UCCP staff
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Barbara Ferman, PhD |
I am Executive Director of the UCCP and a Professor of Political Science at Temple University. I began the UCCP in 1997 because I strongly believe that universities and communities can and should work together around issues that effect the larger worlds in which we all work and reside. Although there are competing interests and agendas, I am confident that we can create win-win situations in many cases.
My research and teaching have focused on a variety of areas including: public policy, political leadership, housing and community development, race and class, community organizing, civic education, and youth leadership development. I approach all of my work with an interdisciplinary focus and a strong desire to uncover what is "fair, reasonable, and doable."
Born and raised in Brooklyn (the 4th largest city in the country!), I have lived and worked in Boston, Chicago, and, since 1992, Philadelphia. My passion is education and community issues with a particular eye towards making things work. For mental health, I play racquetball, bond with nautilus machines, and escape into good works of fiction.
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Catalina Gonzalez |
As Assistant Director of Youth Civic Engagement with the UCCP, I coordinate all partnership and project based collaborations intended to develop structures, programs and opportunities that foster youth leadership development.
This job is a perfect fit for me given my experience, education and passion for understanding social issues. I was born and raised in Colombia, South America, where I went to college. During this time my interest and curiosity in understanding the role that education plays in society compelled me to work on two research projects: Nation Building and the Teaching of History and Teaching Democracy in the Classroom; the results of this latter project were published in a collection of research produced by youth. I have also worked in various Latin American countries including Guatemala, Honduras, Panama, and Colombia developing and implementing literacy programs for both children and adults. This opportunity allowed me to work hand in hand with indigenous groups, school teachers, community leaders and government officials. Most recently, I worked as the Counseling and Academic Coordinator of the Upward Bound Program at Temple University where I was responsible for recruiting, counseling, planning workshops, activities and classes intended to prepare low income and potential first generation college graduates, for college. Working at Upwards Bound was a fascinating experience too, one that solidified my commitment to working with urban youth.
I have a Masters degree in Sociology and a Masters in Human Resource Management.
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Ieshia Nelson |
I once heard "Titles define what you do; but character defines who you are"; as the Program Coordinator for Temple Youth VOICES fortunately what I do helps further build who I am. It is fulfilling to manage the day-to-day responsibilities and long term initiatives (including recruitment, curriculum development, program assessment and Leaders Corps support) that allow such positive youth-driven work to be cultivated.
A native of SE Washington, DC I was educated mostly by circumstance (living in the shadows of where laws are made however my neighborhood never benefited from those promises). Through my mom's involvement and desire for us to have better I was awarded a scholarship to a private, independent High School (MD). All the while I volunteered and tutored at my neighborhood community center only further exposing that great divide. I was afforded opportunities unimagined by my peers: an educational environment deeply rooted in an Honor Code of honesty, equality, trust and respect, with equal emphasis on arts and humanity, studying abroad in Central America and Africa, actively engaged teachers and real direction with regards to higher education.
As an undergrad at Temple, I was introduced to VOICES in the midst of its Education Campaign. I saw students from a neighborhood reminiscent of mine actively engaged in identifying the problems, demanding answers and offering solutions. I was challenged and embraced... and still am!
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Alison Huxta |
I was born in Macungie, PA (bear swamp in Lenape Indian) near Allentown and grew up in a very supportive household but very homogenous close-minded suburbs. Living there made me question "the American Dream" and what was around me. I knew there was more to the world than a secure life style where everything lay at your finger tips and the gas pedal. When I went to Temple University as a Political Science major I got involved in getting others to question society through labor organizing with the Student Labor Action Project and as an instructor and Leaders Corp member with Temple Youth VOICES. During this time I also studied in Mexico and worked with social movements, including the Zapatista movement in the southern state of Chiapas and maquiladora labor organizers on the US-Mexico border.
After I graduated from Temple I spent a year and half working for a charter high school in Philadelphia as an internship coordinator, which is the title I now hold at the UCCP. I am very excited to be back at the UCCP and I hope to build off of all the incredible work the Leaders Corps did with the internship last year. This year I would like to bring an understanding of the importance of social consciousness in education, build more partnerships with Philadelphia high schools, and continue to develop the internship curriculum. From my experiences teaching in Philadelphia, learning in Mexico, and studying social political thought, I want to encourage others to look more closely at the world around them and point out the beauty and even injustice that so many of us ignore.
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Natalia Smirnov |
Natalia Smirnov is an artist, a youth activist, a radical innovator and a creative strategist. Officially, she is responsible for managing ongoing media projects and initiatives, creating and coordinating UCCP's marketing & communication materials and maintaining this website. Her unofficial responsibilities include counseling others to deal with the grief of digital data loss, internally campaigning against the use of Comic Sans and dispelling various myths about what it means to be a Russian.
Natalia, who has been making cultural propaganda since high school, holds a Bachelors degree in American Culture & Media Arts from Temple University. She is interested in the intersection between culture industries, new media technologies and social change. In her work with VOICES, she is committed to provoking young people to question media, culture and authority figures they are taught to obey by arming them with skills in critical thinking, photoshopping, blogging and other forms of participatory media.
When not at the UCCP, Natalia enjoys cooking, dancing, playing music in collective settings and making art about missed connections.
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Catherine C. Wolfgang |
And most importantly, the LEADERS CORPS!