Humanitarian Action Faculty

Meet The Faculty

Director

Janie L. Leatherman

Professor

Politics & International Studies

x3429

jleatherman@fairfield.edu

View My Profile

Advising Committee

Alfred Babo

Associate Professor

Sociology & Anthropology

x2785

ababo@fairfield.edu

View My Profile

Uma Balaji

Chair, Electrical and Biomedical Engineering

Associate Professor

x2424

ubalaji@fairfield.edu

View My Profile

Bryan Crandall

Associate Professor

Education

x3123

bcrandall@fairfield.edu

View My Profile

Sally Gerard

Associate Professor

Nursing

x2735

sgerard@fairfield.edu

View My Profile

David McFadden

Professor

History

x2871

dmcfadden@fairfield.edu

View My Profile

Julie Mughal

Associate Director

Humanitarian Action
Center for Social Impact

x3505

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

x2271

nantz@fairfield.edu

View My Profile

Jessica Alicea-Planas

Associate Professor

Nursing

x2738

jplanas@fairfield.edu

View My Profile

Melissa Quan

Director,
Center for Social Impact

mquan@fairfield.edu

Get to Know Melissa

Melissa Quan is Director of the Center for Social Impact at Fairfield University where she has worked since 2002. As director, she leads the strategic growth and development of academic community engagement. Melissa completed her Master’s in Education at Fairfield University with a concentration on service learning and civic education in 2005 and is currently pursuing a doctoral degree in Higher Education Administration at the University of Massachusetts Boston. Melissa served as interim Executive Director of Connecticut Campus Compact from 2008-2009 and later as a Research Fellow with Campus Compact’s Community-Engaged Professionals project. She has several publications that focus on professional development within the field of Higher Education Community Engagement, institutional change, and community-engaged teaching and learning. Melissa is an alumnus of the Jesuit Volunteer Corps (1998-1999) and currently serves on the Board of Directors with RYASAP (Regional Adult and Youth Social Action Partnership). Melissa enjoys running, biking with her daughter and coaching her son’s 5th grade basketball team. She lives in Shelton with her husband and two children.