Meet the Staff

Martha MMartha Malinski's lifework is in connecting social justice and education.  Over the last 10 years, Martha's professional work has focused in the fields of higher education and human rights. Since 2004, Martha has seved as the Director of the Center for Community Work and Learning at the St. Catherine University.  Martha has previously worked at HECUA (Higher Education Consortium for Urban Affairs), Macalester College's Community Service Office, University of Minnesota in the Human Rights Center and the University of Ulster in Northern Ireland at the UNESCO Centre connecting students to the community through experiential learning.   Martha has also worked with numerous non-profits on human rights including Minnesota Advocates for Human Rights and Human Rights USA.  Martha holds a MA in Education from Goddard College and an Individualized BA in Peace and Social Justice from Gustavus Adolphus College.  Her academic work was focused on integrating vocation and political engagement through internship pedagogy.

 

 

DAnnD'Ann Urbaniak Lesch has worked with the Center for Community Work and Learning since August 2007. Prior to coming to St. Kate's, she was at the Center for Democracy and Citizenship from 1998-2007. Her work focused on the West Side of St. Paul, coordinating learning circles at Jane Addams School for Democracy; she was also involved in the inception and development of the West Side's Neighborhood Learning Community. She served in City of Lakes AmeriCorps for one year and taught English in Japan for two years through the Japan Exchange and Teaching (JET) Program. D'Ann obtained a Master's Degree in Education from the University of Minnesota in Youth Development Leadership.  Her BA from Drake University was in Sociology and English with a concentration in Cultural Studies.