ACE Fellows Program

Dr. Farmer teaches courses in both American Literature and the Environmental Humanities that encourage students to think about the relationships between literature and our communities. Students in her course on Environmental Destruction work on group projects that will eventually include community partners. And students in her course on Slave Narratives, Global and Local, will be working with people at Old Salem Museum and Gardens to help develop their “Hidden Town” project, which aims to make hidden histories of the roles that slaves held in our community far more visible. 

Dr. Gallegos teaches and does research in the areas of phenomenology, philosophy of emotion, and Latin American philosophy. As a teacher, he is constantly experimenting with new ways to get students to appreciate the real-world relevance of what is being discussed in class. Together with Dr. Ivan Weiss (Journalism), he launched the Truth and Authenticity Lab in 2019, in order to support 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. 

Dr. Hayden focuses on the integration of practice, research and theory in relation to the career development of military-associated individuals, He has provided career support to veterans experiencing homelessness residing at Veterans Helping Veterans Heal in Winston-Salem. Prior to his time at Wake Forest, he established a relationship with the Defense and Veterans Brain Injury Center in Virginia to offer career and personal counseling to active duty service members and veterans afflicted with a traumatic brain injury. He is currently working to create a career development resource in Winston-Salem that utilizes an empirically-supported, career development approach to assist veterans with a service-related injury.

In both his teaching and research, Dr. Rahman engages with questions of inter-community relations, cross-cultural encounters as well as multiple facets of diversity in societies across India and South Asia. Always keen to explore ways of understanding the role of diverse communities in our immediate surrounding on issues of global import and in the spirit of the engaged liberal arts, Dr. Rahman is interested in enhancing student learning in his classes by way of community engagement and developing a richer understanding of the interplay between the local and the global.

Senior directs the School of Divinity’s Art of Ministry program, which includes its field education curriculum. His research and teaching focus on pastoral formation for ministry, field-based learning, ministry leadership in both ecclesial and public settings, and the role of theological education in preparing leaders for a wide variety of institutional contexts. Trained in Christian ethics and the sociology of religion, Senior is also interested in political theology and ethics and earth-centered approaches to ministry and the moral life. He is the author of A Theology of Political Vocation: Christian Life and Public Office (Baylor University Press, 2015) and is currently working on a book project on emerging patterns and practices of leadership in ministry. Senior is an ordained Teaching Elder in the Presbyterian Church (USA).

Ivan Weiss is an Assistant Professor of the Practice in the Journalism Program. He is a documentary filmmaker, writer, and photographer. His documentary work has explored such themes as integration and the civil rights movement, experimental music, and urban gentrification. His films include “The Education of Ida Owens” about the first African-American woman to receive a Ph.D from Duke University, “Nazoranai: A documentary” about an improvisational sound trio, “Leaving Traces” about photography and minor league baseball, and “Festival: A Month in Durham” about a changing city as seen through the lens of three music festivals. Check out more of his work here.

Dr. Barrella brings her background in civil engineering and city planning to community-based contexts through partnerships with Boston Thurmond United, Mixxer, WSFCS, and Forsyth Country Day School. Dr. Barrella does 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 has been leading an undergraduate student research team at Wake Forest that is collaborating with residents to use walking interviews as tools for neighborhood-led audits of accessibility and infrastructure.

Professor Erhardt comes to academia with extensive community-based experiences including serving as an Americorps VISTA and managing a state-wide VISTA Project for Wisconsin Campus Compact. At a previous institution, she co-created a writing workshop at Oakhill Correctional Institution. As a new faculty member at Wake Forest, Professor Erhardt brings this experience, as well as her experience as a resident of Winston-Salem to her writing classes. In 2019/20 Professor Erhardt’s classes will work with the Triad Branch of the North Carolina Diaper Bank.

Dr. Gellar-Goad teaches courses on Greek & Roman Comedy where students prepare performances that are given at the North Carolina Junior Classical League annual convention for middle and high schoolers studying classics. Dr. Gellar Goad helped to host this conference at Wake Forest this year and is interested in opportunities to broaden access to the classics.

Justin Green and Amber Kelsie serve as professors and as debate coaches for Wake Forest’s championship debate team. Through their leadership, Wake Debate has expanded it’s debate offerings for community members, offering public forum debates on important topics including the annual environmental debates at the Piedmont Earth Day Fair, a culmination of the environmental debate program, a partnership with Piedmont Environmental Alliance and public high schools in WSFC. Dr. Green and Professor Kelsie are developing an urban debate league that will support the growth of debate at public schools in WSFC.

Amber Kelsie and Justin Green serve as professors and as debate coaches for Wake Forest’s championship debate team. Through their leadership, Wake Debate has expanded it’s debate offerings for community members, offering public forum debates on important topics including the annual environmental debates at the Piedmont Earth Day Fair, a culmination of the environmental debate program, a partnership with Piedmont Environmental Alliance and public high schools in WSFC. Professor Kelsie and Dr. Green are developing an urban debate league that will support the growth of debate at public schools in WSFC.

Dr. Kirby-Straker has extensive experience doing community-based work in the public sector. Originally from St. Vincent & The Grenadines, Dr. Kirby-Straker worked for the fisheries department in her home country, developing cooperatives of fisher-people and doing environmental education. She has combined this experience with her expertise in public speaking to launch Wake Speaks, a campus and community public speaking resource center. Additionally, she has engaged students with organizations like Habitat Forsyth and Boston Thurmond United through her classes on listening. Dr. Kirby-Straker also co-chairs the Environmental Justice Knowledge Community with Marcus Hill. She is developing a community-engaged global learning summer course examining communication about sustainability with Dr. Ron Von Burg, Communication.

A new faculty member at Wake Forest, Dr. Mathis brings experiences in teaching service-learning and community-engaged courses from her previous institution. She has taught community-engaged writing courses at Wake Forest, working with partners including Experiment in Self-Reliance and Lead Girls of NC. Dr. Mathis is the vice-chair of the board at Lead Girls and is advising a student organization that partners with the organization.

Dr. Ramachandran directs the Religion and Public Engagement program in the Department for the Study of Religions which helps students connect their academic learning with community-based goals. Dr. Ramachandran is working to expand the program, increasing the number of community partners that RPE students work with, and grounding the program in social justice.

Drs. Sampson and Shaner co-lead Curating Brave Spaces in the School of Divinity, an opportunity for black and white women in ministry to build relationships across racial differences. They are working to expand the program in community and congregational spaces

Drs. Shaner and Sampson co-lead Curating Brave Spaces in the School of Divinity, an opportunity for black and white women in ministry to build relationships across racial differences. They are working to expand the program in community and congregational spaces.