Dissertation Dish
About the Dissertation Dish
The Dissertation Dish is a collaboration between the International Association for Research on Service Learning and Community Engagement (IARSLCE), GivePulse, and LEAD California. Dissertation Dish webinars are meant for all audiences, from seasoned scholars to practitioners to graduate students, as well as journal editors or conference organizers seeking scholars to present the most current and innovative research. Dissertation Dish highlights quality emerging research in the field of service learning and community engagement by providing a platform for recent doctoral degree recipients to share their work more broadly. We invite you to join us!
REQUEST TO PRESENT
If you completed your dissertation in the past two years on a topic that relates to community engagement and service learning, and you wish to be considered as a possible presenter for an upcoming Dissertation Dish webinar, please click the button below to share information about your dissertation research. If you are selected, you will be contacted to coordinate a presentation.
The Dish on May 14th, 2026
Speaker
Dr. Colette Ankenman, Ed.D. in Educational Leadership at Saint Mary’s College of California
Moderator
Dr. Sarah Beth Dempsey, Director of Engaged Learning and Visiting Professor, School of Liberal Arts at Saint Mary’s College of California
Dissertation Topic
Authentic Youth Community Engagement in Nonformal Service-Learning and Community Engagement Programming
Abstract
The purpose of this study was to explore what programmatic aspects of a nonformal service-learning and community engagement (SLCE) program contributed to youth being authentically engaged in their communities and how youth participants define engagement. The program investigated was a high school leadership program for students who self-identified as women. Using a sequential explanatory mixed methods design, data was collected via surveys and semi-structured interviews. The quantitative data found that components of the Emergent Theory of the Role of Context in Service-Learning Practice Model (Fox & LaChenaye, 2016) were positively associated with participants’ engagement. Additionally, four interview themes emerged about what authentic engagement means to participants: applying learned materials, community and connections, empowered to make a difference, and unique times of COVID-19. Based on these findings and past research, three recommendations were created: the power of empowerment, community, and youth voice.
About our Next Speaker
Colette Ankenman, Ed.D. is a research practitioner dedicated to positive youth development and community engagement. Her primary research interest is exploring the impact of nonformal service-learning and community engagement youth programming. She recently completed her Ed.D. in Educational Leadership from Saint Mary’s College of California and holds a Master of Science Degree in Child Development from UC Davis, and a Bachelor of Science Degree in Human Development and Family Studies and Consumer and Community Studies from the University of Utah.
The Dish on February 26th, 2026
Anti-Racist Community Engagement Among White Faculty: An Emergent Model
SPEAKER
LAURAWILMARTHTYNA
Dr. Laura Wilmarth Tyna, Director of Community Engagement and Experiential Learning and the Lewis University Community Schools Consortium (LUCSC) at Lewis University
Moderator: Dr. Tania Mitchell, Associate Provost for Community Engagement, Professor in Counseling, Higher Education and Special Education at University of Maryland
Abstract: In an era when acknowledging race and diversity is viewed with hostility, researching and understanding more about that which fosters anti-racist practice and racial justice in community engagement is critical. Despite growing interest in anti-racist practices in service-learning and community engagement (SLCE), little is understood about why white faculty adopt anti-racist community-engaged pedagogy (ARCEP) and how they implement it effectively.
Dr. Laura Wilmarth Tyna serves as Director of Community Engagement and Experiential Learning and the Lewis University Community Schools Consortium (LUCSC) at Lewis University in the Chicagoland area. In this capacity, she works with local schools and community-based organizations to support community thriving by facilitating collaborative partnerships and resource sharing. She has served as a higher education community engagement professional for over 20 years. Laura received a doctorate of education in student affairs administration and leadership from the University of Wisconsin-LaCrosse in May 2025. Previously, she earned a master of arts degree in students affairs administration from the University of Maryland, College Park. Laura’s professional interests focus on anti-racist community engagement and P-12/ higher education partnerships.
Caitlin recently joined Worcester Polytechnic Institute’s Global School as an Assistant Teaching Professor. She teaches a social science research methods course and advises students on project-based learning programs abroad. Her research interests include: global citizenship education; digital pedagogy; online learning; long-term student learning outcomes; community impact. Caitlin is the recipient of the 2025 Outstanding Dissertation Award from the American
Association of University Administrators (AAUA).
The Dish on October 7th, 2025
Examining the Potential of Online Community-Based Learning to Foster Global Citizenship Capacities in College Students
SPEAKER
CAITLINFERRARINI
Assistant Teaching Professor at Worcester Polytechnic Institute (WPI)
Moderator: Erica Yamamura, Interim Executive Director, LEAD California
Abstract: This multi-institutional study examines the potential of fully online community-based learning to foster global citizenship in college students. A mixed-methods analysis of pre/post surveys (n = 187) and alumni interviews (n = 23) found that first-generation students participating in an online community-based learning program during the COVID-19 pandemic reported greater learning gains than their non-first-generation peers. The most influential program factor in shaping student learning and future actions was the development of trusting relationships with partner community members (i.e. mentors, peers, or community members). Recommendations include practical resources that global and civic educators can utilize in their own classrooms.
Dr. Caitlin Ferrarini is a Ph.D. graduate of the University of Massachusetts Boston’s College of Education. She has worked in the field of global experiential learning in Colombia and the United States as a field director, student advisor, professor, and researcher. Caitlin is passionate about better understanding and improving student global and civic learning through research and practice.
Caitlin recently joined Worcester Polytechnic Institute’s Global School as an Assistant Teaching Professor. She teaches a social science research methods course and advises students on project-based learning programs abroad. Her research interests include: global citizenship education; digital pedagogy; online learning; long-term student learning outcomes; community impact. Caitlin is the recipient of the 2025 Outstanding Dissertation Award from the American
Association of University Administrators (AAUA).
The Dish on September 26th, 2025
Echoes Between Us: Introducing Echo-Autoethnography as a Reflexive Method for Critical Pedagogy and Community Engagement
SPEAKER
SHILOHNAPHILLANDERS
Moderator: Claire Mc Cann is currently Chair-elect of the Graduate Student Network of IARSLCE and a PhD candidate at the University of Oxford.
Abstract: This presentation introduces echo-autoethnography, a reflexive research methodology developed through my doctoral study in service-learning and community engagement (SLCE). Emerging at the intersection of critical pedagogy and narrative inquiry, echo-autoethnography expands traditional autoethnography by positioning the researcher-self not as a solitary source of meaning, but as a site reverberating with the echoes of community voices, collective memory, and the ethical tensions of engaged scholarship. Developed through my experience as a Caribbean practitioner-scholar navigating transnational academic terrains, this method captures the layered interplay of power, place, and positionality in shaping educational research. Echo-autoethnography centers relationships between self and others; between researcher and community, as foundational to knowledge production. It provides space to interrogate complicity, agency, and transformation, offering a justice-oriented alternative to extractive research practices and affirming reflexivity as essential to community-engaged pedagogical work.
Dr. Shilohna Phillanders is an internationally recognized educator, practitioner- scholar, and educational consultant whose work centers on service-learning, critical pedagogy, and socially responsive community engagement. Grounded in a commitment to social justice, her research and practice center on empowering learners and educators to interrogate and transform systemic inequities through experiential and community-rooted approaches. Guided by her commitment to equity and empowerment, Dr. Phillanders is laying the groundwork for a consultancy initiative that supports educators in emergent regions like the Caribbean, in embedding justice-centered, community-rooted pedagogies into transformative teaching and learning practices.
The Dish on April 14th, 2025
Academic community-engaged learning and student mental health and wellness: Understanding the lived experiences of undergraduate students
SPEAKER
STEPHANIEBREWER
Assistant Director, Community-Engaged Teaching and Learning – Center for Community Engaged Learning, Michigan State University
Moderator: TBD
Abstract: The purpose of this study was to illuminate the experiences of undergraduate students who participated in academic community-engaged learning, specifically as those experiences related to student mental health and wellness. The data for this qualitative Interpretative Phenomenological Analysis (IPA) was collected through semi-structured interviews with seven undergraduate students. Analysis resulted in the identification of essential components of the student community-engaged learning experience as it relates to their mental health and wellness and included three main themes: Identity (Head), Belonging (Heart), and Agency (Hands). The implications of these findings are many, including pedagogical considerations for community-engaged classrooms, campus-wide considerations for the inclusion of high impact practices, as well as community partner implications. Ultimately, the findings of this study will lead to a better informed and nuanced, macro-level strategy that higher education institutions can use to impact the state of student mental health and wellness broadly.
Dr. Stephanie Brewer is the Assistant Director of Community-Engaged Teaching and Learning with the Center for Community Engaged Learning, as well as the Program Director for the Community Engagement Scholars. She works with a team responsible for developing, supporting, and advancing academic community-engaged learning at MSU. She supports faculty, students, and community partners in the creation and facilitation of these opportunities. Stephanie worked for many years as a mental health professional before making her way to the field of higher education. Stephanie holds a BS in Psychology from Central Michigan University, a MS in Marriage and Family Therapy from Purdue University, and a PhD in Higher, Adult, and Lifelong Education from Michigan State University.
The Dish on January 14th, 2025
Students as Co-researchers: Using Participatory Action Research to Address College Food Insecurity
SPEAKER
RACHELBRAND
Adjunct Professor within the Sustainable Business Institute at Santa Clara University.
Moderator: David Donahue, Professor, School of Education, University of San Francisco
Abstract: Studies indicate that college students experience high rates of food insecurity. Growing awareness of food insecurity on college campuses has resulted in efforts by many institutions to address the problem through innovative programs such as food pantries, campus gardens, and educational workshops. While these initiatives play an important role in facilitating food access, they fall short of meeting students’ needs. There is little research on how students’ experiences or knowledge can inform strategies to address food insecurity, nor is there extensive research on how students view this issue for themselves and their peers. This study looks at the benefits of engaging students in participatory action research (PAR) to address college food insecurity. PAR is particularly well suited to address campus food insecurity given its tenets of research, reflection, and action. This paper examines how a PAR project, conducted throughout a semester-long community-engaged learning course at the University of San Francisco (USF), resulted in innovative strategies to address college food insecurity. This justice-based research approach deepened students’ understanding of the issue and inspired them to want to change their campus food systems. Students worked to shift the narrative of food insecurity on campus away from an individual experience that carries stigma toward one of community, relationships, and collective action. This study shows the opportunities to address food insecurity not only through immediate needs-based solutions but also through a justice-based research methodology that centers student experiences and knowledge.
Dr. Rachel Brand is a Postdoctoral Fellow and adjunct professor within the Sustainable Business Institute at Santa Clara University. Rachel has over a decade of experience teaching community-engaged learning, critical food systems education, and environmental studies. Her scholarship focuses on participatory action research in higher education, student agency and collective action, humanizing education, and food and environmental justice. Rachel holds an MA in Sociology from the University of California Santa Cruz, and an EdD in International and Multicultural Education from the University of San Francisco.