Melynda E. Majors, M.P.A.
 Melynda
has worked in university, non-profit and research settings in areas
directly related to service-learning and civic engagement since
1994.
She was formerly the Program Coordinator for Youth
Act! and Teens, Crime
and the Community for Street
Law, Inc., an international non-profit organization dedicated
to educating the world about law, democracy and human rights through
law-related education. The Youth Act! program uses a service-learning
pedagogy to teach youth how to successfully advocate on behalf of
legislation they find important; TCC uses service-learning pedagogies
to teach personal safety and crime prevention to at-risk youth.
She also worked for the American Association for Higher Education
(formerly a national non-profit higher education membership organization,
now defunct) as Program Manager for the Forum on Faculty Roles &
Rewards and Program Manager for AAHE's Service-Learning Projects.
She managed both programs in the areas of faculty work, including
seasons of the faculty career and post-tenure review as well as
service-learning and civic engagement. Her main responsibilities
were to work in close connection with National
Campus Compact on their national and DC-based service-learning
projects, to help found, lead and administer the AAHE-Campus
Compact Consulting Corps, and to manage the annual, national
Conference on Faculty Roles & Rewards (2001, Tampa, FL, and
2002, Phoenix, AZ).
After leaving AAHE, she became primary researcher for the then-independent
Center
for Media Education (now a program of the Center for Social
Media at American University) on their "Youth as eCitizens:
Youth Civic Engagement and the Internet" research project where
she conducted research and analysis on if, and how, young people
use the Internet as a tool for civic engagement. The final version
of that report is available online at http://www.centerforsocialmedia.org/ecitizens/index2.htm
Melynda has a thorough academic underpinning as well as extensive
professional expertise in the areas of service-learning and the
scholarship of engagement; civic education and advocacy; public
management and non-profit organizations; law-related education,
democratic governance and human rights; and, K-16 education public
policy issues.
She has co-presented sessions at national higher education and
civic education conferences and is the author of numerous writings
including several published articles. Her master’s thesis,
Increasing Student Participation in Community Service and Service-Learning
at The Florida State University: An Analysis of Options, was used
at that institution by President Emeritus Talbot D’Alemberte,
former Vice President for Student Affairs Jon Dalton, and former
Director of the University Center for Civic Education and Service
Bill Moeller as a “blueprint” for increasing student
service at FSU.
|
