DUC Center for Community Engagement & Partnerships
2026-2030 Civic Action Planning
DUC Center for Community Engagement & Partnerships
2026-2030 Civic Action Planning
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In Spring 2024, Dominican University launched the Community Engagement Coalition to centralize and elevate community engagement across the institution. The coalition’s goals include:
Telling Dominican’s institutional story more effectively;
Supporting data collection for grants, fundraising, and recruitment;
Celebrating student civic learning and achievements;
Advancing equity both on campus and in the community;
Embodying Dominican’s commitment to first generation and BIPOC students.
A central effort of the CE/S Coalition was preparing Dominican’s Carnegie Elective Community Engagement Reclassification application — having previously earned the classification in 2010 and 2015. The process of completing the application brought us together meaningfully to assess Dominican’s community engagement practices through a national, equity-focused lens.
In Fall 2025, the CE/S Coalition came back together, expanding to include students and community partners, to work collectively on the 2026-2030 Civic Action Plan.
GOAL 1
Build strategic capacity in Marin County to better cultivate and support multi-sector place-based community engagement and partnerships.
GOAL 2
Strengthen and sustain equity-centered partnerships through shared goals, coordinated action, and evaluation.
GOAL 3
Expand equitable career pathways through community-engaged partnerships that cultivate an inclusive and sustainable regional economy.
Goal 1 Outcome: Collective Funding and Sustainability
Actions:
Establish MOUs and partnership agreements to formalize roles, funding commitments, timelines, and shared infrastructure.
Secure joint funding and establish shared staff position(s) for coordination, communication, scheduling, and multi-stakeholder alignment.
Secure funding for paid internships in community-engaged roles for high school and college students.
Goal 2 Outcome: Alignment & Coordination
Actions:
Articulate shared vision and mission focused on design and implementation of place-based, community-engaged practices
Identify opportunities for shared infrastructures. Align resources communication, and marketing to support shared capacity and public narrative.
Establish shared tools and planning processes to ensure results-based accountability. Build into program design, outreach strategies, and initiatives.
Hold annual summit to discuss impact and progress of shared work.
Goal 3 Outcome: Career Pathways, Joint-Training & Skills-Recognition
Actions:
Map existing opportunities, partnerships, and career pathways across sectors to establish baselines and identify gaps. Can also explore shared understandings and scheduling.
Formalize high-school/college to career network to support students in career exploration, especially in non-profit and public service sectors.
Professional skill development to support community-centered initiatives: Design multi-sector training programs that taps the expertise of university and community practitioners (Summer Institute).
Create certificate/micro-credentials: Formally recognize community-engagement skills (e.g. co-creation or collaborative design, resident-led initiatives outreach and engagement, multilingual support, restorative practices).
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External Members
Aaron Burdett, Director of Policy, Advocacy, and Civic Engagement, Canal Alliance
Cameron Hunter, Chief Operating Officer, Marin Promise Partnership
D'Angelo Paillet, Director, Southern Marin Hub, County of Marin
Esmeralda Garcia, Director of Programs, Multicultural Center of Marin
Fel Agrelius, Civic Engagement Manager, City of San Rafael
Fernando Barreto, Aide to Supervisor Dennis Rodoni, County of Marin District 4
Hector Garcia, Community Library Specialist at the Marin County Free Library, South Novato branch
Jamillah Jordan, Director, Marin County Office of Equity
Jeremy Portje, Peer Support Specialist - Justice Involved Homeless Outreach Coordinator, Mental Health Advocates of Marin; Dominican ADC student (Psychology major and Community Action & Social Change minor)
Matt Kizer, Pantry and Facilities Manager, Ritter Center
Melissa Guerrero, Project Coordinator, College and Career Readiness Department, Marin County Office of Education
Sara Matson, Chief Development Officer, Canal Alliance
Dominican Members
Alison Howard, Associate Professor of Political Science & Director of the Core Curriculum, School of Liberal Arts and Education
Denise Lucy, Professor & Executive Director, Institute for Leadership Studies, Barowsky School of Business
Emily Wu, Assistant Director of Service-Learning Program
Gina Tucker-Roghi, Associate Professor, Chair & OTD Program Director, Occupational Therapy, School of Health and Natural Sciences
Giulia Welch, Director of Internship and Professional Development, Barowsky School of Business
Jennifer Lucko, Professor and Co-Chair of Education Department, School of Liberal Arts and Education
Julia van der Ryn, Executive Director of Center for Community Engagement & Partnerships
Julie Grellas, Director of School and Community Partnerships, Student Teaching & Placement, Education, School of Liberal Arts and Education
Laura Stivers, Professor of Ethics & Co-chair Division of Public Affair, School of Liberal Arts and Education
Lindsey Dean, Assistant Dean for Academic Affairs, School of Liberal Arts and Education
Louis Knecht, University Archivist and Librarian
Naomi Elvove, Assistant Dean for the Dominican Experience , Executive Director of Student Success Center
Patti Culross, Associate Professor & Director of Global Public Health Program, School of Health and Natural Sciences