Eastern Region Cohort Facilitators

Fagan Forhan
Full Name
Fagan Forhan
Title
Dean K-12 Partnerships and Civic Engagement
Institution
Mount Wachusett Community College
Speaker Bio
As a graduate of the University of Massachusetts at Amherst with a degree in Psychology, Fagan Forhan has consistently and passionately been involved in many facets of community service and has served on numerous boards and committees. In her current role, Fagan provides strategic direction and oversight for the Brewer Center for Civic Learning and Community Engagement, as well as the college’s Division of Access and Transition. She serves as a member of the Board of Higher Education’s Study Group on Civic Learning, a National Steering Committee Member for The Democracy Commitment, and a Steering Committee member for the national Economic Inequality Initiative through the American Democracy Project and The Democracy Commitment.
Lori Moog
Full Name
Title
Director of Service Learning and Community Outreach
Institution
Raritan Valley Community College
Speaker Bio
Lori Moog is the Director of Service Learning and Community Outreach at Raritan Valley Community College since 1996, earning the program national awards annually. She has led the development of multistate service learning initiatives and offered 100 professional development workshops on developing service learning programs regionally, nationally and internationally.

Midwest/South Region Cohort Facilitators

Merry Mayer
Full Name
Merry Mayer
Title
Assistant Professor
Institution
City Colleges of Chicago-Wilbur Wright College
Speaker Bio
Merry Mayer is an assistant professor of political science at Wright College, one of the city colleges of Chicago. For the past several years she has served as service learning coordinator at Wright and also coordinates the Diplomacy Lab program, where students undertake research for the U.S. Dept. of State.
Joshua Young
Full Name
Joshua Young
Title
Director, Institute for Civic Engagement & Democracy
Institution
Miami Dade College
Speaker Bio
Josh Young is the director of Miami Dade College’s Institute for Civic Engagement and Democracy where he oversees a host of civic learning and democratic engagement programming, including community-campus partnerships, academic service-learning, community service Federal Work-Study, voter engagement, and myriad other programs. He has had the privilege of working at Miami Dade College (MDC) for the last 29 years. Josh has a bachelor’s degree in sociology from the University of Virginia and master’s degrees in social work and public administration from Florida State University. Josh served two tours with the United States Peace Corps in Mali, West Africa and Paraguay, South America. Josh also led community service programs for youth for four summers in the Dominican Republic with Visions International, and he has been a volunteer mentor with Big Brothers Big Sisters of Greater Miami for more than twenty-five years.

Western Region Cohort Facilitators

Duane Oakes
Full Name
Duane Oakes
Title
Faculty Director of Honors and Civic Engagement
Institution
Mesa Community College, AZ
Speaker Bio
Duane Oakes is Faculty Director for the Center for Community & Civic Engagement. He’s also been advisor to MCC’s award-winning Phi Theta Kappa student scholars organization, one of the nation’s largest. He has won numerous awards for his leadership roles in student life, Phi Theta Kappa, and service learning, and he was previously director of student leadership at Chandler-Gilbert Community College. Because of Duane’s efforts, MCC has been named to the U.S. President’s Higher Education Community Service Honor Roll since 2006 and recently achieved the coveted Community Engagement Classification from the Carnegie Foundation for the Advancement of Teaching.
Patty Robinson
Full Name
Patty Robinson
Title
Faculty Director, Civic and Community Engagement
Institution
College of the Canyons
Speaker Bio
Patty has worked at College of the Canyons since 1999 and has served in various roles, including Sociology Professor, Sociology Department Chair, and Dean of the Social Sciences and Business Division. She holds a Ph.D. in sociology from the University of California, Davis, where she pursued her interests in women's history and medical sociology and eventually focused on the rise of 19th and 20th Century women's organizations. Inspired by A Crucible Moment (2012) and longing to return to her "sociological roots," she currently spearheads the College's campus-wide emphasis on civic, community, and political engagement as Faculty Director, Civic and Community Engagement Initiatives.

Coordinator

Verdis L. Robinson
Full Name
Mr. Verdis L. Robinson
Speaker Bio
Verdis Robinson is the Director of Community College Engagement for Campus Compact.