Title: Associate Director
Email: cara.dienno@du.edu
Phone:303.871.2158
Focus:
Cara supports faculty in their use of service learning through CCESL’s various service
learning trainings and funding opportunities. She assists the Director in managing
the Public Good Fund, which provides grants and fellowships to DU faculty conducting
community-engaged scholarship. Cara also manages CCESL’s various student programs,
including the youth civic engagement program, Public Achievement, which partners DU
students who serve as coaches with Denver middle and high schools.
Background:
In 2009, Cara completed her dissertation, “A Case Study of Social Capital and Collaboration
as a Communication Process in an Urban Community-Based Ecological Restoration Project,”
to earn her PhD in Environmental Communication from the Human Dimensions of Natural
Resources Department at Colorado State University (CSU). She earned her MS from CSU
as well and also holds a BS in Environmental Studies and Biomedical Sciences from
Western Michigan University.
Cara’s work is grounded in her own commitment to social justice and engagement. In
2007, she was the recipient of a Fort Collins Community Civility Award for service
to the CSU campus and Fort Collins community.
Anita Spotlight
Reflects on Public Achivement (PA) on Blog
The goal [of PA] is to create a space for students to discover their power to create tangible change in their community. That includes open discussions about social justice issues like privilege and oppression, as well as certain key activities like one-to-ones, "world as it is/world as it should be", "world cafes" and others from the PA handbook
Manuel Del Real
DU Student, Class of 2009 and 2011
Every time I look at the murals, it gives me great pride as an alumnus to be able to see students make a change...Being a coach has also helped me realize I am the mentor that I used to look up to.
Hava Gordon
Assistant Professor, Department of Sociology and Criminology
Last year, I taught a Service Learning FSEM: Youth Cultures: Inequality, Resistance, and Empowerment. This was the first time teaching my FSEM as a service learning class, and it was an amazing experience. With the help of my wonderful Service Learning Associate, Cameron Lewis, our class partnered with The Spot youth center and Rainbow Alley. Both organizations work to empower teens by providing a safe and creative space for low-income, homeless, and LGBTQ youth. FSEM students joined outreach workers at The Spot on night walks around the city, distributing needed items to homeless youth. Students also participated in consciousness-raising workshops at Rainbow Alley, connecting with Rainbow Alley youth through these workshops.
