Heidi A. Crapol is a veteran leader in the nonprofit and corporate sectors and was appointed executive director of the Center for Community Enagement and Impact in September 2019. Crapol previously served as director of the Center for Urban Communities, where she co-led development of the VCU Health Hub at 25th.

Cherie Strachan is a Professor of Political Science and serves as Associate Executive Director of Community Engagement. Her most recent scholarly and applied work addresses her interest in promoting community, civic, and political engagement among minoritized communities, women, and young people. Her publications include the co-authored CQ-Sage textbook, Why Don’t Women Rule the World, along with over 40 articles and book chapters about partisan polarization, deliberative democracy, political civility, and intersectional civic engagement pedagogy. She also currently serves as the review editor for the Journal of Political Science Education.

Tito Luna (he/him) joined VCU in August 2013 as the liaison to VCU’s surrounding neighborhoods. Working closely with neighborhood leaders and VCU administration, Luna strives to increase community voice in university-wide initiatives and helps address community-identified needs and issues. He also links faculty, staff and students to collaboration opportunities with neighborhoods and other community partners. Luna’s role also includes outreach and partnership-building activities at the VCU Health Hub at 25th in the East End.

Katie Elliott (she/her) has served as the associate director of the Office of Service-Learning since January 2016. In 15 years working in higher education, she has focused primarily on student success and community-engaged teaching and learning, administering learning support units at two universities and teaching courses on composition, writing theory, teaching pedagogy, and community-engaged leadership. She is particularly interested in inclusive teaching pedagogies, promoting students’ understanding of civic learning and social justice, and sustainability initiatives.

Tina Carter (she/her) has more than 20 years of experience working in nonprofits and education. Prior to becoming director of the Mary and Frances Youth Center in 2010, Carter managed two school-based after-school programs in Rhode Island, serving more than 200 students daily. Previous experience includes directing AmeriCorps programs, coordinating service-learning initiatives, volunteer management and team-building facilitation. Carter manages daily operations at MFYC, including Lobs & Lessons, VCU’s Safety and Protection of Minors Policy and The Toolbox.

Charles Johnson (he/him) brings more than 15 years of nonprofit experience working with youth to the position, including work in juvenile justice, public health and experiential education. Prior to his current role, Johnson managed a continuous quality improvement intervention for local youth serving organizations. Johnson is certified as a Trauma Informed Care trainer, in addition to certifications from the David P. Weikart Center in Youth Work Methods and Social and Emotional Learning.

Rachel Rhoney is the assistant director of the Mary and Frances Youth Center. She manages the Lobs and Lessons program, hiring and training staff and volunteers, coordinating programs and designing the tennis programming. Rhoney also coordinates special events and marketing efforts for the program. Prior to coming to Richmond, Rhoney played Division I tennis at the University of North Carolina at Asheville. She is a PTR-certified tennis instructor and has been teaching tennis for 15 years.