Outstanding Practitioner Contributions to Service-Learning in Higher Education
Josh Podvin
University of Georgia
Outstanding Community Partner Contributions to Service-Learning in Higher Education
Jason Elliott
Huntsville Independent School District
For almost 17 years, Sam Houston State University (SHSU) and Huntsville ISD, through the leadership of Coach Elliott and key partners, have delivered an adapted physical education program serving children and youth with disabilities, ages 5 to 22, in a low–socioeconomic-status community.
Established in fall 2009, this program is SHSU’s longest-standing academic community engagement (ACE) course partnership. Each semester, approximately 70 Huntsville ISD students visit SHSU’s campus for weekly, 60-minute sessions. SHSU students enrolled in KINE 4369: Adapted Physical Activity work alongside Coach Elliott’s team and their SHSU professors, applying the instructional strategies and behavior management techniques learned in class. Over time, the collaboration expanded to include an after-school camp (fall 2019), creating even more applied-learning opportunities for SHSU students while increasing support for participating youth.
In addition to this long-running partnership, Coach Elliott has made a significant impact as a high school coach for the Huntsville Hornets, earning success on the football field while also championing inclusion through athletics. He coaches Huntsville ISD’s Unified Basketball team—an inclusive program supported by Special Olympics—and has helped lead the team to a state championship. Coach Elliott also supports Special Olympics athletes year-round and hosts an annual area meet, reflecting his belief that he has been given a gift for working with kids and a genuine calling to help them grow, compete, and thrive.
Outstanding Faculty Contributions to Service-Learning in Higher Education – Instruction
Arelis Moore
Clemson University
Dr. Arelis Moore’s scholarly and pedagogical work is distinguished by her sustained, intentional integration of service-learning into the curriculum, with a clear focus on reciprocal partnerships with Latinx communities in Upstate South Carolina. Through well-structured service-learning experiences, Dr. Moore engages students in addressing complex social determinants of health, while grounding their learning in culturally responsive and community-defined priorities. Her approach emphasizes health as a multidimensional concept that encompasses not only physical health, but also mental well-being, social connection, dignity, and community resilience. Central to her pedagogy is a commitment to mutual benefit: students develop cultural competence, professional skills, and civic responsibility, while community partners gain sustained bilingual support, research collaboration, and capacity-building resources. Dr. Moore’s long-standing community-academic partnerships ensure that service-learning activities are co-designed with Latinx serving community-based health organizations, ethically implemented, and sustained across multiple academic terms, reflecting a deep and consistent commitment to engaged teaching that advances both student learning and community well-being.
Outstanding Faculty Contributions to Service-Learning in Higher Education – Research
Hanjin Mao
The University of Houston – Downtown
Dr. Mao is an exceptional scholar whose research agenda, teaching innovation, and community partnerships demonstrate excellence in the scholarship of engagement. Her work represents the very best of what service-learning and community-engaged scholarship can accomplish in higher education. Dr. Mao’s publication record is extraordinary for an early-career faculty member, including journal articles in Nonprofit Management & Leadership, Journal of Chinese Governance, International Journal of Public Administration in the Digital Age, Public Integrity, and Philanthropy & Education, book chapters in impactful encyclopedias and textbooks, and research presentations across the world. These works examine experiential philanthropy, nonprofit capacity, technology adoption, donor behavior, and civic communication—all topics that align directly with community-engaged and service-learning research.
Outstanding Student Contributions to Service-Learning in Higher Education
Joao Ribeiro de Lacerda
Tulane University
João is a senior at Tulane University, majoring in Economics and Finance and pursuing a minor in Legal Studies. He serves as a Service Learning Assistant Leader at Tulane’s Center for Public Service, a role he grew into after beginning as a Service Learning Assistant early in his college career. In this position, he helps lead service-learning efforts across the university and supports faculty, students, and community partners.
Since his first semester in this role, João has spearheaded Tulane’s financial literacy program, working with four community partners each semester to bring dozens of Tulane tutors into New Orleans high schools. Through this work, he actively bridges gaps in financial literacy while working with both Tulane students and local high school students to become empowered business leaders. He has also collaborated with multiple business courses to manage service-learning logistics and expand Tulane’s impact across the greater New Orleans community.
João’s commitment to service learning began in high school in Brazil, where he founded and led a community project that collected and distributed school supplies to nonprofits serving underresourced communities. This initiative lays the foundation for his dedication to education, access, and community empowerment.
João’s work at Tulane University has transformed individual courses and influenced the broader ecosystem of faculty, student leaders, and community partners engaged in service learning, truly meeting Tulane’s missing of cultivating civically minded students through community-engaged scholarship.
