Heather Craigie
Associate Director CSSA
Background
I've worked in John Carroll's Center for Service-Learning and Social Action (CSSA) since 2017. As Associate Director, I have the great honor of accompanying our amazing students in their leadership and personal, academic, and professional growth. I work with our large (70+) cohort of Student Liaisons, and other specialized groups such as the CSSA Student Leadership Team, JCU Democracy Fellows, and Summer in the City Interns. I also teach PJHR 3500 (Social Justice Research) and PJHR 4000 (Critical Inquiry) through the Peace, Justice and Human Rights Department.
Prior to John Carroll, I worked with Maine Campus Compact (MCC) in my home state of Maine. As Program Manager for MCC, I worked with faculty at member institutions across the state on service-learning program development, with a focus on environmental initiatives. Earlier in my career, I spent about a decade working along the U.S.-Mexico border and throughout Latin America in human rights education and experiential learning. My master’s degree in Latin American Studies allowed me to teach a variety of courses as a graduate assistant and adjunct lecturer at the University of Arizona and an instructor at Prescott College.
The central narrative thread throughout my career has been a passion for designing and facilitating educational experiences that engage people in complex questions of privilege and oppression, and equip them to act for change in their contexts. During the pandemic, I realized that advanced studies would expand my capacity in this area, so I started doctoral work at Northeastern University. In summer 2025, I completed my doctorate in Education with a concentration in Innovative Teaching and Learning. This program prepared me to examine problems of practice, identify stakeholders, and implement/assess equity-centered change as a qualitative researcher. My Dissertation in Practice, Fostering Critical Consciousness: An Exploration of Community-Engaged Student Leadership in Higher Education, utilized an action research methodology to examine how our training framework could more effectively prepare students with the awareness, understanding, and skills for ethical community-engaged leadership. This year, I am working with my student leaders to implement key modifications to the training program design that emerged from my research: additional mentoring supports, place-based education, and dialogue facilitation skills.
Areas of Expertise
- Student Leadership Development
- Service-Learning
- Community Engagement
- Critical Pedagogy
- Social Justice Research
Education
Northeastern University – Boston, MA
Doctor of Education, Innovative Teaching and Learning, 2025
Dissertation: Fostering Critical Consciousness: An Exploration of Community-Engaged Leadership in Higher Education
The University of Arizona – Tucson, AZ
Master of Arts, Latin American Studies (Border Studies; Geography), 2005
Thesis Award, Southwest Institute for Research on Women
El Colegio de México – Mexico City, México
Graduate Certificate, International Gender Studies, 2004
Earlham College – Richmond, IN
Bachelor of Arts, Peace and Global Studies; Spanish minor, 1999
Study Abroad in Bogota, Colombia
Phi Beta Kappa
Courses Taught
PJHR 3500: Social Justice ResearchPJHR 4000: Critical Inquiry
