Jonathan Becker is the director of the Center for Civic Engagement and Executive Vice President and Vice President for Academic Affairs at Bard. As director of CCE, Jonathan has general oversight of the center’s activities and coordinates programming among the center affiliates and the Bard’s national and international networks. He is also an associate professor of political studies specializing in Russian and eastern European politics, media and politics, and education reform.

Dr. Becker earned his B.A. from McGill University in 1987 and his DPhil. from St. Antony’s College, Oxford in 1993. He is the author of Soviet and Russian Press Coverage of the United States: Press, Politics and Identity in Transition (1999; revised and expanded edition, 2002), guest editor of a special issue of Education Studies/Voprosy obrazovania on Liberal Arts and Science Education (2015), co-editor of Svobodniye Iskusstva i Nauki na Sovremennom Etape: Opyt SShA i Evropy v Kontekste Rossiiskogo Obrazovaniya (2014), and author of chapters and articles in a variety of books and publications, including Voprosy Obarzovaniya, European Journal of Communication, Journalism and Mass Communications Quarterly, and Demokratiizatsiya. 
Prior to coming to Bard in 1997, he served as assistant vice president of the Central European University in Budapest and as the European director of the Civic Education Project.

Brian Mateo is a “connector,” which makes him the perfect person to lead several engagement activities across Bard’s network. Brian works with the international campuses, Early Colleges, Admission and the Bard Globalization and International Affairs Program (BGIA). Through his work with the Early Colleges he promotes civic engagement initiatives such as assisting faculty develop Engaged Liberal Arts and Sciences courses, administering the Community Action Award program and working with Early College leadership to provide opportunities for students to engage with their communities.

Through BGIA, Brian works with various colleges and universities throughout the nation to develop strategic institutional partnerships and provide opportunities for students at other institutions to attend the program. He also serves as Administrative Director for the Study of the U.S. Institutes on U.S. Foreign Policy.

Previously, Brian was in charge of first-year student engagement, put on Language and Thinking events, our Dr. Martin Luther King Jr Day of Engagement, and several Science Outreach opportunities, connecting hundreds of Bard students to organizations that needed them, every semester. Brian also connected Bardians beyond the Hudson Valley – he recruited and managed logistics for The Clemente Course in the Humanities, and promoted international exchanges between students in Annandale and students at Bard’s program at Smolny College in Saint Petersburg, Russia.

Brian is also an Associate Fellow at the World Policy Institute and serves on the Advisory Council for the Carnegie Council Ethics for International Affairs New Leaders Program.

Before working at the Center for Civic Engagement, Brian joined the Bard community in 2010 as the Assistant Director of Student Activities where he planned and implemented annual campus-wide events for students. He was promoted to Associate Director of Student Activities and joined the on-duty staff, promoting a healthy and safe environment for our students. Brian attended The Pennsylvania State University where he received a Bachelor of Science in Biobehavioral Health and a Master’s of Education in College Student Affairs.

Cammie Jones joined the Bard Center of Civic Engagement in 2017 as Assistant Dean. In her role, Cammie focuses on the development of programs such as Bard Network Courses, the Engaged Liberal Arts and Sciences Program, the Study of the U.S. Institute for Student Leaders on Civic Engagement and the Global Engagement Fellows Program to promote international exchanges between students in Annandale and throughout the Bard International Network.

Prior to her time at Bard, Cammie served as the Assistant Director of Student-Athlete Enhancement at Marist College, Prevention Coordinator for Grace Smith House and the Community-Based Learning Coordinator at Dutchess Community College.

Cammie leads a life of service and leadership within the Dutchess County community through serving on several community boards and committees. She serves as a Board Member and Chair of the Governance Committee for the Mid-Hudson Children’s Museum, Chair of the KidVenture Creatives Committee for the Dutchess County Regional Chamber of Commerce (DCRCOC), Secretary and By-laws Chair of Dutchess County Young Dems, Catharine Street Community Center MLK Scholarship Committee Member, Hyde Park Democratic Committee Member and International Women’s Day Committee through DCRCOC.

Cammie holds a B.S. in Kinesiology from the University of Texas at Austin and a M.A. in Higher Education Administration from Louisiana State University A&M.

Lisa Whalen is the Executive Asssistant in the Office of the Executive Vice President. Prior to coming to Bard, she worked in education and the arts for the Red Hook School District, the Town of Red Hook, Dutchess Community College, and the Hudson Valley Philharmonic. She holds an MBA from Iona College and a BFA from the College of New Rochelle. She is also a member of he Town of Red Hook’s Greenways and Trails Committee.

Aileen develops and coordinates Bard’s partnerships in the Middle East, and directs the programs under Bard’s partnership with Al-Quds University in Palestine. Before coming to Bard, she started and directed an English immersion program for migrant and immigrant families in the Hudson Valley. Aileen has worked and lived throughout the Middle East for over a decade teaching and implementing education, civil society, and governance programs. Aileen is a graduate of SUNY New Paltz and an alum of Peace Corps’ inaugural program in Jordan.

Jennifer received her BA in English from Rutgers University in 1991 and MS in Education from Baruch College, City University of New York, in 2001. In the early 1990s Jennifer taught English at the University of Pecs, Hungary; in the US she has worked on student exchange at private language institutes, disability services at Hunter College, and international student advising at School of Visual Arts. Jennifer joined the Institute of International Liberal Education (IILE) at Bard College in 2010 and is currently the Director. Her work focuses on increasing access to study abroad, promoting non-traditional destinations, and facilitating exchanges with students from Russia, Kyrgyzstan, and East Jerusalem.

As Director of Global Outreach, Bryan works on the administration of Bard College’s partnerships in the former Soviet Union, including the Faculty of Liberal Arts and Science (Smolny College) at St. Petersburg State University, and the American University of Central Asia. A New York State native, Bryan spent more than eight years living in the Russian Federation, including five and a half years working for Bard at Smolny College. An avid traveler, his past adventures have included an overland journey from Berlin to Kolkata, a solo bicycle ride from Long Island to San Francisco, and an overland jaunt around South America, which stretched from Bogota to Ushuaia and back.

James Ketterer teaches courses in the Political Studies and Global and International Studies programs, focusing on Middle East politics, diplomacy and U.S. foreign policy. He also directs the Bard Globalization and International Affairs program in New York City, and oversees international education programs and the annual U.S. Foreign Policy Institute, supported by the U.S. State Department. Before coming to Bard he served in Egypt as country director for Amideast, a nonprofit educational and cultural organization linking the United States and the Middle East. Has also served as vice chancellor for policy and planning and deputy provost for the State University of New York; and, as director of the SUNY Center for International Development and program officer at Center for Legislative Development at the University at Albany. In government he served on the staff at the National Security Council at the White House, as a policy analyst for the New York State Senate and as lead staffer for the Governor’s Commission on Higher Education (New York). Has taught at SUNY New Paltz, New School for Social Research, Russell Sage College, Rockefeller College of Public Affairs and Policy at SUNY Albany, and at Bard (2003–05), where he helped develop the Middle Eastern Studies Program. Author of numerous articles and book chapters on international and comparative politics in publications including Middle East Report, Journal of Legislative Studies, Journal of Politics, Washington Post. Awards and fellowships include: Boren Fellow in Morocco; Rotary Ambassadorial Scholar in Tunisia; Foreign Language and Area Studies Fellowship in Aarabic, University of Southern California Center on Public Diplomacy Research Fellow; American Institute of Maghrib Studies Fellowship; Maryland Senatorial Fellowship; State Department; and others. International missions and consultancies for the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe, United Nations Development Program, and U.S. Agency for International Development-supported projects and others in Bosnia and Herzegovina, Uganda, Libya, Kosovo, Macedonia, Zimbabwe, Kenya, Bulgaria, Zambia, Lebanon, Mongolia, Guinea, and Republic of Congo. He is a fellow at the Foreign Policy Association, serves on the board of the World Affairs Council of the Hudson Valley and is a regular speaker for the American Committees on Foreign Relations.

Sarah coordinates engagement opportunities both on and off-campus for students who are interested in community service, activism, voter rights, and science outreach. She is also one of Bard’s Transportation Coordinators, to help students get to those off-campus opportunities and academic fields for the Engaged Liberal Arts and Sciences classes. Before joining the CCE staff, Sarah earned her Bachelor’s degree through Bard’s Film Production and Electronic Arts department, specifically focusing in documentary and community connections.

Craig serves as communication and media coordinator for both the Center for Civic Engagement and the Hannah Arendt Center for Politics and Humanities. He comes to Bard after working for more than 15 years as a science writer, which included stints in freelance journalism, medical writing, and pharmaceutical advertising.

Ruth Zisman has been at Bard since 2004, when she accepted a position to serve as the college’s first debate coach. Since then, Ruth has worked to build a world-renowned debate program on campus – expanding the program from an extra-curricular activity into a centerpiece of liberal arts education. For Ruth, debate is all about civic engagement – it is about speaking to and with our local communities, fostering discussion about difficult topics, and developing the skills necessary to become leaders in the 21st century. During her time at Bard, Ruth has worked to build and support debate programs not only at Bard Annandale and the surrounding local school districts, but also throughout Bard’s national and international networks (early colleges, international partner institutions, BPI, etc.)

As Associate Dean of Academic Affairs, Ruth works on projects related to the academic and programmatic development of Bard College and Bard’s national and international networks. Ruth is also a faculty member in the Philosophy and Human Rights programs, where she teaches courses in continental philosophy, political philosophy, and the German philosophical tradition.

Harry A. Johnson Jr. ‘17 has left an impact on hundreds of lives on Bard’s campus, throughout the mid-Hudson Valley, and around the world. Harry graduated from Bard College with a degree in Sociology. During his time in undergrad, Harry co-founded Brothers at Bard, a group mentorship and academic enrichment program for young men of color at Kingston High School. Harry was also an integral part of the success of the sports-based youth development program, Dream to Achieve Basketball (DTA), which served students from low-income backgrounds in the Hudson, NY area. Harry’s work has garnered national and international recognition. As an example, Harry was one of five NCAA basketball players selected to the Allstate Insurance/National Association of Basketball Coaches (NABC) Good Works team. This prestigious award honors college basketball student-athletes who have dedicated themselves to bettering the lives of others through giving back in their communities.

After graduating in May 2017, Harry was awarded a Thomas J. Watson Fellowship for the 2017-2018 academic year. This prestigious fellowship allowed Harry to conceive and carry out an original international project that explored how sports are used to further development efforts in varying context. During his time abroad, Harry identified and traveled to sites including India, Nepal, South Africa, Australia, England, and Brazil to gain a broad perspective on the rapidly growing ‘sport for development’ sector and “community coach” movement. Harry’s interest includes youth development, international development, black male achievement, and non-for profit / social enterprise design and development.

Dariel Vasquez is a first generation college graduate from Harlem, NY. Dariel graduated from Bard College (Class of 2017) with a joint degree in History and Sociology, and a concentration in Africana-Studies. He is the founder and director of the Brothers At Bard program. Youth development and mentorship is Dariel’s passion, and he’s been working with young men of color since he was 16 years old. Dariel considers himself a product of brotherhood mentorship programs, and attributes much of his success to the guidance and support he received from his mentors. Growing up in public housing projects and being raised by immigrant parents, Dariel considered the possibilities a proper education could provide to be the only viable way for him to help his family out of poverty. Having witnessed his childhood friends make decisions that negatively impacted their lives because they lacked positive role models and support, Dariel’s passion is fueled by his desire to become the kind of mentor his peers never had. Dariel’s career goal is to expand on the work he’s currently doing and create a nation-wide mentorship and college readiness program for young men of color from underserved communities.