Staff and How to Contact Us
The Center for Community Engagement is located in the Mikesell House at 82 W. Main Street, Westerville, OH 43081.
Melissa Kesler Gilbert
As Director of the Center for Community Engagement, Melissa brings to Otterbein an established record as a service-learning administrator, faculty member, national engaged faculty scholar and professional development leader. She has published widely in the fields of service-learning, women's studies and civic engagement and is is honored to serve as one of five faculty selected in the United States to be a 2006-2007 National Civic Scholar, representing the Mid-West Region for National Campus Compact. Melissa works extensively with our community partners, brokering new partnerships, evaluating our services and planning for future collaborations and is available for one-on-one consultations with faculty, students, and community partners. She can be reached at (614) 823-1251 or via e-mail: mgilbert@otterbein.edu.
Chris Hempfling
Chris is the Assistant Director of the Center for Community Engagement and Residence Hall Director. He facilitates student community service, community plunges, and the CCE's community scholars TEAM. Before arriving at Otterbein, Chris was the Assistant Director of the Jane Addams Center for Civic Engagement at Rockford. Chris has also held the position of State Coordinator for the Ohio Raise Your Voice campaign, where he worked to increase student civic engagement at Ohio's higher education institutions. He is a graduate of The Ohio State University where his field of study was political science, focusing on judicial politics. Chris has a strong record of civic engagement involvement, as he has served as a past member of the COOL National Student Advisory Committee, member of the Executive Board of Ohio Campus Compact, Service Learning Initiative board member, District Committee member for the Boy Scouts of America, Kiwanis, and is a Volunteer Fire Fighter. He can be reached at (614) 823-1272 or via e-mail: chempfling@otterbein.edu.
John Kengla
John serves as CCE's Service-Learning Liaison. He has been teaching at Otterbein since 1987 and is an integral part of Otterbein Integrative Studies, Continuing Studies and Senior Year Experience programs. In 2003, John received Otterbein's MLK Award for Peace and Justice, honoring the many service-learning projects he developed to meet the needs of our local community. John works closely with our faculty to develop new service-learning courses and provides seminars on innovative service-learning pedagogy. He also serves as our Building Representative for Indianola Middle School. John is available for one-on-one consultations with faculty. He can be reached at (614) 823-1374 or via e-mail: jkengla@otterbein.edu.
Caitlin Tully
Caitlin is CCE's AmeriCorps*VISTA for the 2007-2008 academic year. She is on a one-year appointment through Ohio Campus Compact's VISTA program. Caitlin coordinates the CCE's volunteer training programs and recruitment efforts. Caitlin graduated from Tulane University in 2007 with a major in Political Science and a minor in Psychology. She previously assisted redevelopment efforts in the city of New Orleans after Hurricane Katrina through her work with housing and urban youth literacy programs. She can be reached at (614)-823-2006 or via e-mail: ctully@otterbein.edu.
Chad Garvin
Chad is the Web design specialist for the CCE. He also participates in team planning meetings for Otterbein's new Web portal, O-Zone. He originally started volunteering at the Center in 2005 by participating in Sports Pals. He graduated from Otterbein in 2007, majoring in journalism with minors in music and psychology. While at Otterbein, Chad was a member of Sigma Delta Phi, was the Copy Editor for the Tan & Cardinal, and played tenor saxophone in numerous ensembles. If you have any problems, concerns, or suggestions about the CCE Web site, feel free to contact him at chad.garvin@gmail.com.
