Who We Are

Sandra Lobo Jost Director Rose Hill Lincoln Center lobo@fordham.edu		Sandra Lobo Jost has been the Director of the Dorothy Day Center for Service and Justice (formerly Community Service Program) since 1998 working to shift the focus of our programming and resources from charity to justice. During her tenure here, she has overseen the expansion of the CSJ from one to four full-time staff members, the creation of the Service-Learning Program, and the addition of the Lincoln Center office. Prior to holding this position she lived and worked in Newark, NJ running the after-school program and senior center at the Ironbound Girls and Boys Club. She has volunteered with organizations in the Bronx and abroad in India, Jamaica and Ecuador, working with groups such as Mother Teresa's Missionaries of Charity. She graduated from Fordham College with a degree in Urban Studies, and holds an MSW from Fordham's Graduate School of Social Service. Sandra sits on the Board of Directors of Unitas Therapeutic Community and the Advisory Board of National Student Partnerships. A first generation immigrant from Portugal, Sandra is committed to working for peace and justice in our world and helping form change agents of our students.

Melissa Alvarenga Associate Coordinator of Service-Learning Rose Hill alvarenga@fordham.edu		Melissa joined the CSJ in August 2007 as the Associate Coordinator of Service-Learning at the Rose Hill campus. She comes from Los Angeles, CA where she did her undergraduate work at Loyola Marymount University. Melissa then volunteered with Good Shepherd Volunteers for one year serving as a counselor to 40 young adults aging out of foster care, teaching the tools needed to be independent individuals. She brings facilitation skills and guidance experience from her year of service to her work at the Center for Service and Justice. Influenced by her own family history and experiences as a first-generation Latina, Melissa has worked in solidarity with many organizations moving towards reconciliation and progress for all. She brings a passion for justice and is excited to help build the Service-Learning Program to better serve the Bronx and Fordham communities. Melissa earned a certificate from Fordham’s Latin America and Latino Studies Institute in fall of 2009 and is currently working on a Masters in Sociology at Fordham's Graduate School of Arts and Sciences.

Caitlin Becker Associate Coordinator of Community Service Rose Hill acabecker@fordham.edu		Caitlin joined the CSJ (formerly CSP) in August 2006 coordinating Community Service and Service-Learning efforts on the Rose Hill campus. With the addition of a new full-time staff member to coordinate Service-Learning in August 2007, Caitlin is now able to focus on better preparing students to work in the community, offer space for all students to critically reflect on their experiences, and expand outlets for advocacy and organizing to students interested in working for social change. She came to us after completing a year of service with the Jesuit Volunteer Corps in San Diego, CA where she taught life skills at a shelter for homeless and runaway teens. Caitlin graduated from Boston College with a degree in English and Communication Studies and was involved in many community service and service-learning efforts in Boston, the Appalachia region, and Mexico. She is currently pursuing graduate studies in Fordham’s Graduate School of Social Service and sits on the Local Advisory Board for National Student Partnerships.

Kate Cavanagh Associate Coordinator of Community Service & Service-Learning Lincoln Center cavanagh@fordham.edu		Kate joined the CSJ (formerly CSP) in August 2007 as the Associate Coordinator of Community Service and Service Learning at Lincoln Center. She was raised in Northwest New Jersey and came to Fordham Lincoln Center in 2001 where she did her undergraduate work in Social Work and Religious Studies. Upon graduation, she attended Hunter College School of Social Work's Masters' program concentrating in Community Organizing. Kate worked with FEGS in Psychiatric Rehabilitation and with Fort Greene Strategic Neighborhood Action Partnership on the Health Committee during her social work internships. While at Hunter, she participated in the People's Institute's Undoing Racism workshop, which deepened her commitment to educating students on the impact of systemic racism on themselves and their communities. She is trained in Paulo Freire methodology as a popular educator and co-facilitates trainings for educators and organizers at the Brecht Forum. She is thrilled to be back at Fordham working for the Center for Service and Justice (formerly Community Service Program), which supported her in developing her passion for peace and social justice.

Katheryn Crawford Assistant Coordinator of Community Service Lincoln Center katheryn.crawford@gmail.com Jeannine Hill-Fletcher Faculty Director of Service-Learning Rose Hill Lincoln Center hillfletche@fordham.edu		Katheryn joined the CSJ (formerly CSP) in September 2009 as the Assistant Coordinator of Community Service and Service Learning at Lincoln Center. She was raised in El Paso, Texas and received her Bachelor of Arts from the University of Texas at Austin, double majoring in History and African/African-American Studies. Katheryn moved to New York City in 2004 and in 2008 received her Masters in Social Work degree from Hunter College School of Social Work, focusing in Community Organizing. While attending HCSSW she interned at Kingsbrook Jewish Medical Center in the Department of Government and Community Affairs and Make the Road New York. While at Hunter Katheryn participated in the Undoing Racism workshop facilitated by People’s Institute for Survival and Beyond and was the Treasurer of the student group, the Anti-Racist Collective at Hunter (ARCH). This work sparked her passion for undoing racism and working with young people to recognize their own power as agents of social change. Jeannine Hill Fletcher served as Faculty Director of Service-Learning 2002-2004 and returned to this position in 2007. In this role, she works collaboratively with CSJ and with Fordham faculty to provide opportunities to integrate service with academics. In 2007, Jeannine and Sandra developed the New Course Initiative, in conjunction with the FCRH/FCLC Dean’s Offices. Under this initiative, faculty develop service-integrated courses where work in the community is a learning resource alongside the traditional resources of readings, lectures, discussions, etc. Together with the Service-Learning staff, we have also developed a five-part Interdisciplinary Seminar in service-learning. Jeannine is an Associate Professor of Theology, joining the Fordham faculty in 2001. Her areas of research interest include religious diversity, feminist and liberation theology and global justice. Recent publications at the intersection of theology and justice include: “Christology Between Identity and Difference: On Behalf of a World in Need” in Frontiers in Catholic Feminist Theology: Shoulder to Shoulder (Augsburg Fortress Press, 2009) and “Companions, Prophets, Martyrs: Jesuit Education as Justice Education” in Transforming the World and Being Transformed (Fordham University Press, Forthcoming). Jeannine credits her CSJ colleagues for continuing her own ‘justice-education’.