CCC Staff

Faculty

Donald Braid, Ph.D., Director

Donald Braid teaches folklore, English, and anthropology at Butler University. He received his doctorate in folklore from Indiana University in 1996 and his B.S. in physics from the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign in 1978. His research interests include traditional arts, narrative theory, and performance, especially as they intersect issues of worldview, cultural identity, meaning, and belief. Since 1985, he has conducted ethnographic research with the Travelling People of Scotland, focusing primarily on Traveller storytelling and ballad singing traditions. He has also worked with Native Americans in the Pacific Northwest, Asian Indian immigrants in Indianapolis, and the Latino community in Clinton County Indiana. Since 2001, he has used the service-learning pedagogy to engage students in a wide range of general education and disciplinary courses. His publications include:

"Personal Narrative and Experiential Meaning." Journal of American Folklore 109:431 (1996): 5-30.

"The Ethnography of Performance in the Study of Oral Tradition." With Richard Bauman. In Teaching Oral Traditions. Ed. John Miles Foley. New York: Modern Language Association, 1998. 106-22.

" 'Did it happen or did it not?': Dream Stories, Worldview, and Narrative Knowing." Text and Performance Quarterly 18 (1998): 319-43.

Scottish Traveller Tales: Lives Shaped through Stories. Jackson: University Press of Mississippi. 2002.

" 'Doing Good Physics': Narrative and Innovation in Research." Journal of Folklore Research, 43:2 (2006): 149-73.

"The Devil is in the Details: Defining Civil Engagement." With Margaret Brabant. Journal of Higher Education Outreach and Engagement, 13 (2009), 59-87.

 

Elizabeth Krajeck, Consultant

Elizabeth is self-employed as a writer, editor and consultant to the Center for Citizenship and Community. Krajeck has 20 years experience with the U. S. Department of Housing and Urban Development in the area of community and economic development, supportive housing and other programs for people with disabilities. She is certified by the National Development Council as an Economic Development Specialist. As a community activist, she participated in the building of the Writers' Center of Indiana, Partners in Housing Development Corporation, and the Coalition for Homelessness Intervention and Prevention. She is the recipient of a Creative Renewal Arts Fellowship from the Arts Council of Indianapolis and the author of two chapbooks of poetry. Her work is focused on the impact of politics on day-to-day activities which occur in the space of one's home, neighborhood and imagination.

 

Liz Thompson, AmeriCorps

Liz is a member of the Immigrant and Refugee Service Corps (IRSC) serving at Butler's CCC. The IRSC is an AmeriCorps program dedicated to helping the immigrant and refugee population by accessing existing resources and advocating for their needs. Liz is a native of Indianapolis and graduated from Oberlin College in 2010. After graduation, she moved to France to work as an au pair. Upon her return, she interned at Exodus Refugee Immigration in Indianapolis. Through this AmeriCorps experience, she hopes to engage Butler students in immigrant and refugee services.

 

Student Workers

Every academic year the Center for Citizenship and Community looks for exceptional students to support the Center with current initiatives and partnerships. Get to know our 2011-12 students below.

 

Chelsea Carroll, Advocate for Community Engagement -- Nur-Allah Islamic Center

Chelsea is a junior elementary education major who has the long term goal of teaching fifth grade.  She first visited the Nur-Allah Islamic Center while working on a project for a class at Butler and was intrigued by its unique, comfortable atmosphere.  Since then, Chelsea has been working closely with the Center's members to encourage a continued relationship between the Nur-Allah members and the Butler community in service of the Indianapolis Community Requirement.  Given her experiences, she also is interested in developing an interfaith awareness program so that Butler students and others in the broader Indianapolis community may better understand and appreciate the lives of Muslims living in America.

 

Caitlyn Carmony, Advocate for Community Engagement -- Reconnecting to Our Water Ways and Unitarian Universalist Church of Indianapolis

Caitlyn is a junior psychology and philosophy major from Nineveh, Indiana.  This is Caitlyn's first year as an ACE and she is working closely with Dr. O'Malley's class - Humans & The Natural Environment - to help cultivate a healthy relationship between the Butler Community and its natural environment.  Caitlyn enjoys being a member of Pi Beta Phi Fraternity for Women and in her free time, she enjoys cooking, reading, painting, and spending time with friends.

 

 

Stephen Cornelius, Advocate for Community Engagement -- Indiana School for the Blind & Visually Impaired

Stephen is a junior political science major from Bargersville, Indiana. Long term, Stephen wants to receive a dual Master's degree in environmental science and energy policy so that he may pursue his career goal of helping facilitate the shift towards sustainable energy practices. Stephen was motivated to help make a difference in his peers' lives after a positive service-learning experience his sophomore year and this will be his first year serving Butler's students as an ACE. He is particularly interested in providing students the opportunity to achieve a sense of active purpose within and personal belonging to their community. In addition to working with the CCC, Stephen works with the Butler science library, tutors students in grammar and writing styles, and serves as Delta Tau Delta's Honor Board Chairman.   In his free time, Stephen enjoys movies, reading, and writing.

 

Emily Ellsworth, Advocate for Community Engagement -- A Caring Place

From Rockford, Illinois, Emily serves as an Advocate for Community Engagement at A Caring Place. A senior at Butler and in her second year of pharmacy school, she has one brother who attends Bradley University as a chemistry major. When Emily is not studying, some of her favorite activities revolve around swimming, cooking, watching movies, and serving at A Caring Place.

 

 

Brittany Foerg, Advocate for Community Engagement -- Indiana School for the Blind & Visually Impaired

Brittany is in her senior year at Butler University working towards a biology degree and recently was accepted into optometry school.  She comes to Butler from her hometown of Monticello, Indiana, and is involved in the Indianapolis community through work as an Advocate for Community Engagement with the Indiana School for the Blind and Visually Impaired (ISBVI).  During her freshman year, she had a rewarding experience while service-learning at the ISBVI and now works for the CCC.  On campus, Brittany is involved with Alpha Chi Omega Fraternity, Butler Catholic Community, and National Society of Collegiate Scholars. Through the Center for Citizenship and Community, she hopes to help enrich the learning experiences of those at Butler and ISBVI.

 

Audrey Gleason, Advocate for Community Engagement -- Kaleidoscope Youth Center

Audrey is a sophomore pre-physician assistant major from Dayton, Ohio, who hopes to one day work as a physician assistant in an African country.  She became an ACE after having a great experience volunteering at the Kaleidoscope Youth Center.  Audrey continually strives to help her fellow Butler students create enriching experiences at the Center.  She loves spending her spare time as a young life leader, writing letters, hanging out with friends, and reading.

 

Nikki Green, Advocate for Community Engagement -- Martin Luther King Community Center

Nikki is a sophomore Biology/Pre-Med major with Chemistry and Spanish minors.  This is her first year as an ACE and she is looking forward to working with the MLKCC After School Program.  Her goal is to serve the children and families through creative programs that promote hope, self-sufficiency, responsibility, and a sense of community, as well as gather students of the Butler community to share in this experience.  She also volunteers at the Indiana University Methodist Hospital and participates in research with the Biology department.

 

Sandra Guirguis, Advocate for Community Engagement -- Center for Interfaith Cooperation

Sandra is a junior communication sciences and disorders/spanish major. She hopes to open a bilingual speech pathology clinic after graduate school. She lives  in the heart of Indianapolis, IN and loves volunteering and helping out in the community. Sandra recently returned from a semester abroad in Alcalá de Henares, Spain and misses it very much. It is her first year as an ACE and is very excited to work with the Iraqi and Palestinian refugee community. She took a service learning class her sophomore year where she was able to work with refugees, as well as attend a few Friday prayers at Nur-Allah. In her free time, Sandra loves to travel abroad, shop, talk, scrapbook, bake goodies, and spend time with her puppy, Gucci.

 

Megan Houchin, Advocate for Community Engagement -- Reconnecting to Our Water Ways and Unitarian Universalist Church of Indianapolis

Megan is a junior psychology major and STS minor from Mazon, Illinois.  This will be her first year working with the CCC, and she is looking forward to engaging with Butler students involved in Dr. O'Malley's ICR class - Humans and the Natural Environment.  From this class, she realized the importance of individual values and how they connect to behavior.  Megan is excited about the service-learning experiences and positive impacts from the students at their various sites in Indianapolis.  She is currently a volunteer at the Indianapolis Zoo in the Animal Commissary and enjoys cooking chicken for cheetahs and preparing biscuits for exotic birds.  In her free time, she enjoys researching African elephants and being a member of Kappa Kappa Gamma.

 

Janelle Jordan, Advocate for Community Engagement -- Kaleidoscope Youth Center

Janelle is a senior history and political science major from Morocco, Indiana. Her interest in service-learning began her sophomore year while working at the Kaleidoscope Youth Center.  After volunteering, she became an Advocate for Community Engagement and enjoyed fostering connections and learning experiences for the children at the center and Butler students. After spending two semesters away from campus - one in East Asia and the other in Washington, DC -  she had to return to the amazing experience at the KYC.  Next year, she will attend law school - with her ultimate goal to become a U.S. senator.  In her spare time, Janelle loves to read, watch movies, scrapbook, and cook.

 

Paige Newman, Advocate for Community Engagement -- FYS: "Call of the Wild"

Paige is a senior English literature major/ Spanish minor from Evansville, Indiana. She has been volunteering as an advocate at Albion Fellow's Bacon Center, a shelter house for abused women and children for over four years. Through her previous work with Dr. Angela Hofstetter, Paige has signed on as an ACE to work with students in Dr. Hofstetter's FYS course, "Call of the Wild". Paige is very excited for the opportunity to work with the FYS students again through service learning. On campus, Paige is a writer and copy-editor for Archives, secretary for College Democrats, and has been a Red Cup Culture facilitator for two years. In her free time she enjoys babysitting, reading, and spending time with her friends and family.

 

Rachel O'Heran, Advocate for Community Engagement -- Immigrant Welcome Center

Rachel is a sophomore international studies major from Hillsdale, Michigan. She first started volunteering with the Washington Township school district last semester while doing service learning for a course. She enjoyed the experience and the opportunity to step outside of her comfort zone by working with children. Rachel is excited to share her experience and her love for service learning this upcoming semester, as a first year ACE. Rachel is also a member of the international studies club and of Alpha Phi.

 

Jasmen Rice, Advocate for Community Engagement -- NAACP, MSDWT Schools

Jasmen is a senior psychology major/sociology minor from Baltimore, Maryland. In her hometown, Jasmen was the coordinator of a local youth HIV/STI prevention outreach group named the Zawadi Coalition, under the non-profit organization Sisters Together And Reaching, Inc. She led and organized prevention workshops for at-risk youth, recruited and trained youth workers in the fields of HIV/STI facts and safe outreach, and reinstated grants responsible for the funding of the youth outreach team. Jasmen created a research project based in the African-American female HIV community in Maryland and has won numerous awards for this research. At Butler, Jasmen is a third year RA in The Apartments  and conducts research pertaining to people's memories of emotional events. She is currently applying to graduate schools for counseling and clinical psychology.

 

Alex Tallentire, Advocate for Community Engagement -- Immigrant Welcome Center

Alex is a senior political science major from Granville, Ohio, who anticipates working with the government next year.  This will be his second year as an ACE and he is looking forward to building Butler's relationship with the Immigrant Welcome Center.  His interests in service-learning sites in the Indianapolis community began in his sophomore year while working with Burmese refugee children and adults.  His goal is to place students in sites around Indianapolis in order to broaden their views on the idea of local community, as well as foster relationships in the community.  In addition to working as an ACE, Alex enjoys being an active member in Sigma Nu and the Butler community.

 

Mandy Thomlinson, Advocate for Community Engagement -- A Caring Place

Mandy is a junior science, technology, and society major with minors in business and healthcare management from Brazil, Indiana.  After having a wonderful experience with her own ICR course, Mandy decided she wanted to do more by becoming an ACE and help others have a great experience like she did.  Mandy also works as an intern at the Children's Museum of Indianapolis and on the SGA Finance Board.  She really enjoys doing various volunteer service projects with the Lilly Scholar's Network.  This past summer, Mandy traveled to twelve different countries including China, Italy, France, and England.  In her free time, Mandy enjoys running, reading, sewing, fishing, and traveling. 

 

Mick Wang, Advocate for Community Engagement -- Martin Luther King Community Center: Second Time Around Program and Community Ethnography

Mick is a junior International Studies major from Rancho Palos Verdes, California.  New this year to the CCC, he is looking forward to working with the grandparents of the MLKCC.  Working in Community Ethnography, Mick desires to bring about a new awareness and relationship between Butler University students and the immediate neighborhoods surrounding the campus. Besides enjoying his time in school, Mick loves the company of his friends and family as well as the beauty of the midwest and its people.