Patrick Donohue, MA, Assistant Provost for Community Engaged Learning Programs and Partnerships
Patrick received his undergraduate and graduate degrees from Rutgers University, where he was the student Vice-Chair of the U.S. Public Interest Research group while an undergraduate. Before joining the staff at TCNJ, Patrick was a political science professor at Middlesex County College for 11 years, where he also founded Democracy House, the oldest replication Bonner program in the country. He is the co-author of several journal articles and one book on community engaged learning and civic engagement. A past Board President of Isles Inc. and volunteer with local youth programs, Patrick works most directly with TCNJ Bonner students on the prisoner magazine project in addition to directing the Center. An avid Red Sox fan, Patrick roots for the Phillies when the Nation is not in the playoffs.
Paula Figueroa-Vega, MPA, Director
Paula Figueroa-Vega joined TCNJ Bonner Center as the Associate Director in 2008. Paula is a well known and highly respected non-profit professional with deep Trenton roots. She helped establish El Centro de Recursos para Familias and, prior to coming to TCNJ, Paula ran one of Womanspace’s largest divisions, the Emergency Services program. Her responsibilities at the Bonner Center are to support students and staff and manage the Community Engaged Learning program. She also works closely with a number of professors to design Community Engaged Learning projects related to their First Year Seminar classes. She had a lead part in putting together the forums entitled “Sex Slaves in America: A Personal Story” and the “Human Abilities Unplugged Colloquium”, in addition to being part of the initial conversations with Dr. Gray’s Ecofeminism course that led to the creation of the Demonstration Garden at TCNJ. Paula has worked closely with TCNJ in 2009 and 2010 on Martin Luther King Service Day activities. Paula has a Masters Degree in Public Administration from Rutgers University.
Heather Camp, MS, Senior Program Director for CEL II & Special Initiatives
Heather Camp earned a Master of Science in Social Enterprise Administration from Columbia University’s School of Social Work. She has over 10 years of experience in the non-profit, international development and education sectors. She helped to establish the Bonner Center at TCNJ before going on to earn her Masters and Bonner was thrilled to have her return. In her role as Senior Program Director for CEL II & Special Initiatives, Heather coordinates the Community Engaged Learning II Initiative, organizing upper-level classes at TCNJ in which students substantially build the capacity of the community partner organization while offering students a more advanced learning opportunity. Heather also coordinates the Bonner AmeriCorps VISTA program. Prior to working at TCNJ, Heather worked at Princeton University, the YWCA of Trenton, Safe Homes (a part of Good Shepherd in New York), Global Potential (NY, NY), and the Cambodia Project.
Amy Loprinzi, Coordinator for Finance and Administrative Services
Amy Loprinzi joined the Bonner Center after many accomplished years in the Grants office at TCNJ. She has long been a staple in the administration of TCNJ and the Bonner Center is very excited to have her join the team.
Richard Wilson, CEL Coordinator for the Self-Sufficiency Division
Rich Wilson is the CEL Coordinator for the Self-Sufficiency Division which focuses on Hunger, Housing and producing “The Wall,” a biannual newspaper that is created by and for the homeless community. He also provides support to all areas of the Bonner program, including securing facilities for events and coordinating transportation. He is currently working with seven professors on First Seminar Program projects and mentoring 10 Bonner students. Rich is also an alum of TCNJ, having graduated in 2004.
Brittany Aydelotte, CEL Coordinator for the Education Division
Brittany Aydelotte graduated from TCNJ in 2009 with a BA in English and Secondary Education. Brittany has now spent over seven years working in the community of Trenton, first as a Bonner Scholar and currently as a staff member of the Bonner Center. She now manages the Education teams, including teams at Hedgepeth Williams Middle School, Trenton Central High School and Isles YouthBuild. Much the success the Bonner Center’s Education Division has had over the past several years is a result of the close relationships Brittany has built with the Trenton school system. Brittany also organizes the large Youth Development projects, which are her favorite part of working at the Bonner Center because they provide a creative way to get youth from Trenton excited about learning and thinking about going to college. Brittany also coordinates recruitment for the Bonner Center as well as the Bonner Summer Fellows program.
Madeline Bell, CEL Coordinator for the Policy and Public Relations Division
After completing her term as a full-time AmeriCorps, Madeline joined the full-time staff as CEL Coordinator for the Policy, Training and Communications Division. She is a graduate of TCNJ, class of 2011, receiving a BA in History and a BA in Political Science. In her AmeriCorps role, Madeline served as the Local PolicyOptions Coordinator at the Bonner Center, in which she focused on recruiting faculty and students as well as community partners in community-based research efforts. Madeline coordinates the public relations for the Bonner Center and works closely with the Trenton Prevention Policy Board and its Steering Committee. In her role as coordinator for training, Madeline works with the Bonner Assembly to develop trainings and workshops for the Bonner Community Scholars cohort.
Karina Lopez, CEL Coordinator for Juvenile Justice and Prisoner Reentry Division
Karina Lopez was a TCNJ Bonner Community Scholar for four years and now works full-time at the Bonner Center as the CEL Coordinator for the Juvenile Justice and Prisoner Reentry Division. Karina is a double major in Philosophy and Women and Gender Studies, and is minoring in Psychology. She is also an alum of the Women in Learning and Leadership program at TCNJ. As CEL Coordinator, Karina manages Bonner Community Scholar teams at PEI Kids, A.C. Wagner Youth Correctional Facility and A Better Way of Trenton. Karina will also work with the Center for Prison Outreach and Education at TCNJ on a New Jersey STEP mentoring grant program that will be implemented statewide in correctional facilities to help inmates develop individual assets essential for success through mentor-mentee relationships.
Natasha Perez, CEL Coordinator for Health and Human Services Division
Natasha Perez graduated from TCNJ this past year and was a Bonner Community Scholar for four years. She now works full-time at the Bonner Center as the Division Coordinator for Health and Human Services, managing Bonner Community Scholar teams at Henry J. Austin Health Clinic, Visitation Home and El Centro de Recursos Para Familias. Natasha also works as the Bonner Volunteer Coordinator, the Coordinator for the Bonner Scholar Enrichment Trip Series and staffs out the Health Working Group of the Trenton Prevention Policy Board.
Full-time AmeriCorps and AmeriCorps VISTA Staff Members
Jessica Chung, MA, Lead Coordinator for the New Jersey Bonner VISTA Fellows Program
Jess Chung is the Lead Coordinator for the New Jersey Bonner VISTA Fellows Program, an AmeriCorps*VISTA program managed through a partnership between the Bonner Center at TCNJ and the Bonner Foundation. In her role, Jess helps recruit and train 15 VISTA fellows and coaches and mentors them in building capacity at their respective non-profit organizations; VISTA fellows address issues of food insecurity, community development, unemployment, homelessness, health, mentoring, education and volunteer mobilization across central Jersey. Jess received her MA in Educational Administration and Policy from the University of Michigan-Ann Arbor and her BA in Spanish and International Relations from Amherst College. Her past work experiences include campus ministry, research and grant writing for the Michigan Department of Education and service as a VISTA with Mentor Michigan, the statewide partnership of mentoring programs in Michigan. Jess loves cooking, reading mystery and sci-fi/fantasy novels and discovering fun things to do locally. She has been happily married to Noel Hahn, a Ph.D. candidate in Entomology at Rutgers University-New Brunswick, since 2009.
Albert Matlock: After-school Enrichment Program Assistant
Albert Matlock graduated from TCNJ this past year and was a Bonner Community Scholar for four years. In his AmeriCorps position at the Bonner Center, Albert will work with the Academic Sports Academy (ASA), a K-8 after-school program in Trenton for at-risk youth. Albert facilitates enrichment activities with students in the after-school program, incorporating reading/writing challenges, homework help, basketball activities, and life skills workshops into the after-school program.
En En Jiang: Juvenile Justice Corrections Division Program Assistant
En En Jiang graduated from the University of Richmond in Richmond, Virginia this past year and was also a four-year Bonner Scholar and senior intern. As the Americorps member with the Juvenile Justice division, he will be providing program support for initiatives focusing on promoting literacy and enrichment at the Juvenile Justice sites (Wagner Correctional Facilities, A Better Way, PEI Kids). En En will also be evaluating the technical needs of the programs and taking steps to meet those needs.
Michelle Daniels, Stephanie Kraver, Casandra Metayer and Daniel Sigmas: AmeriCorps*VISTA Fellows
Casandra and Daniel are serving as AmeriCorps*VISTA Fellows as Cities of Service Coordinators, in which they work on volunteer and community development along with local policy in the Trenton area. Casandra will be working on the Trenton Mentoring Coalition Initiative and Daniel will be working on environmental and beautification efforts in the Trenton-are. Both members will work closely with the Trenton Prevention Policy Board. Casandra and Daniel will also assist sponsoring organizations and AmeriCorps*VISTAs in achieving their project objectives by coordinating and increasing the impact of VISTAs efforts to address the needs of low-income communities. For more information on this program, please click here.
Stephanie will be working as an AmeriCorps VISTA member on Asset Based Community Development projects. She recently graduated from The College of New Jersey in 2012 as an English major with minors in philosophy and Arabic and with a self-designed interdisciplinary concentration in Middle East Language and Culture.
Michelle will be serving as the Trenton Capacity Building Coordinator at the Bonner Center, in which she will focus on recruiting faculty and students as well as community partners in community-based research efforts. In collaboration with PolicyOptions Coordinators located on college campuses around the State, Michelle’s focus is on building a network of “local community think tanks” that will sustain the core community-solving resources in Trenton, Camden, New Brunswick, and Newark. Michelle received her Masters of Science in Social Work from Rutgers University.