Alumni Network

A home for the growing network of CU-trained civic catalysts

Across the country, our program alumni are creating thoughtful experiences for people to connect, reflect, and take meaningful civic action in their communities.

The Alumni Network exists to keep the momentum alive: connecting program graduates across cohorts, so they can continue to activate what they’ve learned and — sustain a collective commitment to strong civic life.

Our CU team…

Hosts gatherings that inspire — Virtual and in-person experiences that bring alumni together to exchange ideas, renew purpose, and stay rooted in a larger movement.
Facilitates pathways for continued growth — From ongoing communities of practice to focused learning tracks, alumni can explore new approaches, test ideas, and grow alongside dedicated peers.
Distributes small project grants — Microgrant opportunities for alumni ready to put their ideas into local action.
Offers personalized coaching — One-on-one support to help CU-trained civic catalysts navigate challenges, sharpen their practice, and lead with confidence.
Manages a living resource hub — A digital collection of tools, ideas from CU Labs, and a network directory — so alumni stay connected to the broader work and can bring it into everything they do.

The Network enables alumni coast to coast to explore new ideas and approaches, hold complexity, practice discernment, and celebrate the energy of being in community with others who care deeply and act boldly. In doing so, alumni deepen relationships and build the confidence and capacity to carry this work more fully into everyday civic life.

For alumni: visit our members-only homepage →

Activating citizenship in countless, creative ways

CU Alumni are making civic life more personal, more powerful, and more rooted in real relationships — creating pathways for people to claim a role in civic life.

Members across our network are showing what it looks like to strengthen civic culture — by building trust, cultivating belonging, and demonstrating what’s possible when we show up in public life. Together, we’re helping people across the country feel more connected and more committed to shaping the places we live.

The catalysts who make up this network

Here are spotlights on just a few members of this network – whose authentic expressions of citizenship are catalytic…

Jackie Wolven thought she’d only be a visitor to Eureka Springs, Arkansas but ended up doing just the opposite. Now as the Director of their Main Street Alliance, Jackie has adapted the Civic Saturday model and woven it into four annual Civic Sessions. She and her team organize a series of events and activities sprinkled across a few weeks that inspire neighbors to reconnect with each other, remind themselves what they love about Eureka Springs, and recommit to shaping and sustaining their town.

As Executive Director of North Carolina Campus Engagement, Leslie Garvin supports a statewide network of colleges and universities working to prepare students for lives of civic and social responsibility by orchestrating profound experiences with and for college students. A skilled facilitator and trainer, Leslie has equipped countless young people and adults with tools for dialogue, reflection, and action — ranging from deliberative practices to Theater of the Oppressed — based on our Power + Character curriculum. Leslie brings both strategic depth and heart to every space she leads.

Sindhu Dwarampudi, from outside of Atlanta, is launching Civic Sparks, an upcoming public video series on YouTube designed to spark reflection, connection, and action through the lens of civic culture. Each short episode will explore themes like community building, courage, and belonging, blending personal storytelling with timely civic topics to help viewers feel seen and inspired. Through accessible, emotionally resonant stories drawn from regular people and their everyday lives, the series will invite viewers into their own reflection, with prompts and journaling ideas.

Adrian McConnell is the founding Executive Director of Youth Revive, Inc., where he leads the Ignite Me Action Civics Curriculum to empower marginalized youth in forming identities and skills to live like powerful, responsible citizens. Through Ignite Me, he equips young people with civic knowledge, leadership skills, and a passion for community impact. With nearly two decades of experience in youth engagement, Adrian is committed to closing the civic empowerment gap and fostering the next generation of changemakers.

Emiliano Juárez is a rising civic leader and advocate from Westchester, New York. His civic work spans climate advocacy, youth empowerment, and cultural organizing — having led over 20 congressional meetings through Heirs to Our Ocean’s Youth Action Council for the United Nations Ocean Decade, and organizing the Música y Mole Festival to celebrate Mexican heritage and uplift local businesses. His work reflects a deep belief in youth voice, cross-cultural connection, and bold, local action in service of the common good.