海角社区

M. Dolores Cimini is a New York State licensed psychologist who has provided leadership for comprehensive efforts in research-to-practice translation at the University at Albany since 1992 with over $9 million in support from the National Institute on Alcohol Abuse and Alcoholism (NIAAA), National Institute on Drug Abuse (NIDA), Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration (SAMHSA), U.S. Department of Education, U.S. Department of Justice, and New York State Office of Addiction Services and Supports. The screening and brief intervention program developed by Dr. Cimini, the STEPS Comprehensive Alcohol Screening and Brief Intervention Program, has earned 13 national awards for best practices and innovation in behavioral health care. 

Cimini is the director of the Middle Earth Peer Assistance Program at UAlbany, an agency recognized as a model/exemplary program in alcohol and other drug prevention by both the U.S. Department of Education and the Center for Substance Abuse Prevention, U.S. Department of Health and Human Services. She has published two books and numerous professional articles in both national and international refereed journals in the alcohol and substance use field and has earned two awards for excellence from the White House for her contributions to STEM mentoring. Cimini is a member of the Commission on Accreditation of the American Psychological Association and was the Past Chair of the APA Board for the Advancement of Psychology in the Public Interest, where she has had leadership for reviewing and disseminating APA鈥檚 practice standards focused on serving diverse and underrepresented groups and the addressing of issues related to psychology and social justice.

Neal A. Lester is an expert in African American literary, cultural studies, racial bias and discrimination, especially as regards African Americans.

Lester is a Foundation Professor of English at ASU where he is founding director of the award-winning Project Humanities initiative. He鈥檚 also a popular public speaker, radio guest, op-ed contributor, newspaper columnist, blogger, and discussion facilitator. He is the author, co-author or editor of seven books and numerous articles in journal and magazines on topics such as children's literature, drama, folklore, the politics of hair, the "n-word," and racialized images in American cinema. The recipient of dozens of honors and awards for public scholarship and professional service, Lester conducts race and privilege training in the community and leads Project Humanities' Service Saturdays, an outreach to those experiencing homelessness, once per month in downtown Phoenix.

Stephen Ritz is an internationally-acclaimed, award-winning educator, author of best-selling book, The Power Of A Plant, and founder of Green Bronx Machine.  Known as "America's Favorite Teacher," Stephen is responsible for creating the first edible classroom in the world, which he has evolved into the National Health, Wellness and Learning Center.

Using his acclaimed, proprietary whole-school curriculum designed around urban agriculture aligned to key school performance indicators that grow healthy students and schools, Stephen and his students have grown and distributed more than 115,000 pounds of vegetables in the South Bronx.  In the process, Stephen has moved school attendance from 40 percent to 93 percent daily and helped provide 2,200 youth jobs in the Bronx.

The State University of New York uses his curriculum to train elementary school teachers statewide in all content areas, while New York City Department of Education offers professional learning credits for all Green Bronx Machine professional development. The curriculum also is being used in hundreds of schools across the United States, and internationally in Colombia, Canada, Egypt, Qatar, the United Arab Emirates and beyond.

Recently honored with the 2020 Change-Maker Award by NYC Food Policy Center, Stephen also has been recognized as a Top Ten Finalist for the Global Teacher Prize, and named as both a Global Humanitarian and Food Tank Hero.  He and his students have presented at the Obama White House three times, been featured on the cover of TIME for KIDS and are the subject of a new, full-feature documentary called, 鈥淕eneration Growth.鈥�  

Stephen is available to speak on topics, including:

Education
鈥� Education Post-COVID:  What Teachers, Students and Parents Will Need for Successful Transition Back to the Classroom
鈥� The 21st Century Education Ecosystem:  Linking Food and Nutrition to Learning and Academic Achievement to Workforce Development and Living Wage Jobs to Justice, the Environment and Fully Circular Economy Communities
鈥� Social-Emotional Learning
鈥� Project-based Learning
鈥� Compassion is the New Curriculum

Food Justice/Food Insecurity
鈥� Urban Farming
鈥� Food and Economic Justice through Ag 鈥� Urban, Rural, Suburban
鈥� Food Insecurity in the U.S.
鈥� The 21st Century Education Ecosystem:  Linking Food and Nutrition to Learning and Academic Achievement to Workforce Development and Living Wage Jobs to Justice, the Environment and Fully Circular Economy Communities

Community Health and Wellness
鈥� The 21st Century Education Ecosystem:  Linking Food and Nutrition to Learning and Academic Achievement to Workforce Development and Living Wage Jobs to Justice, the Environment and Fully Circular Economy Communities
鈥� Next Gen Sustainability Leaders
鈥� Childhood Obesity and Diabetes

Jennifer Tilton is an interdisciplinary scholar whose work combines urban anthropology, geography, history and public policy to understand childhood, space and the criminal justice system.

Dean Jonathan Koppell鈥檚 research and writing broadly examine the design and administration of complex organizations in the public, private and nonprofit sectors. 

Koppell is dean of the Watts College of Public Service & Community Solutions and is the Lattie and Elva Coor Presidential Chair in the School of Public Affairs. He's recognized as a leading authority on public-private hybrid organizations, accountability in governance and international rule making and regulation. He is the author of two books: 鈥淲orld Rule: Accountability, Legitimacy and the Design of Global Governance鈥� and 鈥淭he Politics of Quasi-Government.鈥�

He joined ASU in 2010 as Director of the School of Public Affairs from the Yale School of Management at Yale University. Prior to joining Yale, Koppell was a Markle Fellow of the New America Foundation in Washington, DC, writing on technology and public policy. He is a Fellow of the National Academy of Public Administration, the field鈥檚 highest honor.

Professor David Gordon is a global specialist on how deprivation is measured. His metrics have been adopted by the EU and used in target-setting to reduce poverty across Europe and in other parts of the world including Africa. Internationally he has worked with the WHO and UNICEF. He has produced reports on issues such as the child-friendliness of governments across Africa, the levels of poverty outside of cities, malnutrition in India, health inequalities in Hong Kong and ending the Poor Law in Guernsey. He is currently exploring the links between climate change and poverty. Professor Gordon has written and edited more than 200 books, papers and reports on issues of poverty and social justice. He was a member of the UN Expert Group on Poverty Statistics (Rio Group) and contributed to its Compendium of Best Practice in Poverty Measurement. He advises both the United Nations Department for Economic and Social Affairs (UNDESA) and the Commonwealth Secretariat on poverty and hunger issues amongst young people.

Paul Hai is the Associate Director of the Adirondack Ecological Center and leads the Northern Forest Institute for Conservation Education and Leadership Training (NFI), based at the Newcomb Campus of the SUNY College of Environmental Science and Forestry (ESF).
He is an expert in creating inter- and multidisciplinary programs using natural history and the process of science as the connective thread between disciplines. Exploring the interconnections between science, art, math, literature, history, and technology, all while using the Adirondacks as an unparalleled outdoor classroom inspires him to teach and to create new programs engaging students of all ages.
Areas of expertise include:  

The historic and contemporary tension between managing natural and human communities in the Adirondacks
The influence of the Adirondacks in United States environmental, public policy, and cultural history
The intersections of science, art, and the humanities
Creating leadership development and trek-based training programs building leadership capacity and skills for emerging and established professionals
Working to improve human diversity in natural science academic programs and careers, and in the Adirondacks more broadly

Hai is co-founder of Children in Nature, New York, and serves on the Grassroots Leadership Team of the national Children and Nature Network. 
In partnership with the New York State Department of Environmental Conservation, he co-founded the Hudson River Environmental Opportunities Network and is one of four co-founders of the .
Hai earned his bachelor’s degree at the University of Houston and his master’s in environmental education at ESF.  

Christine M. Scartz is the director of the University of Georgia School of Law's Jane W. Wilson Family Justice Clinic. She also teaches Family Law and a course for undergraduates titled Law and Social Justice: Strategic Advocacy.
Scartz has been an active member of the Western Judicial Circuit Domestic Violence Task Force and Athens-Clarke County Fatality Review Panel since 2015. She previously served as an Executive Board member of the task force, and she currently chairs the Firearms Surrender Protocol Committee.
Scartz is a 2021-22 Georgia Women’s Policy Institute Fellow. She also served as a UGA Service-Learning Fellow in 2020-2021 and as a university Center for Teaching and Learning Fellow for Innovative Teaching during 2019-20. 
In 1994, after graduating from the School of Law, Scartz established the Protective Order Project for students in the law school’s Public Interest Practicum to provide free representation to low- and no-income victims of domestic violence and stalking in Athens-Clarke and Oconee counties. She received a National Association of Public Interest Law Equal Justice Fellowship, which provided two years of support for her to continue developing the Protective Order Project. During that time, she also served as an adjunct instructor with the school's Public Interest Practicum and Civil Clinics.
Scartz joined the law school's faculty in August 2015. Previously, she was an associate attorney in a private firm in Lawrenceville, Georgia, where she handled a domestic relations and criminal law practice. She also served as an appointed attorney for criminal appeals in the Gwinnett County Superior Court.
She earned her bachelor's degree in history and French, with distinction, from the University of Virginia. She obtained her law degree magna cum laude from UGA, where she was inducted into the Order of the Coif and received the William K. Meadow Award, which recognizes outstanding public interest law students.

Shyam Sriram, PhD, is an assistant professor of political science and director of the Political Science Program at Canisius University.  He is available to offer expert commentary on the complex intersections of religion, immigration policy, and American politics. His unique background and extensive research experience provide valuable insights into some of today's most pressing social and political issues.
Areas of Analysis: Religion and American Politics:

Historical and contemporary relationships between religious beliefs and political behavior
Intersection of race, gender, and American identity with religious views
Religious nationalism in contemporary politics
Evolution of religious freedom and the establishment clause

Immigration and Refugee Policy:

Federal, state, and local coordination of refugee programs
Immigration's impact on religious and political landscapes
Public attitudes toward immigration across demographic groups
Local implementation of national immigration policies

Background: 
Dr. Sriram brings both academic expertise and personal insight to these topics. As the founder of Canisius University's Muslim Students Association and Every Campus a Refuge, he demonstrates a deep commitment to social justice and practical application of political science principles. His forthcoming book examining JFK Jr.'s immigration legacy adds to his numerous academic publications.
Areas of Expertise:

American Politics
Religion and Politics (particularly Islam)
Refugee Resettlement
U.S. Immigration Politics and Policy
Asian Pacific American Politics
State Policy

Education:

PhD, Political Science, University of California at Santa Barbara
MA, Political Science, University of California at Santa Barbara
MA, Political Science, Georgia State University
BA, Political Science, Purdue University

Publications: 
Sriram, Shyam K. 2024 (Forthcoming). An Introduction to Refugee Resettlement in the United States. Solano Beach, CA: Cognella Academic Publishing.