IPG Faculty and Graduate Students Present at the 2025 Engagement Scholarship Consortium National Conference

A group of IPG faculty, staff, and students presented at the 2025 Engagement Scholarship Consortium (ESC) National Conference October 8-9 at the Hotel Roanoke and Conference Center in Roanoke, Virginia.

The Engagement Scholarship Consortium is comprised of about 60 higher education institutions, including Virginia Tech, that work to develop strong university-community partnerships anchored in the rigor of scholarship and aimed at helping to build community capacity.

This year’s theme was “Bridging Resources to Build Stronger Communities.” Keynote speakers included Davarian Baldwin, founder of the Smart Cities Research Lab at Trinity College, and Mary Maker, co-founder of Elimisha Kakuma.

IPG was proud to be part of four presentations and posters:

Panel Presentation: “Engagement for Collective Impact to Address the Addiction Crisis”

• Mary Beth Dunkenberger, IPG Deputy Director
• Laura Taylor, IPG Health Program and Policy Research Associate
• Bailey Medeiros, Director of the Roanoke Valley Collective Response 

Panel presentation: “Community-engaged Design Process for the Donkenny Site in Floyd, VA"

• Dr. Max Stephenson Jr., IPG Director and Professor, School of Public and International Affairs (SPIA)
• Elizabeth Gilboy, Director, Community Design Assistance Center (CDAC) Director and Principal Investigator
• Harry Gleason, CDAC Project Manager
• Dr. Lisa Tucker, Professor and Director, Center for Historic Preservation Director
• Karen Weber, Brownfield and Site Remediation, Virginia Department of Environmental Quality
• Andrew Morris, Town Manager, Town of Floyd 
• Helya Sehat, PhD student in Planning, Governance, and Globalization
• Aida Hassani, master’s student in Urban and Regional Planning

Poster Presentation: “Community-engaged Design Process for the Donkenny Site in Floyd, VA”

• Elizabeth Gilboy
• Harry Gleason
• Helya Sehat
• Aida Hassani

Panel Presentation: “Understanding Language Access in Public Behavioral Health Systems in Virginia”

• Cecily Rodriguez, IPG Associate Director of Research and Organizational Innovation
• Dr. Anne Walters, IPG Applied Research Associate
• Olabisi Akinwumni, IPG Graduate Assistant and master’s Student in Public and International Affairs
• SPIA Adjunct Professor Andrea Briceño Mosquera and IPG Outreach and Engagement Coordinator Hilal Yalcin supported the project.

Olabisi Akinwumni was thankful for the opportunity to present at her second conference as a graduate student.

“It was inspiring to see many different and interesting forms of community engagement at the Engagement Scholarship Consortium,” Akinwumni said. “It was also exciting sharing our work with such a passionate group, reminding ourselves of the power and influence of collaboration between universities and communities.”

IPG Deputy Director Mary Beth Dunkenberger was pleased to have such an important conference hosted locally.

“The ESC conference was a wonderful gathering of community engaged researchers from across the United States and beyond. The convening was a terrific opportunity to greet long-time colleagues and collaborators, and to meet new scholars from other universities.  The Virginia Tech Office of Outreach and International Affairs is to be commended for an excellent job in hosting the ESC annual national meeting at the Hotel Roanoke and Conference Center.  IPG’s friend and supporter Susan Short (Virginia Tech Senior Associate Vice President for Outreach and International Affairs) was very deservedly recognized for her many years of contribution and service to ESC and to Virginia’s communities.”

IPG was also grateful to have a table and banner with Institute promotional items to share. Thank you to Susan Short for coordinating this opportunity and to Laura Taylor for her leadership in designing our items. Thank you to everyone who stopped by our booth! We are already looking forward to next year’s conference in Knoxville!