ANCHOR TASK FORCE ON WORKFORCE DEVELOPMENT
The Anchor Task Force on Workforce Development is charged with creating a public-facing report on how higher education’s workforce development role is situated within the anchor mission. The work of the task force began in early 2026 with expected publication of the report in October 2026.
2026 CUMU Fellow and Task Force Chair
Jennifer Kebea, EdD, is a mission-driven leader dedicated to advancing equitable opportunities for young and emerging talent. As President of Campus Philly, she leads a nationally recognized nonprofit that fuels inclusive economic growth by empowering diverse college students and recent graduates to explore, live, and work in Greater Philadelphia. Dr. Kebea’s career has consistently focused on the intersection of education, civic engagement, and community impact. Before her current role, Jen was Executive Director of Drexel University’s Lindy Center for Civic Engagement. Jen has also served as faculty at Drexel, teaching in graduate programs focused on higher education and nonprofit leadership.
2026 Task Force Members
After graduating with a Bachelors in Psychology from Georgia College and State University, Cecelia started her career as a non-profit professional at the Jewish Federation of Greater Atlanta traveling abroad with over 140 young adults, facilitating an immersive Jewish identity program. In 2019, Cecelia participated in Repair the World Atlanta’s Social Justice Fellowship as one of the inaugural cohort members, bridging communities through educational discussions on the causes of systemic injustice and facilitating volunteer experiences with local Atlanta non- profit partners. Before joining Georgia Tech, Cecelia worked at Park Pride, an environmental nonprofit, advocating for a network of 160+ citizen organizations across the city of Atlanta and unincorporated DeKalb County and deploying resources for improved public greenspaces. Two years ago, Cecelia joined Georgia Institute of Technology’s in the Office of Institute Relations as a Project Manager for the Institute’s Anchor Institution Strategy. Anchor Institutions are characterized by their enduring physical location, influence on the local economy, and ability to employ resources into the surrounding community. In her role, as a Project Manager she coordinates a cross-institutional strategy to maximize communication, coordination and collaboration of faculty, students, and staff engaged in community and public service work.
Drawing inspiration from her wise words, Dr. Floyd admires Ruth Bader Ginsburg’s dedication, resilience and commitment to justice and equity. Ginsburg’s legacy leaves a lasting impact on Dr. Floyd, motivating her to continually seek ways to contribute and uplift the lives of others through education and leadership.
When Dr. Floyd isn’t working to streamline the student journey herself, you can find her mentoring other aspiring higher education leaders. However, Dr. Floyd never misses the opportunity to take care of her own mental and physical health. She enjoys working out, running marathons, traveling and spending quality time with her loved ones. Excited to help others see the importance of connecting with the community, she looks forward to finding new ways to ensure student success
Silvia C. Garcia, PhD, is the Director of Research and Assessment at Indiana University Indianapolis (IUI) within the Office of Workforce and Community Engagement. With a focus on advancing equity, she specializes in conducting collaborative research and evaluating programs in partnership with diverse community partners. Her academic background includes a Doctorate in Development Studies from Universidad Central de Venezuela, a Master of Education from Harvard University, and a Master’s in Public Administration from Indiana University. In her new role in the Office of Workforce Development, she advances research on workforce development outcomes and collaborates with other units to collect and report student employment outcomes and campus community engagement. Her work bridges the gap between academic research and meaningful community impact.
Rita Axelroth Hodges, EdD is associate director of the Netter Center for Community Partnerships at the University of Pennsylvania, a university-wide center that develops and helps implement democratic, mutually transformative, place-based partnerships between Penn and West Philadelphia. She manages the Netter Center’s development and alumni relation activities; cultivates its regional, national and global outreach; advances community-engaged scholarship; and oversees administrative operations and communication. Dr. Hodges serves as Executive Secretary of the International Consortium for Higher Education, Civic Responsibility and Democracy and as a steering committee member of the Philadelphia Higher Education Network for Neighborhood Development (PHENND). Her scholarship focuses on the democratic engagement of colleges and universities with their local communities as anchor institutions. She has co-authored numerous articles and chapters, as well as two books: Knowledge for Social Change: Bacon, Dewey and the Revolutionary Transformation of Research Universities in the Twenty-First Century (2017 and The Road Half Traveled: University Engagement at a Crossroads (2012). She co-edited Community-Engaged Scholarship: Reflections from Netter Center Alumni (2025) and Higher Education in Latin America and the Caribbean: Civic Engagement and the Democratic Mission (2023). Dr. Hodges serves as editor of the Universities and Community Schools journal. She holds a BA, MSEd, and doctorate in education from the University of Pennsylvania.
Michelle Joyce is the Workforce Development Coordinator in Towson University’s Campus Operations Division and cofounder of the Skilled Trades Education Pathway (STEP). She leads workforce initiatives that address skilled trades shortages while expanding access to career opportunities for local high school students and post-high school graduates. Through STEP, Michelle helps connect students to paid, hands-on training in carpentry, plumbing, electrical, and paint shops on campus. Passionate about removing barriers for underrepresented students, she focuses on creating equitable, employment-based pathways that strengthen the regional workforce and position universities as leaders in community-centered workforce development.
Julian Rogers serves as the Associate Vice President of Local Government and Community Relations for Case Western Reserve University. Prior to this, he served as the Director of Community Partnerships with Cleveland State University. Before joining Cleveland State, he was a member of the inaugural Cuyahoga County Council, where he represented District 10, which included parts of the city of Cleveland and several east side suburbs. Prior to being elected to County Council, Julian served as the Executive Director of Education Voters of Ohio, a nonprofit organization dedicated to improving public education. Julian began his career in education career as an administrator for the Cleveland Metropolitan School District, where he served as Senior Assistant to the CEO and Liaison to the Office of the Mayor. He has a degree in Political Science from Ohio University and a Master’s in Nonprofit Management from Case Western Reserve.
He has previously served as a Trustee on the public sector boards of the Greater Cleveland Regional Transit Authority, The Cuyahoga County Solid Waste District and the Northeast Ohio Areawide Coordinating Agency (NOACA). He has also served on the boards of Arts Cleveland, the Center for Arts Inspired Learning, Reaching Heights, the Fund for Our economic Future and currently serves with MidTown Cleveland and Land Studio. Julian has been inducted into Kaleidoscope Magazine’s 40/40 Club, was awarded the Emerging Leader Award from the U.S. Congressional Black Caucus and has earned the Friend of Education award from the Ohio Federation of Teachers.
As the Senior Vice Chancellor for Strategy, Diversity and Community Engagement Dr. Nyeema C. Watson, PhD, works both within Rutgers University—Camden and in the larger community to provide leadership in these interconnected areas. As a member of the campus leadership team, she oversees efforts to build an inclusive campus community while connecting the resources of the university with communities in Camden and across southern New Jersey, aligning and embedding these priorities into the institutional mission across all campus priorities and units.
Dr. Watson is an experienced leader in civic and community engagement, higher education administration, anchor institution partnerships, student success initiatives, policy and program development, diversity, equity and inclusion and on issues relating to minority children and youth who live in high-poverty areas. She speaks across the country and internationally on the role of urban higher education institutions as anchor institutions, especially as it relates to forging partnerships with K-12 institutions on how to create educational pipelines for underrepresented youth to higher education. Dr. Watson is committed to diversity, access, and inclusion, and supporting individuals, communities, and institutions working in partnership to achieve shared goals for positive transformation.
Stefani Weeden-Smith brings 20 years of professional experience as a community engagement strategist serving at many different levels in non-profits, higher education, and community organizations from direct service to senior leadership roles. She currently serves as the director for the St. Louis Anchor Action Network at University of Missouri–St. Louis, leading a coalition of anchor institutions investing in disinvesting areas of the St. Louis region.
Before this appointment, she directed the strategy for the Gephardt Institute for Civic and Community Engagement at Washington University in St. Louis as the assistant director of community engagement. These efforts included creating programs, coalitions, and partnerships for the students, staff, and faculty with St. Louis community partners. She also served as program director at NCCJ St. Louis and Interim Executive Director at Teen Pregnancy Prevention Partnerships providing advocacy and community organizing for the state partnerships. Weeden-Smith is alumna of Pratt Institute in Brooklyn, NY, where she earned a master’s degree in professional studies and completed additional certificate with Baruch College in non- profit management. She completed her undergraduate studies in Marketing at Rockhurst University. She is a 2024 recipient of the St. Louis Business Journal’s Diversity Award.