Oberlin Serves

Staffing and Administration

Page history last edited by cbrenner@... 1 wk ago

Beth Blissman, Ph.D-- Director

Greetings! And welcome to the Oberlin College Bonner Center for Service and Learning (CSL). My name is Beth Blissman, and I started as the Director here in August 2000. I invite you to check out our wealth of programs and resources at the BCSL, and to get to know the other members of our staff. We are here to connect the campus with the community in a multitude of ways. One focus of my work is to serve as a resource for Oberlin College faculty, as they explore teaching pedagogies of academically-based community service (also called 'service-learning') and community-based research. These approaches to teaching are exciting new pathways to build upon Oberlin's historical tradition of excellence in both teaching and passion for social justice. My particular contribution to this process is a focus on ecosocial transformation, and if you'd like to know more about my work as a scholar-activist, please contact me.

Beth.Blissman@oberlin.edu

Telephone: (440) 775-8055

Donna Russell-- Director, Bonner Scholars Program

Donna Russell is the Oberlin College Bonner Scholars Program Director. Prior to this position she served as the Assistant Director of Admissions at the University of Akron and the Academic Coordinator for the Oberlin College Upward Bound Program. Her daily goal is to support Bonners as they matriculate at Oberlin College and build connections to Lorain County through community service. A native New Yorker, Donna has lived in Ohio for over fourteen years. She completed a bachelor of arts degree at The College of Wooster and earned a Master of Arts at The Ohio State University. Donna is passionate about encouraging young people as they prepare for and attend institutions of higher education. The mother of two boys and married to a Oberlinian, she attributes her settling in Oberlin to the friendly and caring community.

To find out more about the Bonner Scholars Program at Oberlin College (www.oberlin.edu/csl/bonner_overview.html) or the Bonner Foundation (www.bonner.org)

Donna.Russell@oberlin.edu

Telephone: (440) 775-5387

Andy Frantz-- Director, Education Outreach Programs

I am a native of Massachusetts but I love living in Oberlin. I have lived here since 2002, and I've worked at the CSL since 2004. Prior to this job, I was an English teacher for a year and a half at Lorain County Community College, nine years in the public schools of Belchertown, Mass., and one year in Nogales, Arizona. My work at the CSL is all about connecting the college to the community. I direct the America Reads program, which provides reading tutoring to children in the Oberlin schools. I run the America Reads program with the help of student leaders. I love cats, hiking, and playing music. I hate war and people who cut funding for public education.

Email: Andy.Frantz@oberlin.edu for America Reads inquiries email:

America.Reads@oberlin.edu

Telephone: (440) 775-5386

Sarah Ho - Civic Engagement Intern

Hello! My name is Sarah and I am a recent graduate of Ohio State University. I received my bachelor's degree in comparative studies with a focus in religious studies. I am currently a graduate student at Bowling Green State University in the college student personnel program. Along with the academic program I will be working here at Oberlin College to apply what I am learning in the classroom to students and higher education institutions for a future career in higher ed. I am working at the Bonner CSL as a civic engagement intern, where I will be working with community service fairs, the community service resource center, the community service winter term opportunities, and other service-based initiatives through the Bonner Center. I am thrilled to work in such a passionate and engaging functional area in college. In my free time I enjoy nature, vegan baking, and taking naps. I love dogs, day planners, and helping others.

Sarah.Ho@oberlin.edu

Telephone: (440) 775-5389

Marco Wilkinson-- Community Service Work-Study Program Coordinator

I am a Rhode Island native who moved to Oberlin from New York City in 2008 to be with my partner, Kazim Ali, who teaches in the College's Creative Writing Program. My background is in public horticulture, having worked as a horticulturist in the Hudson Valley and New York City, most recently at The Cloisters, a medieval art museum, before moving to Ohio. Since moving to Oberlin, I've participated in several permaculture courses at the College and am now also the Assistant Grower at George Jones Farm. I am interested in issues of food and ecological sustainability, and in this regard my hero is the late great Masanobu Fukuoka, Japanese no-till rice farmer and philosopher extraordinaire. My own sense of community service is heavily marked by my time volunteering with the Catholic Worker soup kitchen on the Lower East Side of New York, where the "helper" and the "helped" were indistinguishable sitting together sharing a meal, and by my Zen Buddhist practice. I like hiking and miss the Hudson Highlands, but am coming to terms with the subtle beauty of flatness.

For more information about CSWSP please click here

cswsp@oberlin.edu

Telephone: 440-775-5390

Vicki Yacobozzi- Administrative Assistant

I currently live in Vermilion, Ohio. I am married and have four children and six grandchildren. I received an Associate Degree in Computer Programming from Bowling Green State University-Firelands Campus. I began my work at Oberlin College as a temporary Administrative Assistant in many offices across campus from 1999 to January 2002 when I started temping at the Center for Service and Learning (CSL). I remained in this position since then and was hired on permanent as of June 1, 2004. My duties here are many and varied, from general office clerical responsibilities, which include telephone coverage, mail processing, making transportation arrangements, processing student payroll, and supervising several student office interns. A large part of my job is working with many different budgets/grants to track office and program expenses and to reconcile these budgets at the end of each quarter. My favorite part of the job is the opportunity to interact with the wonderful students attending Oberlin College. They truly are amazing!!

Victoria.Yacobozzi@oberlin.edu

Telephone: (440) 775-8055

Claudine Brenner - AmeriCorps* VISTA