Introducing Jennifer Domagal-Goldman – The New National Manager of ADP!

By Cecilia M. Orphan

As I mentioned in an earlier blog post, I will be going to graduate school in the fall and leaving ADP.  After this summer I will no longer serve as the National Manager of the American Democracy Project.  I have spent five years in this position and I am deeply grateful for the opportunities I have had to grow as a professional and to take part in higher education’s struggle to protect and improve American democracy. This fall I will be attending the University of Pennsylvania where I will pursue a Ph.D. in higher education with an emphasis in civic engagement. The program is a perfect fit with my professional and academic interests and I will be advised by Matthew Hartley, a long-time leader in and champion of the civic engagement movement.

I am pleased to announce that we have identified the new National Manager of the American Democracy Project. Jennifer Domagal-Goldman will take over leadership of ADP in late July. Jennifer comes to us with years of experience with on-campus civic engagement work and doctoral research focused on civic engagement in higher education. Jennifer has been a long-time supporter of ADP and has attended two of our events.  She is very familiar with our work and brings to the Project a passion for higher education’s role in preparing informed, engaged citizens for our democracy. We simply could not have found a better person to head ADP.

Jennifer will  join us in Orlando next week. If you plan to attend the ADP National Meeting (#ADPS11), please be sure to introduce yourself to her.

I will take my leave in late July so you will continue to hear from me until then. It is a great comfort to know that I can pass the Project off to someone who is not only extremely capable of leading ADP but is also deeply committed to our work.  Please see below for a brief introductory message from Jennifer.

See you in Orlando!

Jen and her dog Bailey

By Jennifer Domagal-Goldman, National Manager, American Democracy Project

I am honored to be selected as Cecilia’s successor. Though new to this position, I am no stranger to the American Democracy Project. My introduction to ADP occurred during the first semester of my doctoral studies. While writing a policy brief on the mandate that educational institutions celebrate Constitution Day, I researched efforts by national associations to strengthen democratic education and engagement efforts at colleges and universities. As part of that research, I interviewed Mary-Kathryn McKenna, ADP’s first program coordinator, and was impressed by what I learned. Later in my graduate career, I attended ADP’s 2007 Stewardship of Public Lands seminar in Yellowstone and delivered a presentation on Penn State’s Civic and Community Engagement Minor at the 2007 ADP National Meeting in Philadelphia.

I earned my doctorate in higher education from Penn State University last August. I also have a master’s degree in higher education and student affairs from the University of Vermont, and a bachelor’s degree in English from the University of Rochester.

While at Penn State, I worked as a graduate fellow in the Office of Undergraduate Education with the Minor in Civic and Community Engagement and the Laboratory for Public Scholarship and Democracy. My dissertation research focused on how faculty members learn to teach for civic purposes and with community-oriented pedagogies in their undergraduate courses.

I am deeply committed to ADP’s mission to prepare the next generation of informed, engaged citizens for our democracy, and I am honored to be able to continue to advance the work of this important and innovative initiative. While I don’t officially begin work until July, I will be attending next week’s annual meeting in Orlando and look forward to meeting many of you there!