Meet Darby

• dray3@bates.edu
• 207-786-8241

Darby spent the first half of her career as a professor of religious studies, teaching and writing in the areas of feminist and liberationist Christian thought and the meaning of work. As an early adopter of what was then called “service learning,” Darby began building her own capacity and the capacity of her faculty colleagues for pedagogy that centers collaborations with off-campus partners in the pursuit of social justice, community well-being, and student learning. 

Darby arrived at Bates in 2012 to direct the Harward Center for Community Partnerships and has been happily working with her wonderful Harward Center colleagues and a range of Bates students, faculty, and staff to champion and deepen the College’s civic mission through collaborations with a range of local and statewide community partners. 

In her more-than-Bates life, Darby enjoys hiking, snowshoeing, playing games with friends, singing, dancing, and curling up in front of a fire with a good book and a glass of wine.

Meet Kristen

• kcloutie@bates.edu
• 207-786-6202

Kristen Cloutier serves as the Associate Director for Center Operations and the Program Coordinator for Project Pericles, a consortium of colleges and universities that promotes civic engagement through public policy.  She also manages the Davis Projects for Peace program, which offers Bates students the opportunity to design a grassroots project, anywhere in the world, that promotes peace and addresses the root causes of conflict among parties.

Kristen received her Bachelor’s degree in Journalism from Northeastern University and her Master’s degree in Leadership Studies from the University of Southern Maine.  She is a resident of Lewiston (her hometown) and has served on the City Council, the School Committee, and for a brief 10 months as Mayor.  She is currently the Assistant Majority Leader representing District 94 in the Maine House of Representatives. 

Kristen enjoys travel, dogs, and collaboration.

Meet Ellen

• ealcorn@bates.edu
• 207-786-8235

Ellen Alcorn manages Bates’ relationships with local K-12 partners, creating opportunities for Bates students to serve as mentors and tutors in classrooms and after-school settings as well as organizing fieldwork experiences for 130-150 education students each semester. Ellen also oversees the Harward Center’s student civic leadership programs, including the Bonner Leader Program, Community Outreach Fellows, the Bates Civic Action Team (BCAT), and the International Student Experiential Learning Fellowship. 

Ellen received her B.A. from Bard College and her M.S.Ed from the University of Southern Maine. Prior to coming to Bates, she taught high school English and adult education, and worked as a professional magazine writer.  In her spare time, Ellen enjoys spending time with family and friends, writing, knitting, sewing, and hiking with her dog.

Meet Morgan

• mkinney2@bates.edu
• 207-786-8312

Morgan Kinney is Associate Director of Community-Engaged Research and Learning at the Harward Center. In this role she supports community-engaged learning courses, students completing community-engaged research projects, and the fostering of community partner relationships. Morgan grew up down the road from Lewiston in the small town of Bowdoin, Maine and went to the University of Maine to earn her B.A. in Psychology and M.Ed. in Student Development in Higher Education. 

Her introduction to community engagement at UMaine led her to her second home of Houston, Texas where she worked for seven years in the Center for Civic Leadership at Rice University. There she developed, revised, and implemented curriculum and structures for a range of civic programming from pre-orientation local immersion weeks to year-long community-engaged Capstone projects. 

Outside of her work, Morgan most enjoys time spent cross-country skiing, camping, reading,  being with family and friends, and any activity her dog can join in on.

• mawil@bates.edu
• 207-786-8273

Meet Mo

Mohamed Awil joins the Harward Center team as the Associate Director of Volunteer Programs and Community Partnerships. In this role, Mo is responsible for coordinating volunteer programs, overseeing the college’s Community Work Study program, assisting with student leadership programs, and strengthening community partnerships.

Born in Kenya, Mo and his family relocated to Lewiston when he was young. After graduating from Lewiston High School, he enrolled at Salem International University in West Virginia as a track/cross country athlete. He also attended the University of Southern Maine, earning a Bachelor’s degree in Business Management.

Prior to joining the Harward Center, Mo worked with Spurwink Services, Gateway Community Services, and Lewiston Public Schools, where his responsibilities spanned management, human resources, and coaching. 

Outside of work, Mohammed enjoys coaching and mentoring young people. He is currently the distance track coach at Lewiston High School and serves on the board of directors of Tree Street Youth and Trinity Jubilee Center, both in Lewiston.  

• jvendil@bates.edu

• 207-786-8283

Meet Jenna

Jenna Dela Cruz Vendil is an award-winning organizer, activist, and engagement strategist whose passion is to build inclusive systems through social action, public policy, and electoral participation. As the Associate Director of Democratic Engagement and Student Activism, Jenna leads the college’s democratic engagement initiatives and will launch a new program to support emerging student activists on their journey for social change.  

For nearly 15 years, Jenna supported youth and student engagement within political and social movements in Maine.  As Field Director of the League of Young Voters, Jenna built coalitions with student groups to move issues on voting rights, tax fairness, marriage equality, and student loan forgiveness.  As the statewide organizer for Planned Parenthood, Jenna increased digital engagement and coordinated high-visibility actions to halt Federal and State efforts to defund reproductive health programs.  In 2009, Jenna became the first Asian American woman elected in Portland, serving on the School Board for nearly a decade to advance educational equity, strengthen student voice, and increase community engagement.  

As a first-generation college graduate, Jenna’s activist journey was fostered at Bates by fellow students, faculty, staff, and an incredible alumni network.  Jenna is thrilled to be back at her alma mater to continue the work she fell in love with as a student, and shaping the journey for future Bates activists and voters.  

Outside of community building, Jenna finds joy in taking care of her succulent babies and designing the next family adventure with her partner Marc and her real baby, Mateo Cruz. 

Meet Professor Garrison

• ygarriso@bates.edu

Dr. Yunkyoung (“Yun”) Garrison, she/her, is an Assistant Professor of Psychology, with training in counseling psychology, community-engaged, multicultural and critical psychology. At Bates, she teaches courses in community-based research methods, psychology of oppression, and liberation and counseling psychology, among others. Professor Garrison’s research focuses on community-engaged research methodologies and psychological healing modalities congruent with people of color’s critical consciousness, lived experiences, and cultural and ancestral knowledge. Her ongoing project, “Ka Bogso: The 5Rs Posttraumatic growth model for Somali refugee women,” is in collaboration with Fowsia Musse, a key partner from Maine Community Integration in Lewiston. She has also been exploring the myth of meritocracy and its role in social and internalized oppression. In addition to her teaching and research, professor Garrison engages in clinical practice as a licensed psychologist in Maine, a role that informs her research and pedagogy, especially in reducing the gap between research and practice. 

As a Faculty Fellow at the Harward Center, professor Garrison is leading a year-long project entitled, “Everyday Joy, Rest, and Resilience for Changemakers.” Through workshops, guest speakers, and a book circle, the project provides space and resources for faculty, staff, students, and community leaders who are involved in social change work to engage with joy, rest, and resilience, which can help mitigate burnout and contribute to sustaining and deepening high-level community engagement at Bates and beyond. 

Meet Professor Hill

• lhill@bates.edu

After retiring from the Bates College faculty – where Leslie taught courses examining gender politics, African politics, as well as the politics of race in U.S. law and policy – she is the Harward Center’s Faculty Fellow for 2020-21 and 2021-22. Aiming to enrich Bates instructors’ knowledge of racial inequities and social justice advocacy in Maine, she organizes opportunities for faculty to discuss and design learning projects that prepare students to think critically with, learn from, and work collaboratively with community partners to address white supremacy and advance racial justice.

Her own community engagement has included helping to design Maine Initiatives’ racial justice community grantmaking program, “Grants for Change”, and joining Maine Women’s Fund grantmaking committees to invest in projects that transform the lives of women and girls. In the Bates community, Leslie has collaborated to design a platform for connection and collaboration among retired Bates faculty; participated in development of a mentoring program for current faculty; and, worked with staff, students, and faculty to recommend curricular changes to foster student capacity to critically discern, examine, and discuss difference, power, and equity as an essential part of a Bates education.

Leslie’s relaxation and pleasure come from nurturing her collection of indoor plants and in her quest to sample treats from every shop listed on the “Ice Cream Map of Maine”.

Meet Professor Diaz Eaton

• cdeaton@bates.edu

Dr. Carrie Diaz Eaton is an Associate Professor of Digital and Computational Studies at Bates and co-founder and Executive Director of the Institute for a Racially Just, Open, and Inclusive STEM education (RIOS Institute). Dr. Diaz Eaton is a proud first generation Latinx and mother who values the complex interplay at the intersection of their identities, professional activism in STEM education, and research. Research projects include a focus on interdisciplinary computational and quantitative education and STEM postsecondary education policy and systemic change. Professor Diaz Eaton has taught courses with community-engaged components at various levels of depth. Two courses (Digital Community Organizing and PIC Math: Community-Engaged Data Science) are designed around semester-long relationship building with co-curricular or off-campus partners, while another course (Calling Bull: Information and Data Literacy) has a community engagement component which includes an option to engage with the local Auburn, Maine library. 

As a Harward Center Faculty Fellow, professor Diaz Eaton is working with both on-campus and off-campus partners to develop a community data hub to coordinate the data-related needs of the local Lewiston-Auburn community. This Hub will have infrastructure to support people and practices and may also extend to cyber infrastructure.