Department of East Asian Languages and Cultures
Chinese language and culture professor Ziyi Geng seeks to gain a broader understanding of the Winston-Salem community to contextualize the Chinese community within the larger local landscape and enhance student learning through community engagement. She plans to continue collaborating with established partners including Wenhua Chinese School, May Way Dumplings, New Sichuan Restaurant, and the Chinese-American Friendship Association of North Carolina. Geng aims to expand these partnerships and create meaningful, reciprocal collaborations that support student learning while amplifying local Chinese community voices.
Fatima Hamdulay, Teaching Professor, Center for Entrepreneurship
Entrepreneurship professor Fatima Hamdulay wants to learn actionable strategies for community engagement and service learning deployment within curricula to reimagine her syllabi and potentially conduct case research. She plans to develop entrepreneurial ecosystems by engaging with small business entrepreneurs, start-ups, local entrepreneurial hubs like Winston-Salem Starts, funding institutions, and faith-based institutions. Her work will focus on regional not-for-profit entities addressing UN Sustainable Development Goals, integrating with existing collaborations including a partnership with the University of Houston’s SURE program.
Sarah Moore, Assistant Teaching Professor, Department of Counseling
Counseling professor Sarah Moore, who teaches in the Master of Counseling program and Human Services minor, wants to address the lack of diversity on campus and teach students to apply multicultural lenses to client interactions. She plans to bring Navajo silversmith and cultural educator Andrew Henry to campus for a residency, building on previous successful Indigenous cultural experiences at the LAM Museum. Moore aims to integrate Henry’s talents across multiple departments and develop programming for local schools and community engagement through the LAM Museum partnership.
Matthew Shields, Assistant Professor of Philosophy
Philosophy professor Matthew Shields seeks to continue his work with Housing Justice Now (HJN), where he serves as lead volunteer organizer at Healy Towers public housing complex in Winston-Salem. He works with residents to address mold issues, water quality concerns, and pest infestations while partnering with religious institutions and social justice organizations. Shields’ organizing work directly informs his research on argumentation and how individuals change their minds, particularly in high-stakes community contexts.
Leslie Straker, Assistant Teaching Professor, Environment & Sustainable Studies
Environmental and Sustainable Studies professor Leslie Straker wants to make his community work stronger, more ethical, and longer-lasting, building on his experience as a fisheries extension officer and research in places like St. Vincent and the Grenadines. He plans to develop a meaningful project that creates lasting benefits for both community and university through partnership with Island CultureZ of Winston-Salem. Island CultureZ is a community-driven development hub focused on building community wealth in historically neglected and excluded Winston-Salem communities.
Silvia Tiboni-Craft, Associate Teaching Professor, Italian Studies
Italian Studies professor Silvia Tiboni-Craft, collaborating with chemistry professor Jes Bolduc, seeks to learn how institutions can better support interdisciplinary, community-engaged initiatives that connect academic work with lived experience. Their collaboration combines Italian culture and chemistry through projects like community fridges using surplus WFU refrigerators and expanding their “Cultural Chemistry” program to serve food-insecure communities. They plan to partner with organizations including Ronald McDonald House, H.O.P.E., and LEAD Girls of NC, using food as a gateway to understanding mutual aid and cross-cultural connections.
Brittany Battle, Assistant Professor, Sociology
Claudia Falcon, Assistant Professor, Mathematics
ACE Fellow Claudia Falcon established an annual Girls Talk Math chapter at Wake Forest, creating a free two-week camp for high school students that combines advanced mathematics with science communication and media production. Campers tackle problem sets, write blog posts, and produce podcasts highlighting women mathematicians while building confidence in discussing math concepts. The program embodies Wake Forest’s Pro Humanitate ethos by empowering young learners and strengthening community ties.
Allison Forti, Associate Teaching Professor, Counseling – Associate Director of Online Counseling Programs
Counseling professor Allison Forti successfully collaborated with Cone Health Cancer Center to reignite cancer survivor retreats, developing curriculum for and facilitating four oncology retreats serving breast cancer, gynecological oncology, and terminal diagnosis patients. She also initiated relationship development with Novant Cancer Center support programming and She ROCKS, a non-profit organization supporting ovarian cancer research and outreach in the Wilmington and Triad areas. Forti continues working toward integrating students into these community spaces as part of her experiential learning goals.
Colleen Foy, Research and Instruction Librarian – Science, ZSR Library
Librarian Colleen Foy developed health literacy workshops for high school students preparing for health science careers, covering topics like misinformation, health insurance basics, and human vulnerabilities to health information in Winston-Salem schools. The program has reached 115 students and aims to expand to six more schools by 2025-26, with plans to adapt content for diverse groups including older adults and expectant parents. Future developments include a new module on the history of medicine and follow-up assessments to measure retention.
Allyson Gold, Associate Dean for Experiential Learning, Professor of Law, Director of Medical-Legal Partnership Clinic
Law professor Allyson Gold augmented her Housing Law & Policy seminar by hiring Triad Trolleys and a local historian to take students on a Black History Tour of Winston-Salem focused on housing issues. Students connected classroom learning about federal, state, and local housing law to real-world community impacts, with many noting it was their first visit to these neighborhoods. The community engagement component helped students see how housing law and policy “came alive” in their own community while supporting local businesses and history experts.
Megan Manassah, Assistant Teaching Professor, Economics
Megan Manassah connected first-year students to the Winston-Salem community through explorations of poverty and inequality via food systems, city planning, and education. Students visited local governance offices and historically Black neighborhoods, consulted with the City’s Food and Climate Resilience Manager Moriah Gendy, and created educational materials on SNAP benefits and food access. The project included growing produce in Campus Gardens for donation to Campus Kitchen and developing initiatives addressing meal swipe donations, scholarships, period poverty, and literacy programs.
Carmen Perez Munoz, Assistant Teaching Professor, Spanish – Associate Director of the MAESTRO Program
George Stoupas, Assistant Teaching Professor, Counseling
George Stoupas partnered with Twin City Harm Reduction Collective (TCHRC) to introduce graduate counseling students to harm reduction as an alternative to abstinence-only addiction treatment. Students explored systemic issues, engaged with TCHRC staff, created care packages, received opioid overdose prevention training, and established a weekly peer support group at TCHRC. The project expanded TCHRC services while providing students practical experience in group development and community-based approaches to addiction.
Julie Velasquez Runk, Director, Professor & Weigl Fellow of Environment and Sustainability Studies
Environmental professor Julie Velasquez Runk used her ACE Fellowship to establish relationships across Winston-Salem’s academic institutions, organizing meetings between environmental professors at Wake Forest, WSSU, and UNCSA to plan community-based environmental research. The fellowship funded collaborative meetings and supported a student assistant in scanning 50-year-old slides and negatives for repatriation to Indigenous Wounaan communities in Colombia. The relationship-building efforts aimed toward an NSF proposal submission, though funding was later archived by the current administration.
Guy Witzel, Assistant Teaching Professor, Writing Program
Guy Witzel piloted an immersion assignment for his Environmental Writing course where students volunteered with local environmental organizations and examined these experiences in their writing, producing thoughtful reflections on power dynamics in community-engaged projects. He successfully designed and implemented WRI 111: Wander, Gather, Write, a first-year writing course centered on walking, way-finding, and sense of place, using campus green spaces including the trail system, campus garden, and Tohi Garden as inspiration for writing activities. Witzel plans to connect this course with the Piedmont Land Conservancy, particularly their work on the Stuart & Emma Thomas Memorial Trail.
Alexandra Brewer, Assistant Professor, Sociology
Through her work as an ACE Fellow, Dr. Alexandra Brewer hopes to bring a community perspective to her course ‘Opioids in American Society’ by partnering with Twin City Harm Reduction Collective. Brewer is excited for her research to connect with the community so that she might learn more about the practical ways to fight the opioid crisis in Forsyth County.
Erin Brinkley, Associate Professor, Counseling, School Counseling Program Coordinator
As an ACE fellow, Dr. Brinkley will work alongside Brian Calhoun – associate professor of practice in the Department of Education – bringing both their experience and expertise together to create a podcast highlighting the different ways that individuals and organizations on Wake Forest’s campus serve the Winston-Salem community. Through their podcast, Calhoun and Brinkley will highlight the various activism-focused volunteer efforts in the Wake Forest and Winston-Salem communities, helping to generate enthusiasm and participation in OCCE initiatives.
Brian Calhoun, Associate Professor of Practice, Education
Throughout his Fellowship, Brian Calhoun will partner with Dr. Erin Brinkley – associate professor of counseling and school counseling program coordinator – bringing both their experience and expertise together to create a podcast highlighting the different ways that individuals and organizations on Wake Forest’s campus serve the Winston-Salem community. Through their podcast, Calhoun and Brinkley will highlight the various activism-focused volunteer efforts in the Wake Forest and Winston-Salem communities, helping to generate enthusiasm and participation in OCCE initiatives.
Courtney DiVittorio, Assistant Professor, Engineering
As an assistant professor of engineering, Dr. Courtney Di Vittorio plans to include her students in bridging the gap between civil engineering scholarship and community organization decision-making. Dr. Di Vittorio is excited to inform local water quality management in local watersheds to make decisions that are socially, economically, and environmentally responsible based on her research in hydrology and remote sensing.
Andrea Gómez-Cervantes, Assistant Professor, Sociology
During her time as an ACE Fellow, Dr. Andrea Gómez Cervantes plans to guide sociology students in their understanding of immigration policies in her new course – ‘Immigration Lab’ by partnering with immigrant-led/immigrant-serving organizations in Winston-Salem. Through the fellowship, Dr. Gómez Cervantes is looking forward to meeting other faculty with similar interests, and enhancing her teaching pedagogies as it relates to community engagement and service-learning.
Hannah Harrison, Assistant Teaching Professor, Writing
As an assistant teaching professor of writing, Dr. Harrison is hoping to deepen her students’ direct engagement with local leaders in the Winston-Salem community through collaboration. She is looking forward to developing a unit of her course that examines how food-based organizations use rhetoric and marketing to express their mission, allowing students to write for and with local food actors. As an extension of the course, she hopes to turn the classroom-based experience to create a small internship program where students would work hand-in-hand with a community partner to develop a marketing plan for the semester, using writing and visual design to promote their mission and goals.
Lauren Miller, Assistant Teaching Professor, Spanish
As an assistant teaching professor of Spanish at Wake Forest, Dr. Lauren Miller is looking to develop a long-term partnership with Speas Elementary – a dual immersion school -and a Hispanic-serving, English-only elementary school in the Winston-Salem/Forsyth County School system that would allow Wake Forest students to tutor minority and majority language-speaking children and encourage bilingualism in our community. Her hope is that this work would create additional partnerships and internships for graduate students enrolled in the Interpretation and Translation Program at Wake Forest.
Ryan Shirey, Associate Teaching Professor, Writing, WFU Writing Center Director
As an ACE Fellow, Dr. Ryan Shirey plans to work with local writing centers by piloting a “training trainers” model that would help community members enhance their peer writing tutoring and mentoring skills so that they can work with their peers and neighbors in various community contexts. A key aspect of his work is developing a durable, sustainable network of community-based writing centers. He hopes to build relationships with organizations and community members by providing workshops, training sessions and writing feedback.
Mir Yarfitz, Associate Professor, History
Dr. Mir Yarfitz is excited to explore how his scholarship as an associate professor of history intersects with the Winston-Salem community. Dr. Yarfitz is actively involved in social change in Winston-Salem and is specifically interested in the intersection between Latin American Studies and LGBTQ+ history. One of his goals as an ACE Fellow is to continue to develop Neighbor-to-Neighbor – a mutual aid project he began at the start of the COVID-19 pandemic, which has helped more than 300 families throughout the Piedmont Triad – with more connective opportunities for members of the Wake Forest community.
Meredith Farmer, Assistant Teaching Professor, Core Literature
Throughout her ACE Fellowship, Dr. Farmer encouraged her students to examine the relationships between literature and their communities. Through two courses throughout her ACE Fellowship – Environmental Destruction and Slave Narratives, Global and Local – her students worked on projects alongside community partners. Students in her Slave Narratives, Global and Local Course worked alongside the Old Salem Museum and Gardens to develop their “Hidden Town” project, which makes hidden histories of the roles that slaves held in our community far more visible.
Francisco Gallegos, Assistant Professor, Philosophy
As part of his ACE Fellowship, Dr. Gallegos furthered his work with the ‘Truth and Authenticity Lab’, created in partnership with Dr. Ivan Weiss (Journalism). The lab, created in 2019, supports the work of individuals both on and off-campus who are using the tools of multimedia documentary to examine the philosophical questions generated as the ancient ideals of truth and authenticity face unprecedented challenges in the digital age.
Seth Hayden, Assistant Professor of Counseling, Clinical Mental Health Program Coordinator
Dr. Seth Hayden’s work as an ACE Fellow focused on providing career support to military members and veterans. While his original hope was to offer his career development program as a face-to-face resource, the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic forced him to re-access. Ultimately, the program transitioned to a virtual format, which increased access and even allowed Dr. Hayden to consider expanding the program to include both military veterans as well as the broader community.
Raisur Rahman, Associate Professor, History
When selected as an ACE Fellow in 2019, Dr. Rais Rahman was interested in enhancing student learning in his classes through community engagement, as well as developing a richer understanding of the interplay between the local and global. Through his course, “India and the Global Economy,” Dr. Rahman has been able to connect his students with a variety of individuals from the global and local community in an effort to show them what can be learned when we take a closer look at our communities.
John Senior, Director of the Art of Ministry, Assistant Professor of Practical Theology and Religious Leadership, Director of the Collaborative for Religious Leadership
Dr. John Senior used his time as an ACE Fellow to focus on training Wake Forest divinity students in public poetry. Working alongside students pursuing their Master of Divinity, Senior introduced them to public poetry as an alternative form of proclamation and public witness.
Ivan Weiss, Assistant Professor of Practice, Journalism
During his time as an ACE Fellow, Dr. Ivan Weiss developed Environmental Journalism – a project-based course that looked at the residents of a community in conjunction with the built environment. The class focused on the Boston Thurmond Community – a community just north of downtown Winston-Salem – engaging students through classes, independent studies, and internships to form the structure and set the groundwork for a multi-year documentary/multimedia project that involves Wake Forest, as well as other local institutions including, Winston-Salem State University
Elise Barella, Assistant Professor, Engineering
Dr. Barrella utilized her background in civil engineering and city planning in community-based contexts through partnerships with Boston Thurmond United, Mixxer, Winston-Salem Forsyth County Schools, and Forsyth Country Day School. Her research related to transportation access and the lived experience of the built environment in connection with the Spatial Justice Studio at Winston-Salem State University and led an undergraduate student research team at Wake Forest that collaborated with residents to use walking interviews as tools for neighborhood-led audits of accessibility and infrastructure.
Keri Epps, Assistant Professor of Writing, English
Mathis was named an ACE Faculty Fellow at Wake Forest during her first semester. Throughout her fellowship, she started a local community writing partnership in Winston-Salem, alongside her students, with LEAD Girls of NC, Inc.
Marianne Erhardt, Assistant Teaching Professor, English
As an ACE Fellow, Dr. Erhardt worked with the Triad Branch of the North Carolina Diaper Bank developing written content for the organization alongside her students.
TMG Gellar-Goad, Associate Professor, Classics
As part of his ACE Faculty Fellowship, Dr. Gellar Goad helped to host the North Carolina Junior Classical League annual convention for middle and high schoolers studying classics at Wake Forest.
Justin Green, Professor of Practice and Debate Coach, Communications
Justin Green completed his ACE Faculty Fellowship in partnership with Amber Kelsie, both professors, and coaches for Wake Forest’s championship debate team. Through their fellowship, Green and Kelsie worked together to develop an urban debate league that supported the growth of debate at Winston-Salem/Forsyth County Schools.
Amber Kelsie, Assist Professor of Practice and Associate Debate Coach, Communications
Amber Kelsie completed her ACE Faculty Fellowship in partnership with Justin Green, both professors, and coaches for Wake Forest’s championship debate team. Through their fellowship, Green and Kelsie worked together to develop an urban debate league that supported the growth of debate at Winston-Salem/Forsyth County Schools.
Rowena Kirby-Straker, Assistant Professor, Communications
Throughout her ACE Faculty Fellowship, Dr. Rowena Kirby-Straker worked alongside Dr. Ron Von Burg in the Department of Communications to develop a community-engaged global learning summer course that examined communication about sustainability.
Tanisha Ramachandran, Associate Teaching Professor and Director, Religion and Public Engagement
As the director of the Religion and Public Engagement (RPE) program in the Department for the Study of Religions, Dr. Ramachandran helps connect students and their academic learning with community-based goals. As part of her Fellowship, Ramachandran worked to expand the program, increasing the number of community partners that RPE students work with, and grounding the program in social justice.
Melva Sampson, Assistant Professor of Preaching and Practical Theology, School of Divinity
Dr. Sampson worked alongside Dr. Katherine Shaner to co-lead ‘Curating Brave Spaces’ in the School of Divinity. As part of her Fellowship, the program created an opportunity for black and white women in ministry to build relationships across racial differences. Together, they worked to expand the program in both community and congregational spaces.
Katherine Shaner, Associate Professor of New Testament, School of Divinity
Dr. Shaner worked alongside Dr. Melva Sampson to co-lead ‘Curating Brave Spaces’ in the School of Divinity. As part of her Fellowship, the program created an opportunity for black and white women in ministry to build relationships across racial differences. Together, they worked to expand the program in both community and congregational spaces.