Center for Civic Engagement Staff
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 Professor Robert M. Stein is the faculty director of the Center for Civic Engagement and the Lena Gohlman Fox Professor of Political Science. He is an expert on urban politics and public policy. He is co-author of Perpetuating the Pork Barrel: Policy Subsystems and American Democracy (1995, Cambridge University Press), and author of Urban Alternatives: Public and Private Markets in the Provision of Local Services (1990, Pittsburgh Press). His work has also appeared in a wide range of scholarly journals. Dr. Stein's current research has been supported by the National Science Foundation and examines the impact of the federal aid system on the electoral trajectories of office holders at both the subnational and congressional levels. Other research examines collective action among metropolitan area governments and electoral reform.
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 Stephanie Shirley Post is the first executive director of the Center for Civic Engagement. Post is a Ph.D. graduate of Rice University (2002) and an expert in urban politics and public policy. She has published in Urban Affairs Review, Political Research Quarterly, and Legislative Studies Quarterly. She has authored book chapters, policy studies related to Houston, and numerous conference papers. Post has written and analyzed numerous public opinion polls. She has taught urban politics, public policy, and a senior seminar on metropolitan governance at Rice University.
Post has also served as a Congressional aide and a staff assistant to the president of the University of Virginia. She has worked with governmental, educational, and non-profit organizations as a researcher, policy consultant and program coordinator.
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 Valerie Wade is the staff assistant at the CCE. She supports all of the CCE programs. Valerie is a recent graduate from WashingtonUniversity in St. Louis. She holds a B.A. in African American Studies and Psychology. Valerie is a Mellon Mays Fellow and a John B. Ervin Scholar. Her Mellon Mays project is titled: So Says the Beautiful Spirit: Ethel Tyler and the Black Spiritualist Movement in St. Louis.
As a student, Valerie participated in student theater and various community service organizations, including Y Reads and Big Brothers Big Sisters. She enjoys visiting museums and reading anything related to the humanities.
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 Robert Dahnke is a research assistant at the Center for Civic Engagement. Robert supports the Center’s research efforts with a primary focus on statistical data analysis, urban politics, and public policy. He also serves as a teaching assistant for several CCE sponsored courses.
Robert recently graduated from Rice University with a B.A. in Political Science and Policy Studies. As an undergraduate, Robert worked as a research assistant for four years, served as a CCE Summer Research Fellow, and won first place at the Rice Undergraduate Research Symposium in the Social Sciences division. Robert has also previously worked with a law firm in London and with the Mayor’s Office of International Affairs and Development. Other interests include the outdoors, sports (particularly lacrosse and basketball), and technology.
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 R. Mac Griswold is Director of the Community Involvement Center. Mac is responsible for directing and managing the Community Involvement Center, including supervising the Assistant Directors and AmeriCorps*VISTA. He serves as the primary advisor to the Rice Student Volunteer Program (RSVP). Mac also coordinates O-Week Outreach Day, the Hilda and Hershel Rich Family Endowment for Student Community Service, the Loewenstern Fellowships, and other volunteer programs and services. Finally, he serves as a resource to students and student organizations sponsoring Alternative Spring Break trips. He works with campus organizations to assist them in organizing service projects. He's a great person to talk to if you need to set-up a service project or have questions about volunteering. Mac is a graduate of the University of Connecticut with a Bachelor of Arts in Political Science (1996) and a Master of Arts in Higher Education: Student Affairs (2001).
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 Christa Leimbach is an Assistant Director of the Community Involvement Center. Christa advises the youth- and literacy-based service organizations including One-on-One Mentoring, Wharton And Rice Mentorship (WARM), and English as a Second Language (ESL) Tutoring. She also co-coordinates the Loewenstern Fellowships and the Urban Immersion Program that takes place in the summer for incoming freshman. In addition, Christa administers the Good Works Volunteer Fair and serves as a resource to students and student organizations sponsoring Alternative Spring Break trips. Leimbach graduated from Indiana University (2005) with a B.A. in History. After graduation she spent a year as an AmeriCorps*VISTA at a community college in Pennsylvania working in the areas of community service and service learning.
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 Sarah Hodgkinson is an Assistant Director of the Community Involvement Center (CIC). She co-coordinates many of the CIC’s activities including Urban Immersion, a week-long intensive service-oriented program that introduces incoming Rice students to Houston’s cultural diversity and pressing social needs. Additionally, Sarah oversees the execution of the CIC’s International Service Project. Some of her other responsibilities include supervising the administration of the West University Rotary Scholarship for Community Service, the Morty Rich Scholarship, the Alan Grob Prize and the Rice Developing World Student’s Scholarship; supporting the service initiatives of student organizations and the residential colleges; and, coordinating the fundraising policies for Alternative Spring Break student groups. Sarah’s pastimes include camping, traveling to festival and various outdoor activities. She is a graduate of Southwestern College with a Bachelors of Arts in Non-Profit Management.
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