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Our Mission

The Vic ’63 and Bobbi Samuels ’63 Center for Community Partnerships and Civic Transformation (COMPACT) at Brandeis University brings together scholars, activists, students, practitioners, and community partners to work collaboratively to create a more just, equitable, and sustainable world.

Kaitie Chakoian Joins COMPACT

As the Assistant Director of COMPACT, Kaitie Chakoian leads and implements programs that advance community-engaged pedagogy, research, and service at Brandeis University. 

Kaitie brings 20 years of community engaged work to this role — as a direct service provider, volunteer manager, training and technical assistance provider, researcher, and professor. She has worked both in community organizations and in universities to support college students engaging in the community in ways that are intentional, meaningful, community-led, and sustainable.

She earned a BA in psychology and social justice from Simmons University (formerly Simmons College), an M.Ed in Higher Education Administration from Northeastern University, and an MA in Social Policy from the Heller School of Social Policy and Management at Brandeis University. She is a current Ph.D candidate at the Heller School where her research focuses on the experiences of college sexual assault survivors navigating the education, healthcare, and criminal-legal systems in the aftermath of violence.  

Kaitie's professional experience ranges from volunteer and program management with Girls' LEAP Self-Defense, a small Boston-based non-profit serving gender diverse youth, to campus policy management at End Rape On Campus, a DC-based agency working to end campus sexual violence through direct support for survivors, prevention education, and policy reform, to providing training to community leaders using data to prevent substance use and its consequences with the SouthWest Prevention Center at the University of Oklahoma. Kaitie has also led community-engaged and participatory research projects including the creation of trauma-informed curriculum for providers who support survivors of human trafficking, a storytelling project about the impact of community supports in rural Massachusetts, and an assessment of the economic cost of sexual violence in the state of Ohio. 

Kaitie teaches the R/C CLIF Capstone Course that fulfills the requirements of the Community Engaged Scholars Program (CESP 189). She also teaches “HS 309: Policy Approaches to Gender-Based Violence” and “HS 320: LGBTQIA+ Justice” through the Heller School for Social Policy and Management.



Newman Civic Fellow's CPR/First Aid Training with Waltham Partnership for Youth

Aish Ramesh, Samuels Scholar Peer Mentor and Newman Civic Fellow 2025-26, offered a CPR/First Aid Training at Waltham Senior High School on April 30 as a part of her Newman Civic Fellowship. This event was offered to Waltham Partnership for Youth (WPY) students in the Teen Mental Health Alliance by Aish, a former WPY student. The goal was to make CPR and First Aid training more accessible to local high school students while helping them build confidence in responding to emergencies. In addition, the training team connected these skills to broader conversations around leadership, public health, and career exploration in healthcare-related fields. 

The event went extremely well — students were highly engaged throughout the training, picked up the skills quickly, and participated thoughtfully in the career panel discussion that featured college EMS students. By the end of the program, all participating students earned their CPR/First Aid certification and shared that they felt more prepared and confident responding in emergency situations. 

Elizabeth Ford Selected as 2026 Truman Scholar

COMPACT wishes to celebrate Elizabeth Ford ’27, Community Engaged Scholars Program (CESP) Ambassador and Samuels Scholar Peer Mentor, who is one of just 55 college students nationwide selected to be a 2026 Truman Scholar. She used research and program coordination to support the queer community in Downeast Maine as an intern with the nonprofit Healthy Acadia. Through helping to create space for queer people to feel accepted, she was able to do qualitative, community-engaged research to measure the impact of queer community-building events and to assess what could be done better. The goal was to support mental health and build emotional resilience.

Ford said many of the skills she has developed to pursue her goals of engaging with rural communities were honed through her involvement in CESP and the Samuels Scholars Program. She also credited taking American Health Care last semester with Darren Zinner, associate professor of Health: Science, Society, and Policy with allowing her to critically analyze the U.S. healthcare system and work to develop a policy that addresses all of the stakeholders and intersecting systems.

Projects for Peace 2026 Grantee

Ali Arshad ’28, a Wien Scholar and first-generation international student from Chakwal, Pakistan, has been selected as Brandeis University’s 2026 Projects for Peace grantee. He will receive $10,000 to develop a community-based early warning system designed to prevent sectarian violence in rural villages in his home district in Pakistan. His project involves the Nambardar system, a network of government-recognized village leaders who serve as trusted intermediaries between communities and local authorities in Pakistan.

By training those leaders in conflict resolution and building a cross-village communication network, his project aims to identify early signs of sectarian tension — like rumors, hate speech, and social polarization — before they escalate into violence. The model is designed to be self-sustaining and replicable across Pakistan.

R/C CLIF Capstone Presentations

(Left or top photo) Rachel Weiss ’26, Kimberly Avila ’26, Emma Weston ’26 present their R/C CLIF capstone project. (Right or bottom photo) Monica Claras ’26, Kimberly Avila ’26, and Rachel Weiss ’26 meet with donor Sharon Rich (P ’10) following the Capstone presentations.

On May 8th, six Community Engaged Scholars completed their Rich-Collins Community Leadership and Impact Fellowship (R/C CLIF) Capstones with a community-wide presentation of their findings. Students split into two groups and developed projects based on the community-identified needs of their community partner, Prospect Hill Community Foundation.

One team, Kimberly Avila, Rachel Weiss, and Emma Weston completed an internal volunteer program evaluation that highlighted the impact of working with Prospect Hill on student and alumni volunteers. This team provided survey and interview findings, data collection tools, individual testimonials, and recommendations to further sustain the existing volunteer program. The second team, Monica Claros, Elise Kney, and Zahira Ramirez Caceres, conducted strategic community research. They developed a database of potential grants and conducted case studies on similar organizations in order to provide key strategic recommendations for Prospect Hill to implement to become a more competitive grant applicant and an appealing partner to other organizations they wish to collaborate with in the future. These students were able to use the knowledge and skills they’ve developed throughout their time at Brandeis to have a substantial and meaningful impact in the Waltham community!

Thank you to the Rich/Collins Family for their generous support of the R/C CLIF Capstone projects!

For more information contact Kaitie Chakoian, COMPACT's Assistant Director.

Samuels Scholars Wrap up Another Year of Community Service

The Samuels Scholars Program (SSP) is an innovative yearlong cohort experience that offers first- and second-year undergraduate students the opportunity to learn about and explore the many exciting pathways for community engagement offered at Brandeis University and beyond. This year, SSP students heard from faculty, staff, and students through two “Pathways Panels” in the fall. They also completed community service at the Waltham Public Library — providing tech assistance to community members — and at the Healthy Waltham Food Pantry. Additionally, they conducted interviews with community partners and Brandeis alumni to contribute to the COMPACT StoryLab.

COMPACT looks forward to continuing to support this cohort as they pursue community engagement throughout their time at Brandeis and beyond!

Teaching that Speaks for Itself

First meeting of Waltham community partners who hosted Brandeis students in their service learning component of the course: Waltham Speaks: Multilingualism, Advocacy, and Community.

Community Engaged Pedagogy (CEP) Fund

Attention Faculty! Are you already thinking about your fall courses? Applications for Community Engaged Pedagogy (CEP) grants for fall semester courses are due on Monday, August 3, 2026.



Brandeis faculty, staff and postdoctoral scholars in any discipline who center community engaged pedagogies in their undergraduate or graduate courses at Brandeis are invited to apply to the COMPACT Community Engaged Pedagogy Fund. The two grants available through this fund support recipients in bringing ethical, reciprocal and sustainable community engagement into Brandeis classrooms.

CEP Project Grants: This grant offers up to $3,000 in funds for community engaged research or creative projects that will be conducted in a Brandeis course. Applications for CEP Project Grants for fall 2026 courses will be due on August 3, 2026.

CEP Mini Grants: This grant offers up to $500 in funding to bring community partners to campus as guest speakers in a class (e.g., honoraria), to bring students off campus for a specific community engaged project or event or to conduct small-scale community engaged research or creative projects in a Brandeis course. Grant applications for AY 26-27 are being accepted on a rolling basis. Applications will remain open as long as funds remain available.

Community Engaged Research (CER) Fund

Brandeis faculty, staff, postdoctoral scholars and students in any discipline whose research or creative activity addresses the questions, issues, and/or needs of a community partner — whether at the local, state, regional, national or global level — are invited to apply to the COMPACT Community Engaged Research Fund. The two grants available through this fund support recipients in building ethical, reciprocal, and sustainable research and creative projects with community partners.

CER Project Grants: This grant offers up to $3,000 in seed funding for community engaged research projects. This grant is available to faculty, staff and postdoctoral fellows. Preference will be given to proposals that 1) include at least one undergraduate or graduate student research assistant; 2) articulate how this opportunity will be used as seed funding to develop a sustainable, long-term partnership; and 3) include a clear plan for assessing project outcomes. Applications for the 2026-27 academic year will be due on September 4, 2026. 

CER Mini Grants: These grants offer up to $500 to support development and/or implementation of a small-scale community engaged research project. This grant is available to faculty, staff, postdoctoral fellows, and both undergraduate and graduate students. Students' applications must include a letter of support from a faculty advisor who will provide mentorship for their project. Grant applications for AY 26-27 are being accepted on a rolling basis, and will remain open for as long as funds are available.

Community Partnerships Interest Form

Are you interested in working with the Brandeis community, such as hiring a student intern, supporting student volunteers, or receiving support for a research project? Fill out the Community Partnerships Interest Form to start! This will give us an idea of the type of partnership you are looking for, including additional resources and opportunities. Once we receive your form, staff from COMPACT will reach out to you.

General COMPACT Resources for Community Partners

• Community Partnership Resources
• Community Partnerships Interest Form
• “Community Partner News and Events” CampusGroups Page

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