Service to the Community

My community and public engagement work is grounded in the belief that higher education should serve the broader public good by fostering partnerships, building capacity, and advancing justice beyond campus boundaries. Since 2022, I have served as the Director of Xavier University’s Community Outreach Center (XUCOC), where I lead initiatives that support equity-focused, community-driven learning and development in the Gert Town neighborhood and across New Orleans. In this role, I oversee operations, build sustainable partnerships, supervise student fellows, and design programming that aligns with Xavier’s mission and the needs of local communities.

A central part of this work involves advancing digital equity. I created the iTeach Lounge, an educational technology lab equipped with more than $40,000 in Apple technology. This space serves as a training ground for undergraduate education students to develop their instructional technology skills, while also supporting K–12 digital equity initiatives across New Orleans.

I also direct youth-focused programming such as the Rosalind P. Hale Rites of Passage STEM Program for Girls, which provides culturally grounded STEM enrichment to middle school girls through mentorship, academic skill-building, and college awareness workshops. By connecting Xavier students with local youth, this program fosters mutual learning through teaching, mentorship, and shared leadership.

My community partnerships extend to family and civic engagement. With Father Matters NOLA, I design family-centered programming to increase Black father engagement in schools and promote early literacy development. I also helped co-develop Krewe of Voters, a civic engagement initiative that draws on local traditions and cultural storytelling to promote voter education and turnout in historically marginalized communities. Additionally, I coordinate the Division of Education’s annual Crawfish Boil, an event that builds lasting connections among students, faculty, alumni, and local educators.

Together, these efforts represent a justice-centered model of public scholarship one rooted in co-creation, trust, and long-term impact. Looking ahead, I am committed to sustaining and expanding these partnerships by developing new initiatives, securing additional resources, and mentoring Xavier students as civic-minded educators and community leaders. I view community engagement not as a supplement to my academic work, but as a vital expression of it one that transforms knowledge into action and advances Xavier’s mission of promoting a more just and humane society.