Speakers: 2025 Executive Institute

Natalie Furlett is the vice president of Member and Student Engagement for Campus Compact, the nation’s largest national organization dedicated to higher education civic and community engagement. Campus Compact centers its work on higher education’s responsibility to create a just, equitable, and sustainable future through community-based learning, advocacy, transformational initiatives, research and publications, strategic partnerships, and professional development. In this role, Natalie leads the organization’s efforts to strengthen campus engagement with their local communities and the Campus Compact network. Before joining the national Campus Compact office, Natalie was the executive director of Campus Compact for Illinois, where she spearheaded campus Census 2020 efforts, created the Campus Meets Community program to support healthy campus partnerships, and networked campuses throughout Illinois. Prior to Campus Compact, Natalie spent time building student-community ties at Northwestern University in the office of Student Community Service before taking on the role of associate director of the Norris Center for Student Involvement. She holds an MBA in nonprofit management from the American Jewish University in Los Angeles, CA, and a BA from the School of Public Administration at American University in Washington, DC. Natalie currently serves as the chair of the governor-appointed Serve Illinois Commission on Volunteerism and Community Service.

Shamichael Hallman is a civic innovator, author, and thought leader dedicated to strengthening communities through libraries, public engagement, and faith-based initiatives. As director of Civic Health and Economic Opportunity at the Urban Libraries Council, he advocates for public libraries as vital civic infrastructure. His book, Meet Me at the Library, explores how libraries foster democracy and bridge-building.

A sought-after speaker, Shamichael has presented at top universities and library associations, with his insights featured by Sightline Institute, America Trends Podcast, and Jefferson Public Radio. He is the co-creator of the Bridgebuilding Resource Hub, a national initiative hosted by WebJunction that equips libraries with tools to foster community connections. The initiative recently secured a second round of funding to expand its impact and continue its work.

Previously, Shamichael championed the multimillion-dollar renovation of the historic Cossitt Library in Memphis, Tennessee, contributing to Memphis Public Libraries earning the 2021 National Medal for Museum and Library Service. Holding a master’s in nonprofit leadership from the University of Pennsylvania and a 2023 Loeb Fellowship, he continues to innovate at the intersection of community, faith, and democracy.

Cassie Haynes, JD, MPH, is president of Plot Twist Consulting and a strategist, advisor, and former co-executive director of Resolve Philly, where she helped pioneer collaborative and community-centered models for local journalism. With a background in public health, law, and nonprofit leadership, Cassie works at the intersection of news, information, equity, and democracy—supporting philanthropic institutions, media companies, and mission-driven organizations on building operational resilience, narrative strategy, and inclusive platforms for community and civic engagement.

Gabe Lerner is the founder and publisher of Democracy Notes, a trade publication for professionals working to improve US democracy. While program director at More Perfect (formerly the Partnership for American Democracy), Gabe stewarded a Walmart Foundation grant to IREX to conduct a landscape analysis of bridge-building work in the library sector. Gabe previously worked at Bain & Company. He graduated from the University of Michigan’s Gerald R. Ford School of Public Policy (BA) and Peking University (MA in China studies), where he was a Yenching Scholar.

Beverly Sanford is the executive vice president/chief program & fellowships officer at the Institute for Citizens & Scholars, where she oversees the organization’s various program portfolios in and beyond higher education. She has a career-long commitment to advancing the aims of higher education and public service, building bridges between the academy and other sectors, and telling compelling stories about institutions and people who embody higher education’s role in shaping both future citizens and the nation. Her portfolio includes programs that cultivate new generations of scholars, teachers, and leaders as well as initiatives to recenter civic preparedness in higher education. During her two decades with Citizens & Scholars (formerly the Woodrow Wilson National Fellowship Foundation), she has led internal communications, overseen programs, and shaped external communications strategy. Previously, Beverly served as communications director for the president of the University at Buffalo (UB) and associate director of the UB Regional Institute, a public service initiative to engage faculty in Western New York’s governance and socioeconomic challenges. She earned her BA in English and business communications at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, followed by an MA and PhD coursework in American literature at the University at Buffalo.

Richard Watts is a former journalist and political campaign manager and the founder of the University of Vermont (UVM) Community News Service—a state-wide, multi-outlet academic-news partnership with a mission to provide content to community news outlets and give students applied learning experiences. Richard has a master’s degree in journalism from the S.I. Newhouse School at Syracuse University and a PhD related to media studies from the Rubenstein School of Environment and Natural Resources at UVM.

He now serves as the director of UVM’s Center for Community News—creating a blueprint for action for colleges and universities to take a leadership role in addressing the local news crisis and engaging our resources, students, and faculty.