Humanitarian Action Faculty

Meet The Faculty

Director

Janie L. Leatherman

Professor

Politics & International Studies

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jleatherman@fairfield.edu

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Advising Committee

Alfred Babo

Co-Director of International Business

Associate Professor

Sociology & Anthropology

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ababo@fairfield.edu

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Uma Balaji

Chair, Electrical and Biomedical Engineering

Associate Professor

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ubalaji@fairfield.edu

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Bryan Crandall

Associate Professor

Education

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bcrandall@fairfield.edu

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Sally Gerard

Associate Professor

Nursing

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sgerard@fairfield.edu

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David McFadden

Professor

History

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dmcfadden@fairfield.edu

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Julie Mughal

Associate Director

Humanitarian Action
Center for Social Impact

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jmughal@fairfield.edu

Get to Know Julie

Julie Mughal is the Associate Director for Humanitarian Action in the Center for Social Impact at Fairfield University, where she facilitates co-curricular humanitarian-related activities and helps to manage the HA minor. She has 20 years of international development experience, previously working at Save the Children where she held positions in development communications as well as Asia operations, based both in the U.S. Headquarters and in Pakistan. She began her career at the International Organization for Migration (IOM) in Geneva, Switzerland where she held the positions of Desk Officer for Africa and the Middle East and Project Design Trainer. She is the author of "Land Without Hats," a book which explores the difficulties faced by widows in the developing world and their courage in the face of adversity. She received a B.A. in Politics and M.A. in International Relations both from Syracuse University.

Kathryn Nantz

Faculty Liaison for Innovative Research

Professor

Economics

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nantz@fairfield.edu

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Jessica Alicea-Planas

Associate Professor

Nursing

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jplanas@fairfield.edu

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Melissa Quan

Director of the Center for Social Impact, Fairfield University

mquan@fairfield.edu

Get to Know Melissa

Melissa Quan, EdD
Director of the Center for Social Impact, Fairfield University

Melissa Quan, EdD, is director of the Center for Social Impact at Fairfield University where she has worked since 2002. As director, Dr. Quan leads the strategic growth and development of academic community engagement. Dr. Quan completed her master’s degree in education at Fairfield University in 2005 and earned a doctorate in education from the University of Massachusetts Boston in 2021. The International Association of Research on Service Learning and Community Engagement recognized her scholarship with the Dissertation Award in 2021. Dr. Quan has several publications that focus on professional development within the field of higher education community engagement, institutional change, and community-engaged teaching and learning. Dr. Quan is an alumna of the Jesuit Volunteer Corps (1998-1999) and currently serves on the board of directors with RYASAP (Regional Adult and Youth Social Action Partnership). She is a recipient of the Lucy Katz Woman of the Year Award (2016) and the Martin Luther King Jr. Vision Award (2012), both from Fairfield University, for her commitment and work to promote social justice. She lives in Fairfield, Conn., with her husband, two children, a parent, and a pup.